Guns, Books and Lawsuits
A Memoir
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This Memoir reveals the journey of a civil rights activist, educator and a career U.S. Army Officer. The author was one of 12 children, born to an illiterate mother and alcoholic father. He quit high school after the 9th grade, moved out of his family's home and obtained a job and supported himself at the age of 16. The author served 27 years in the Army and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. The Memoir discusses military service from 1961 to 1989 and especially highlights combat duty in Vietnam and efforts to reduce race riots on Army bases in the 1960s and 70s. After retirement from the military , the author obtained a doctorate in education and entered the field of education. He reports on his experiences serving as a school administrator at elementary , middle , and high school level. He discusses the lack of leadership in education and fraud committed by Principals and other administrators to make schools look outstanding by publishing false data. The Memoir provides details on how he became a whistle blower by exposing the falsified reports on dropouts from public schools in the Houston Independent School District. It discusses the retaliation he endured and eventually the lawsuit he filed against the district for retaliation. The author discusses his research into a for profit education company that received approximately 200 million dollars over 11 years from the Houston Independent School District. After suggesting , in his view, that the alternative schools the company operated were "dropout factories" he was sued by the company for 9.2 million dollars. The author believed that the lawsuit was a SLAPP lawsuit, (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) and discusses the lawsuit that he had to endure for almost 3 years.
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About the Book
Robert Kimball dropped out of school after the 9th grade, became a career Army officer serving two combat tours in Vietnam, earned a doctorate in educational leadership, and later served as a school administrator and University lecturer. He became a whistleblower on the dropout crisis and featured on CBS 60 Minutes II, NOW on PBS, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He was a witness to historic events from 1950 to the present and served as an advocate for civil rights for over 50 years. This memoir describes a childhood environment of poverty as one of twelve children. The author discusses military duty during race riots in Los Angeles and on Army bases in the 60’s and 70’s, combat in the jungles of Vietnam, and a military career that culminated in commanding nuclear missiles in Europe. The book also covers a second career as a high school principal, and the retaliation he endured after receiving national media attention for exposing the “Texas Miracle” that was based on falsified reports. The author explains the scandal and details involving his lawsuit against a Texas school district for retaliation and later a lawsuit against him by a for-profit educational services corporation.
About the Author
Dr. Robert Kimball is a retired Army officer, Vietnam veteran, and a pro bono Education Consultant. He served 27 years in the Army and 15 years teaching or serving as a school administrator. He is originally from New Hampshire and was one of 12 children. He is married with two children and four Grandchildren. He currently resides in Houston, Texas. As a senior Army officer, he commanded a nuclear missile battalion in Germany for two years. After retirement from the Army, he returned to the University of Houston and earned a doctorate in education. He has taught at the high school and college level and served as a school administrator at elementary, middle and high school level. He became an advocate for students pushed out of schools and dropping out. As a result of his activism, he was declared a whistle blower when he exposed the falsification of dropout records in the Houston Independent School District. He was featured on 60 Minutes II and the NOW program on CNN. The New York Times , Washington Post and other newspapers reported on how he exposed the so called "Texas Miracle" as a lie that was based on "cooking the books" in Texas. Dr. Kimball has been a member of LULAC (League of Latin American Citizens ) and NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ) for many years and has been an advocate for civil rights for over 45 years. He recently co-authored the article, "The Equal Treatment of Unequals: Barriers Facing Latinos and the Poor in Texas Public Schools" that appeared in the Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law & Policy.