I will continue to support the leadership of our newly elected school board vice president Dr. Kirit Chapatwala and the president of the Selma City school board, Mr. Henry Hicks.

I have called and congratulated Dr. Chapatwalla, and we spoke at length. He knows me well from our time in the appointed board and that I have always respected leadership unless the move leadership makes is against what is in the best interest of the kids that we have been assigned to help.

A song that we sing in my church goes, “It’s not about you, me, but it’s about Jesus.” Similarly, Selma City School Board is not about you or me, but it’s about the children.

We will disagree if necessary, but I don’t have time to envy or hate people because of title or other. Our board is improving a lot as we should endeavor to avoid meaningless wars and selfishness,  because it can blind people to the point that they become proud, self-centered or vain without realizing that their role is bigger than them.

Selfishness and envy can destabilize a true agenda or a vision because, “where envy and strife are, there are confusion and every evil work,” according to James 3:16

It is easy to get carried away by politics or by strife, and forget the magnitude of your responsibility and consequences of some actions.

Furthermore, I will work with Dr. Chapatwalla to ensure that his growth translates to the growth of our system and our children. I’ve met leaders that grow selfishly, and some that do not. I know presidents, vice presidents, state governors, mayors and managers, supervisors that took their people or organizations with them to the top. I know a bishop that ensures the elevation of many and his entire church too. This has multiplier effects that are worthy of emulation, because a one-sided growth may be retrogressive instead of progressive.

Also, we’ll continue to collaborate with the community. The overwhelming response from fathers Thursday, during the 100 Men Luncheon tells me that people in this community are not playing about their children’s education. Thanks to Mrs. C. Perkins and Dr. Dichiara. It is overly advantageous to engage members of this community in discussing how they can participate in support of continuous development of a healthy school climate.

Relative to father’s luncheon response and that of the Training Table, one is not left to wonder if the community is cohesive enough to make critical decisions affecting the  education of their children. Consequently, it may not be a huge responsibility to ask the community to find ways of choosing their own school superintendent in the future.

Selma is unique, I agree, so a neutral agency like the AASB, State Board of Education or others may be asked to do it so as to minimize strife and every evil work.