They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. 

Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 

2018. 

But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. 

In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it.

I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement.

You are extremely busy and I want to honor you by making this brief. But I would be irresponsible if I did not highlight a dangerous trend in community “activism” around capital improvements.

Since 2009, when OMHS first identified the need for substantial repair, I have observed the following evolution in community attitudes.

If it is X other school, their needs are earnestly outlined. If it is Oakland Mills? They can wait.

They can wait. They can wait, they can wait.

Then, when the extent of the unremediated damage was compounded by time:

Oh, that can’t be fixed. Tear it down. 

Oddly, these were some of the same folks who advocated loudly for “improve, don’t move.” Go figure.

What I am truly alarmed by is the recent trend to target Oakland Mills as The Problem which is standing in the way of other schools getting their fair share. Almost daily I see theories advanced which demonize our schools, characterize them as undeserving, denigrate our community, and seem determined to paint us with the brush of malfeasance.

As OMHS gets closer and closer to shamefully delayed renovations, community attitudes towards the capital improvement process have morphed from supporting one’s own school to attacking the perceived “front runner.”This is a dangerous shift and one which I hope you will address outright. 

Those who are advocating for an improved learning environment for Oakland Mills students are guilty of nothing more than diligence and persistence to get the job done. 

I ask you to honor their work and also make very clear that the Howard County School System will not be swayed by destructive and incendiary tactics when making decisions for our children.

Essentially, the conversation looks like this.

Me: You have an opportunity to address years of inequity and show that meeting the needs of vulnerable students is a necessary commitment and the priority of this board.

Them: They can wait.

Even better, folks are justifying this abdication of responsibility by pointing to a “brand new ranking system.”

I’d like to ask you to think about something. Are you aware that we have a pattern of behavior in this country where a last minute change of the rules prevents Black and Brown people from advancing? It happens over and over again. When non-white people get close to achieving honors, receiving rights and or benefits to which they are due - - promotions, freedoms, or awards - - somehow the powers that be change the way those things can be accomplished. 

And, as if by magic, the white people, the affluent people - -  the people who look like the powers that be - - are the winners. 

On Thursday the Howard County School System affirmed that’s how we play the game in Howard County. We won’t tell you outright that we don’t care about you. We’ll just change the ranking system.

It’s clear that I have strong feelings about this and would be easy to dismiss my writing as emotional. I disagree. If I were to speak solely from an emotional place I would tell you that Oakland Mills High Schools students deserve the very best we have to offer. There are many good reasons to make a claim like this, but I realize it’s fueled by how much I care.

What I am asking, what students and faculty are asking, what the Oakland Mills community is asking, is that Oakland Mills High School students can go to school daily in a building that meets the most basic standards we set for our learning environments. 

That we choose not to honor that most basic promise speaks volumes about what kind of a value we place on those students. It is shameful.

In closing, while I don’t think that my writing is some kind of miracle-working device, I often hope it will be. It’s just this crazy mindset I have.

I wish I really could work miracles. I have a list.

Village Green/Town² Comments