The Case for Consolidation and Vocational Education

Mount Vernon’s public school system is facing a critical juncture. With the steady expansion of charter and private schools, enrollment in our public schools is projected to decline even further. As these alternative education options continue to grow, they pull students—particularly those from families with greater resources or higher-achieving students—out of the public system. This shift threatens to further strain our district’s budget and resources. To navigate these changes, we must adopt a new mindset in how we do business and how we provide the best educational advantages for the children of Mount Vernon.

Many of Mount Vernon’s schools are severely underutilized, with some buildings housing only 200 students in spaces designed for 2,000. Maintaining these facilities is not only inefficient but also drains resources that could be better used to enhance educational outcomes. Moreover, many of these buildings are in critical need of repair, adding further strain to the district’s budget.

From my understanding, the primary issue isn’t whether schools should be consolidated, but rather which schools should be closed—and the emotions surrounding these decisions. Unfortunately, budgets don’t account for emotions. The facts are straightforward: Which schools are performing and which are not? Which schools have low capacity relative to the high cost of upkeep and maintenance, and which schools are more sustainable? These are the metrics that should guide our decisions.

This process needs to be as transparent as possible. It’s not productive to argue over the name of a school slated for closure—that’s immature and distracts from the bigger picture. If the name of a beloved school holds historical or emotional value, move the name to one of the schools that will remain open. The focus should be on ensuring the best educational outcomes for our students and using resources wisely, not preserving buildings for sentimental reasons.

Consolidating schools is a practical step to streamline operations and reduce costs. But consolidation alone isn’t the solution. We must use this opportunity to reinvest in our students by establishing a vocational training academy that addresses both the educational and economic needs of our community.

A Vocational Training Academy: Preparing Students for Real-World Success

As someone who worked in law enforcement for 33 years, I can say with certainty that crime and violence are often byproducts of poor education, lack of work skills, and limited employment opportunities. Contrary to what some politicians in Mount Vernon might admit, our city faces significant crime and social challenges. One effective way to combat these issues is by graduating students with the vocational skills necessary to secure good-paying jobs or even start their own businesses.

Not every student in Mount Vernon will choose a traditional college path—and that’s perfectly fine. In fact, it’s essential that we recognize and celebrate diverse career aspirations. A vocational training academy would provide students with direct pathways into high-demand, recession-proof careers in fields like electrical work, plumbing, HVAC, and construction, as well as public service roles such as police, fire, EMS, and corrections.

Recent data paints a stark picture of the current labor market. The U.S. is projected to be short 550,000 plumbers by 2027. Employment of electricians is expected to grow twice as fast as the average for all occupations through 2032. These shortages spell immense opportunities for those willing to pursue these careers. By offering vocational training in these fields, Mount Vernon’s students can position themselves at the forefront of industries that are not only in demand but also essential to the nation’s infrastructure and growth.

We don’t have to look far for successful examples of how vocational training can transform a school system. Queens Technical High School in Long Island City offers programs in Electrical Installation, Plumbing, Pre-Engineering Electronic Technology, and more. Similarly, Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School in Jamaica, Queens, provides specialized training in Automotive Technology, Medical Assisting, Mechanical Engineering, and IT. Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School in Manhattan focuses on Information Technology and Graphic Design, preparing students for careers in technology and the arts. These schools have shown how integrating vocational training into the high school curriculum can create graduates who are job-ready and equipped with valuable skills.

These are not just jobs—they are careers that offer stability, good wages, and opportunities for advancement. Graduates in these fields can earn from $75,000 to over $100,000 a year, often without the burden of college debt. By equipping students with industry-recognized certifications and hands-on experience, we can ensure that they graduate ready to enter the workforce with confidence and competence.

A vocational academy wouldn’t just benefit individual students; it would strengthen the entire Mount Vernon community. Graduates would fill essential roles in our local economy, contributing to community safety, infrastructure, and public services. This, in turn, would attract businesses and families to the area, fostering economic growth and revitalization.

Moreover, by keeping more students within the public school system, we can stabilize enrollment numbers and secure the funding necessary to continue improving our schools. This approach addresses the threat posed by charter and private schools head-on by offering something unique and invaluable—an education that leads directly to meaningful, well-paying careers.

A New Era for Mount Vernon’s Schools

Mount Vernon has the chance to transform its public school system into a beacon of innovation and opportunity. By embracing consolidation and establishing a vocational training academy, we can provide students with the skills they need to succeed while strengthening our community as a whole.

But let’s be clear—the only way something good can happen is if the community of Mount Vernon stops the adult gang-banging. Instead of continuing the fight for control, we need to fight to do right. This isn’t about political power plays or personal agendas—this is about the future of our city and the future of our children. We must come together, put aside differences, and focus on building an educational system that serves every student and strengthens the entire community.

This isn’t just about saving money or competing with charter schools—it’s about reimagining what education can be in Mount Vernon. It’s about offering our students and families real choices and real opportunities. It’s about making our public schools not just a place of learning, but a cornerstone of community growth and prosperity

For decades, Black leaders have championed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as a means to correct systemic inequalities. Yet, after more than 50 years, DEI has failed Black communities while reinforcing White power structures. If DEI was truly about dismantling systemic oppression, why have White women been its greatest beneficiaries while Black families and generational wealth continue to fall further behind?

