Pubdate: Mon, 07 Aug 2000
Source: Daily Times, The (MD)
Copyright: 2000 The Daily Times
Contact:  (410) 749-7290
Author: Jacqueline B. Jones, a regular columnist for the Daily Times  Note: Only section of column relating to drug war included here.

FACTS & FOLKS

Prisons And Schools

The other day I read with interest two articles in The Daily Times;
one was about the need for a new high school in Wicomico County
because of the increase in the number of students and the other was
about building a new correctional institution to house federal
prisoners as a way of generating revenue for the county.

My gut reaction was why is it that now we have to resort to penal
institutions for county growth? Is the justice system this big of an
industry that the future of children and communities depend upon it?
On whose backs is America building its future? The county could make
over $25,000 per day if this goes through.

This hit me the wrong way. Maybe it is because proportionally most
people incarcerated are black males. More than 79 percent of
Maryland's prison population is black, yet blacks comprise only 27
percent of the overall state population. Blacks comprise 90 percent of
inmates admitted for drug offenses but there are five times more white
drug users than black.

What this says to me is that we are looking to pay county bills off
the backs of blacks. Something does not add up.

So often we have heard that the cost to keep a prisoner is $30,000 a
year. in comparison to the cost of $5,000 or $6,000 a year to educate
one student in public schools, I would have to say that publ!c
education is a far better deal. It is much more economical to educate
than incarcerate.

Please do not misunderstand me. Those who commit violent crimes and
crimes against others should be jailed for the safety of us all.

Some of you are aware of my passion for a better education for all
children. I strongly oppose tracking because I feel that we are
predetermining the future of innocent children wherein we should be
opening up doors for them to decide their own fates by using education
as a tool.

After reading an article in The New York Times about race relations, I
realized that tracking, the placement of students in different
academic levels, is a national problem. It appears that schools are
still segregated within classrooms because of tracking.

Either we educate properly now or foot the bill later either through
federal, state or local taxes which are used to pay for public safety.
When will we learn that we are our brother's keeper?
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