Beebe Administration Turns A Deaf Ear To Deaf Community (Arkansas)
“Seven other candidates tested better. Six other candidates were
certified. But the state hired her anyway.”
That’s the lead in to a news story from a local Little Rock media
outlet who conducted a rare act of journalism regarding the recent
hiring of a state sign language interpreter, Miss Clara Taylor.
According to the report, the woman is not a certified interpreter and
tested near the bottom of the pool of applicants for the position.
And in another rare act of journalism, Max Brantley has acquired a
document from one of the other applicants for the position that claims
that, based on public records, Miss Taylor’s scores were 8th overall
and she did not even apply for the position!
State Workforce Director Bill Walker says Taylor is qualified for the
position because she “has a deaf family member, has signed for members
of her church for the past ten years and has been a loyal state
employee for more than 20 years”–which is akin to saying I am qualified
to sing in the opera because my grandmother was a music teacher, I sing
on the praise team, and I loyally served popcorn at the theater.
As a special bonus, Walker told the state personnel committee that
Taylor is “a team player” and “passionate.” The real reason for her
hire, however, is more likely that Walker and the woman are old
friends: according to one report, the woman is a previous employee of
Walker’s funeral home. (Walker’s tenure with the state has been
riddled with scandal and cronyism.)
In a letter to state Senator Eddie Joe Williams, dated April 16th,
Walker says that Taylor “demonstrated the knowledge, skills and ability
required by the position.” State Representative Bryan King disagreed
when I spoke with him earlier today:
“She didn’t even score 50% on the written test. She didn’t even make a
Level 1. The deaf community is dependent upon the qualifications of
the person in this position. We are trying to get them the help that
they need. They rely on her abilities, but she could not even
communicate 50% of a conversation in sign language.”
King also said the number of attendees from the deaf community at the
committee meeting spoke to the seriousness of the matter:
“We had 40-50 people there from the deaf community. It was pretty
serious.”
But wait! It gets better! Would you, hard-working Arkansas taxpayer,
be excited to learn that you are now actually paying for this woman’s
sign language certification? According to Rep. King, she will be
taking an exam at a cost of $600. She is also enrolling in classes at
UALR in order to seek a national certification. The cost for the
courses is unknown at this time. King and other lawmakers are working
to acquire that information, but he did say that the bill will be
passed along to the taxpayers.
King said he will be working in the next legislative session to make
sure that strict qualifications are attached to these types of state
positions. “Either the passage of an exam or a national certification
should be required,” King said.
This is really one of those stories that makes you stop and ask, “What
the heck is going on here?” Chances are, you’re an average
hard-working Arkansan that is struggling to get by in the Beebe/Obama
economy. Now you’ve learned that the state is handing out jobs based
on personal friendships, regardless of a person’s qualifications, and
you are paying for their certification. Might I suggest that this is
wrong: that people should be hired based on their credentials?
Furthermore, why is taxpayer money being wasted on qualifications exams
and interviews if these jobs will ultimately be handed out based on
personal preferences? What is the point in having rules and procedures
if we do not follow them? In a system where rules and procedures are
flippantly discarded, personal preferences and cronyism are king.
The committee has passed this matter over to the Department of Finance
and Administration for further review. We will keep you posted on
further developments.
Source:
http://www.thearkansasproject.com/beebe-administration-turns-a-deaf-ear-to-deaf-community/