Mark could feel the tension in the air. He had no idea why his wife was being so petty. This was an important meeting and he wanted Sheri to be wholeheartedly willing to kick off the Dream Act. Even if Sheri was not on board he could simply force his hand to have it his way, but that doesn't exercise diplomacy. Not only that the Henry's were looking at his wife disapprovingly. The Henry's genuinely loved their people and knew they wanted people to be willing to help with genuine generosity instead of being forced to make this a good experience for youth involved in the crisis.
That last thing Mark wanted to do was leave a bad political impression. Or a bad impression on Sheri period. He couldn't stand how cold she was being towards him and felt like things would get worst if he forced her into this Dream Act.
~
Sheri received a text from Jill. As they sat next to each other.
Jill: Make sure whatever this hussy wants, it is not answered for over a week.
Sheri: Exactly! She got the game twisted thinking she's going to punk me this way.
~
Mark cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Hopefully, he can get things to deescalate.
"Well, Dr. Woods, my wife and I invited you here to ask if you would like to be a part of something... A worthy cause." Mark addressed Sheri.
Jill and Sheri glanced at each other.
"What part would you all want me to play in your cause?" Sheri could already sense she was going to be guilted into something.
"Facilitator... You see, we all have heard about the tragic events taken place in Jamaica and many countries all over the world want to help get some people out of the choas. The U.S. is willing to take in families by the thousands, but before they can do so, they need to find cities throughout the country that are prepared to help. Part of getting cities ready for this venture is that the local schools have to be ready to take in the youth who have been affected." Mark added the last sentence with special emphasis.
"I see... And because my school is doing well, you believe it can help meet this need?" Sheri said knowing no matter what they said, she would still need to deliberate.
"Well it won't be just your school, there will be at least two other high schools and several middle and elementary schools. But we want your school to get it started." Monica chimed in.
"A lot goes into taking in students, and at the magnitude that will be coming in, certain things have to be in order. If not, the balance I created at King Robert Andrews, could be ruined." Sheri wasn't sure what promises were made to the Henry's but Sheri knew she had to take this all in with caution. She wasn't about to sign herself up for something knowing that this venture Mark wants to take on may be a bit overzealous. Sheri needed the logistics.
"This is exactly why we chose your school. Not just your school but you! You've done so much impeccable work as a teacher that you became a principal with just four years of teaching! Not only that, your interactive reading module invention, that is being proposed to other school districts all over the U.S. I mean it's absolutely genius! Test scores in districts that are already using this tool have skyrocketed. If anyone should be at the forefront of taking on these refugee students and acclimating them back to normal or a better lifestyle, it should be you. You know how to reach these kids." Mark reminded Sheri of her resumè to let her know that she has what it takes to help.
"How many students do you project to enter my school or the surrounding schools within the community?" Sheri asked, starting to feel pressured.
Mark could see flattery would not work with Sheri, she was all business.
"For the high school level... about 300 to 500 new students-" Mark gets cut off.
"And just how much staff do you plan on sending to our schools or funding to accommodate all these students?" Sheri was starting to get irritated.
Sensing her tension Mark added, "We have many donors that are onboard with this plan. In fact we already have over a 2 million dollars in donation money to help with this cause and we haven't even started campaigning for it yet. We will have more donations on the way with fundraisers and charitable events in the works to make this happen."
"Two million dollars per school or shared amongst the other schools in the county?" Sheri knew that number was small and would hardly make it through a school year if she had to share that with other schools.
"Shared." Mark reluctantly admitted.
Sheri's eyes bulged at this ridiculous budget.
Mark quickly replied, "But like I said this budget will grow and if you wouldn't mind allocating some of your time this summer to come out with us and help with these events you can watch the growth for yourself and see for yourself that people believe in this and want to help."
Sheri didn't know how to react without looking like an asshole. Of course, she wanted to help, but the Governor had unrealistic ideals to handling the situation.
Noticing her pause Dennis Henry pleaded, "Dr. Woods... Please, I know this sounds unreal but we have to try... Something... These kids need a way out, and even if it's not much, it'll be more than a lot of them even had. A chance to come to America, with more opportunities. You'll see educating the children of Jamaica is really not as challenging compared to other countries. They speak and read the same language, and a lot of the school structure in Jamaica is much more strict. You won't have too many children that are unruly..."
"Honestly, that was not what I was worried about. It's really all about the numbers... I can't say I'll feel comfortable with such a sudden expansion in student population, with such a limited budget. I mean, this is not a temporary thing, the effects of this will last for years. Can the city of Parkdale affords this sudden growth in population so soon?Now I genuinely feel bad that I'm being that person... The person who seemed to care about the numbers and nothing else. But we would be doing a disservice to the citizens of Parkdale without considering our limits." Sheri had to lay everything out.
"A lot of expansion methods are being constructed, such as the building of bigger schools and don't worry that was in the works years before we ever wanted to take on a venture like this. So bigger schools was on the list of the agenda anyways and that's a whole other budget. Not only that, if we choose to take these refugees in, the government awards grants to city's that contribute to humane efforts. These grants can go up to billions of dollars if we can convey a strong enough need which we indeed have... We just have to take the first step... Which is taking on this problem, before the government will make a move to help..." Mark hoped this detailed explanation will work and help Sheri to trust the process.
"Receiving grant money from the government could take years! And when they finally give us the grant, we're not getting the whole lump sum of funding, it will be gradual!" Sheri knew now if she said yes, she would be struggling to keep everything afloat in her high school.
"We will be very hands-on in supporting you. Anything you need well be there. We want to make this work..." Mark said reassuringly.
"We just have to make this work..." Dennis Henry added in desparation.