Nikki Byrd, left, and Robert Buggs
Unhappy Gary schools parents deciding their next move
Contributed By:The 411 News
Parents want their voices heard, access to schools
Disgruntled parents with concerns about the Gary public schools gathered Thursday morning for an organizing meeting at the Gary Teachers Union.
The small number that came out didn't discourage Nikki Byrd. "I've learned to work with what you have. I would rather have 10 people who want to do something than 100 that's going to just cause a lot of chaos."
Byrd has led protests outside the district office at West Side since the 2nd week of school. At the first protest, 56 people showed up. The group holds their demonstrations every Thursday.
Five parents plus 2 Gary Community School Corporation Advisory Board Members -- Robert Buggs and James Piggee -- rallied to Byrd's cause that morning. They were alarmed about the fights at West Side, student busing problems, and school closures due to air conditioning failures.
One parent said she chose virtual learning for her high school son because of the fighting at West Side.
The leadership role is an easy one for Byrd, a former citywide PTA vice president who counts up over 14,000 volunteer hours in the Gary schools
For 23 years, Byrd worked as a corrections officer at the Lake County Jail. Two years into the job, Byrd asked to work the night shift so she could be free during the day. That allowed her to be a part of the Lake County Sheriff's Scared Straight task force, taking the message to kids in the classroom about the consequences of negative behaviors.
Byrd said she retired 11 years ago, but continued doing volunteer work following grandchildren in Gary schools. She volunteered at Gary's McCullough Girls Academy, where 2 granddaughters attended. Her last volunteer work was at Williams Elementary, where a grandson attends.
"The pandemic almost killed me," Byrd said. Gary schools closed in March 2020 and only reopened to the districts' high school students in grades 11-12 in March 2021. All other grades remained virtual.
Summer school opened for all students in June. Byrd was looking to resume volunteer work at Williams, but was told "only people who worked in the building were allowed to enter."
Byrd believes schools can't run without volunteers. "I wrote letters and called, asking for meetings with Dr. McNulty. I never got a reply," she said.
Elouise Anderson-Wilson came to the meeting because of her 2 great-grandchildren at Bethune Early Learning Center. "I couldn't believe it when my daughter said the kids were at home. The school was closed because of the heat. Virtual learning is not working. This is after we got all that money."
"The district got its priorities wrong in the middle of a pandemic," Jackie Lee said, "fixing up West Side's football and track fields instead of working on the buildings that needed air conditioning."
Tiffany Swaggers has 3 students in Gary schools, at West Side, Gary Middle School, and Williams. This is the first time she has joined in a school protest, "now that I'm not working 12 hours a day."
"Gary schools are lacking. Why can’t we build up what we have? I don't want to move somewhere else," Swagerty said.
Byrd wants to get someone from every school to join the group before deciding on their next move. “I’m thinking about Indianapolis. Parents are tired and they don’t have anyone to talk to.”
Swagerty believes West Side should be at the top of the list. “That’s where the most problems are.”
Jackie Lee, l-r, Linda Gates, seated, and Tiffany Swagerty
Story Posted:09/20/2021
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