Pike Township, an area 42.7 percent Black with growing traffic backlogs and congestion, has been shut out of receiving transportation dollars from President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It’s a clear example of how our African-American community may not benefit from President Obama’s stimulus effort because of decisions by local officials.
A non-elected group of bureaucrats, called the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has recommended how an initial $39.6 million in stimulus transportation funds should be spent.
Already the state has begun spending $82.6 million out of a total of $440 million in highway and transportation stimulus funds directly received. But the law requires that in “urbanized areas,” funds must be supervised by these MPO’s.
Restrictions on stimulus money mandates that projects have to be “shovel ready,” meaning all design and permits had to have been completed and right of way secured. MPO’s and the state can only do projects ready for groundbreaking and construction.
Last Thursday, an amorphous, heretofore unknown to our community entity called the Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council, approved 53 projects in the Indianapolis Urbanized Area, a census geographic area comprised of densely populated areas within the 10-county metropolitan area.
Marion County was OK’d for 22 projects. Not only was our city/county recommended for just 41.5 percent of the projects, but also the city/county received 60.1 percent or $23.8 million of the $39.6 million in transportation funds.
Washington Township had the most projects – six direct and one shared project; followed by Center Township (four direct, one shared); Wayne (four direct), Lawrence (two direct, one shared) and Franklin and Perry had two projects each.
Besides Pike, Black neighborhoods in Center and Wayne Townships were also shut out.
Anyone who drives Pike Township roads know how bad traffic congestion is. For the Indianapolis MPO not to have “shovel ready” transportation plans for Pike are a dereliction of duty. Neighborhoods east of I-465, which, like Pike, have heavy traffic and choked roads were mostly ignored by the MPO’s recommendations.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization and the controlling Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council seemingly don’t have the best interests of the transportation needs of our growing African-American community in mind.
It’s a situation that needs to be investigated. Starting with the groups’ racial diversity. If any!
Meanwhile, what’s gone on the past two months at John Marshall Community High School has been nothing short of a disgrace!
By any objective standard, John Marshall has been a troubled IPS school. Discipline problems. Poor academic standards. A school dangerously close to being taken over by the state under the draconian provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law because of repeated academic underperformance.
The school’s chronic problems are one reason why Principal Jeffrey White’s attitude caught our community’s attention.
Yes, Jeffrey White was abrasive. Getting into a public spat with local ministers a couple of years ago that angered them, but cheered others in the community.
To his credit, Jeffrey White healed those wounds and ministers in the John Marshall neighborhood became White’s most passionate defenders. As did parents and students.
Jeffrey White was a principal who didn’t brook foolishness. Here was a principal going door-to-door in his neighborhoods looking for his students to attend school on time. Here was a principal demanding justice when one of his students was sexually assaulted at a bus stop. Here was a principal making his school a critical resource when a tornado tore up the neighborhood last June. Here was a principal demanding the best from his students, teachers and the community.
Jeffrey White was making progress. So it stunned the John Marshall community and our entire community when literally on the day the critical Spring ISTEP tests began White was removed and reassigned as an elementary school assistant principal.
In a sometimes emotional interview last week on WTLC-AM’s “Afternoons with Amos,” White continued to express his love and devotion for John Marshall students, staff and parents, while revealing stunning admissions.
White said IPS insisted on populating John Marshall with some 200 overage, underachieving students who were of seventh and eighth grade age, but still in fifth and sixth grades.
White said errors by top IPS administrators had jeopardized many of Marshall students’ ability to have their social studies credit count under state guidelines.
And White insists top IPS administrators ordered him not to suspend misbehaving students out of fear of an “Indianapolis Urban League” lawsuit.
A friend of mine has been working for several months at John Marshall and confirms much of what White said, including that since his departure last month, the school’s been up for grabs.
The friend confirms a damning story by Indianapolis Star reporter Andy Gammill who said things at John Marshall are so bad that when IPS Superintendent Dr. Eugene White’s top man, Deputy Superintendent Willie Giles, visited John Marshall three weeks ago, Giles was not only forced to import staff to help, but Giles spent days personally supervising a school that Jeffrey White had under control.
IPS’ treatment of Jeffrey White was a demotion. A severe slap in the face.
IPS insiders are whispering, “there’s things you don’t know.” Perhaps, but to me a system like IPS doesn’t need to lose its best and brightest like Jeffrey White.
Superintendent Dr. Eugene White needs to emulate President Barack Obama, who’s surrounded himself with smart, dedicated, and at times egocentric, ego-driven leaders.
If our president can embrace a Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, then Eugene White can embrace the Jeffrey Whites who are dedicated to doing what’s necessary to educate our students.
Gene, you’re wrong on this one. You blew it big time and now you’ve got an uncontrollable John Marshall on your hand.
It didn’t have to turn out that way!
See ‘ya next week!
Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or by e-mail at ACBROWN@AOL.COM.
