NEBCD Labor Day Picnic and Rally to Support President Obama

A great turnout at MacArthur County Park for the Northeast Bexar County Democrats Labor Day Picnic and Rally to support the viewing of President Obama's speech to students in our schools. The rally was covered by several English and Spanish language TV stations, and speeches were given by Carla Vela, Bexar County Democratic Party Chair, and Scott Simpson, President of the NEBCD.

Among the many in attendance were 2008 alamObama campaign co-coordinators Judy Hall and Fred Tawil, Lainey Melnick, candidate for US House of Representatives District 21, John Courage, candidate for Texas Senate District 25, and many candidates for countywide offices. View photos at this Facebook public link: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033417&id=1382783158&l=a2163983dc - Video of rally below.

Banning the President's Speech to Kids

Most school districts in the San Antonio area have forbidden teachers to show the President's speech to students in their classrooms next Tuesday morning, September 8. Only Edgewood ISD has had the courage to considers this an educational event and not a political one. We believe that political decisions should be made by elected representatives. Therefore, we urge citizens to contact their elected representatives, members of the various school boards, to express their dismay over the banning of the President's speech. The board members work for US, the voters, and the school administrators, who made these decisions, work for them. We should remind our elected representatives that they are the ones who are supposed to make political decisions that are subject to approval or disapproval by US, the voters. They should not abandon this responsibility to the superintendents, who are, after all, just the people they hire to run the schools. Here are links to the board web pages of some of the largest districts in the SA area:

San Antonio ISD: http://www.saisd.net/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=84
(put the burden on teachers, allowing to show the speech but only if they have parent permission, and they have to provide an alternative lesson to any student withouth permission)

Northside ISD: http://www.nisd.net/general/board/
(banned all teachers from showing the speech)

North East ISD: http://www.neisd.net/regs/Boardpage/Board.htm
(banned all teachers from showing the speech)

Judson ISD: http://www.judsonisd.org/district/schoolBoard/SchoolBoardMembers.cfm (no information posted)

Scherz Cibolo Universal City ISD: http://www.scuc.txed.net/board_members.cfm?master=1 (is showing the speech later in the school day, with parents allowed to prevent their kids from watching it)

Harlandale ISD: http://www.harlandale.net/pio_BOARD/schoolBoard.html
(the superintendent's statement is a broken link)

Edgewood ISD: http://www.eisd.net/20141061594531287/site/default.asp (allowing the speech to be shown in Social Studies classes- YEAH! Call to congratulate them!!!!)

South San Antonio ISD: http://www.southsanisd.net/board_members.cfm (no information posted)

Fort Sam Houston ISD: http://www.fshisd.net/site_res_view_template.aspx?id=18d6e374-d72b-4dac-82ba-1be6fbc54bf4 (banned all teachers from showing the speech)

Comal ISD: http://www.comalisd.org/Board_of_Trustees/ (banned all teachers from showing the speech)

New Braunfels ISD: http://fc.newbraunfels.txed.net/~sferguson/Board_News.htm (will not show the speech, but will broadcast it on their cable TV channel at 7 p.m.)

Boerne ISD: http://www.boerne-isd.net/page.cfm?p=6087 (will not show the speech live, but teachers may show it later if curriculum appropriate, with parents allowed to opt their kids out of viewing it)

If your own children are prevented from viewing the speech live at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, watch it with them after school at http://www.whitehouse.gov.