Tevlin: Energized North Side ready to take on the schools' status quo

They came dressed in business suits and bluejeans, for the most part, though one dressed in a prison jumpsuit and wore a Kermit the Frog mask.

Suffice it to say it wasn't a typical Minneapolis school board meeting.

But those who attended had a common goal: to challenge the board and the school district toward more transparency and more accountability.

The impressive showing was a reaction to the controversy over Minneapolis public schools' May $375,000 contract with Community Standard Initiative (CSI), which had promised programs to help narrow the achievement gap between black and white students.

As a sign carried by the person in the frog costume pointed out, the contract went to an organization that had "no website, no phone number," and ultimately, no plan to help kids, something the organization finally admitted.

MPS canceled the CSI contract after the first $47,000 payment netted few gains, but new groups that have risen in the community still want answers about how the no-bid contract was awarded, and where the $47,000 was spent. And they want to know how much influence or pressure state Sens. Jeff Hayden and Bobby Joe Champion put on MPS to funnel money to their friends. Republicans have called for an ethics investigation into the issue, and Hayden and Champion will get due process.

But the issues have divided north Minneapolis into those who support the legislators and those who are calling for quick answers.

Just don't call it a rift in the black community or the North Side, cautions Sondra Samuels, president of the Northside Achievement Zone. After all, no one referred to the battle over light rail through Kenwood a "rift in the white community."

"It's a difference of opinion," said Samuels, who is upset by the name-calling. "What we are really seeing is that this is the first time many of us are experiencing a variety of people exercising their voices. It's a maturation of the community. I'm really excited by what's happening — more excited than I have been in a long time."

Samuels is correct in pointing out that the media have played a part by turning to a handful of leaders to represent the opinions of all residents on the North Side, often giving voice to those with "the more salacious quote."

Now, "people are committed to a purpose and an ideal, rather than to a certain group," said Samuels.

Two organizations have emerged in the wake of the CSI controversy and questions raised about the shuttering of Community Action of Minneapolis, and how it spent money designated for the poor.

"The friction is due to the current self-appointed leadership, [which] is angry because they are now being challenged, and we are not backing down," Johnson said.

A large percent of those who appeared at the school board meeting and at an earlier protest were women.

"It's time for us women to stand up and speak out against individuals, organizations and systems that keep our families impoverished," Johnson said. She said the idea for the group came from Helen Williams, who has been a quiet leader in the community for decades. "She started it because she's tired of so-called leaders ripping off the community. They don't speak for us. We do not share the same values or the same vision."

Johnson is among those who think CSI got a contract because of connections, and to quiet its founder, Al Flowers, a frequent harsh critic of the district.

Nekima Levy-Pounds, who leads Black Advocates for Education, also spoke at the board meeting.

The district did answer some of the questions raised by the groups this week. Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson acknowledged she was "cautious" about awarding the contract to CSI, but "several board members, elected officials and community members expressed support." She canceled the contract when the group admitted it couldn't meet objectives.

Levy-Pounds still wants an independent inquiry and an audit, and she wants to know about any other contracts that were not put out for competitive bidding.

"We are so ready to see change happen in our community," Levy-Pounds said. "We are tired of business as usual. The energy [at the school board meeting] was something this city has never seen before. To see women and children on the front lines is really powerful."