The Trump administration recently moved to dismantle federal DEI programs, prompting strong opposition from Black leaders who have rushed to defend these initiatives. But the harsh truth is that DEI has never served Black people the way it has benefited White women. Rather than dismantling systemic barriers, DEI has acted as a Trojan horse for preserving White supremacy, giving White women disproportionate access to economic, career, and leadership advantages—while Black Americans remain locked out of true progress. For Black women, this realization is particularly disheartening, as their emotional labor and advocacy have long been manipulated to push agendas that have done nothing to build Black wealth or strengthen Black families.

DEI Has Strengthened White Wealth, Not Black Progress

A 2020 report from Catalyst exposes the unequal benefits of DEI—White women, due to their proximity to White men in corporate and social spaces, have leveraged DEI policies for their own advancement. Meanwhile, Black communities, the very people DEI was supposedly designed to uplift, have seen little to no systemic change.

A 2022 McKinsey & Company study found that 63% of DEI leadership roles are held by White women—not Black women, not Latina or Indigenous women. This reveals a stark reality: DEI has become an extension of White feminism, solidifying White women’s place in corporate America while using Black women as the face of the movement. Meanwhile, Black professionals are left tokenized, sidelined, and without real decision-making power, proving that DEI has been more about optics than actual systemic change.

For over 50 years, affirmative action and DEI programs have overwhelmingly benefited White women—gaining them the highest increases in income, executive positions, and economic mobility. Meanwhile, the racial wealth gap for Black Americans has barely moved and, in many cases, widened.

If DEI Worked, Black Wealth Would Have Grown

A recent Federal Reserve report highlights a persistent issue: while the average White family’s wealth continues to grow exponentially, Black families remain systematically locked out of homeownership, high-paying jobs, and financial security. If DEI initiatives had truly been successful, Black economic empowerment would be a reality, not a topic still up for debate. Instead, the enduring wealth gap indicates that DEI has done little more than uphold existing power structures, offering only the illusion of progress.

Reflecting on the period since the Obama administration, the economic disparities have become even more pronounced. According to inequality.org, over Obama’s presidency, median Black wealth never returned to even its modest $10,700 from before the Great Recession. By 2013, it had dropped to just $1,700 — virtually nothing — even as white wealth rebounded.

Imagine if, over the last 50 years, Black communities had concentrated on building generational wealth through business ownership, land acquisition, and economic self-sufficiency, rather than investing hope in the unfulfilled promises of DEI. Where would we be today? How much stronger would our families, communities, and financial institutions be if we had prioritized ownership over optics? The time spent on ineffective initiatives could have been directed toward creating genuine power, not just symbolic inclusion.

Why Are Black Leaders Still Defending DEI?

With DEI under attack, Black leaders have rushed to defend it—but why? If the past 50 years have shown us anything, it’s that DEI has not delivered real economic or structural power to Black communities.

1. DEI Was Never Designed for Black Liberation – If DEI was meant to create equity, why are Black families still experiencing rising economic insecurity while White women have climbed the corporate ladder? Fighting for DEI today is like demanding a seat at a table that was never meant for us.
2. White Women’s Gains = White Family Wealth – Over the last 50 years, the largest recipients of affirmative action policies have been White women. And what does that mean? White families and White generational wealth have continued to accumulate—while Black generational wealth remains stagnant or declined.
3. Performative Inclusion, No Real Power – Even in DEI leadership roles, Black professionals lack true decision-making authority. Many are trapped in symbolic positions, used to signal “diversity” while corporations maintain the same White-dominated hierarchies.
4. DEI is a Distraction from Real Solutions – If DEI truly worked, Black people wouldn’t still be demanding economic justice, land ownership opportunities, and reparations. Instead, the focus remains on corporate diversity statistics rather than shifting wealth and power into Black hands.

The End of DEI Should Be a Wake-Up Call, Not a Cause for Mourning

Trump’s decision to gut DEI programs should not be seen as the death of Black opportunity—because DEI was never the solution in the first place. If DEI had worked, Black wealth wouldn’t still be a fraction of White wealth. If DEI had worked, Black professionals wouldn’t still be fighting for equal pay and fair treatment in the workplace while White women continue to reap the majority of the benefits.

Black leaders must stop defending a system that has failed us and instead refocus on strategies that build real economic power. It’s time to pool our $1.5 trillion in spending power to support Black-owned businesses, banks, and institutions, ensuring that our dollars circulate within our communities before benefiting outsiders. We must move beyond symbolic “diversity” initiatives that primarily serve White women and White families and start demanding direct economic investment in Black communities, reparations, and land ownership opportunities—the true keys to closing the racial wealth gap.

Beyond economics, Black leadership must also prioritize education and workforce development. Instead of pushing our children into an outdated system that leaves them in debt with useless degrees, we should be guiding them toward skilled trades like plumbing, electrical work, engineering, technology, AI, and cybersecurity—fields that create long-term stability and generational wealth.

The end of DEI isn’t the end of Black progress—it’s an opportunity to fight for something better. The real question is: Will we finally demand real power by building our own institutions, or will we keep begging for a seat at a table that was never meant for us?