The County School Board on Monday reversed courses on a plan by the state to bring a pilot program to Orchard Knob Middle School, with board member Joe Smith saying he had not been advised earlier that the board really had no choice in the matter. However, several board members still had harsh words for the state Department of Education.
Mr. Smith said it had since been made clear that there was no discretion on the part of the school board under a new state law passed last May.
The board on Dec.
9 voted 6-2 against the plan, saying that Orchard Knob Middle School already has another intervention program going on and is enjoying a successful turnaround.
At the special meeting on Monday, the vote was 5-2 to approve an agreement to hire the educational consultant firm Ed Direction to carry out the program. In favor were Mr. Smith, Marco Perez, Rhonda Thurman, Tiffanie Robinson and Joe Wingate. Opposed were Karitsa Mosley Jones and Chairman Tucker McClendon.
School officials earlier said they had urged the state Department of Education to focus instead on Howard School. However, the state insisted on implementing the new program at Orchard Knob Middle, it was stated. Board members said the state would be "taking the credit" when Orchard Knob Middle likely goes off the Priority School List of low-performing schools this fall, though the bulk of the improvement work has already taken place.
School Board Attorney Scott Bennett said the state was under certain restrictions under the new school improvement law. He said Howard would not have qualified for the program because it had not been on the Priority List long enough. He said the state had to find low-performing schools at various grade levels and in different Grand Divisions of the state, leading them to Orchard Knob Middle.
Officials earlier said the state had agreed to include $750,000 in funding for Howard as well. However, two board members said they were told by state legislators that the Howard funding may be in jeopardy.
New Supt. Justin Robertson said he still believes the Howard funds will still come through.
He said the county schools will work to keep Orchard Knob "on focus" and not let the new program "be a distraction."
Mr. Smith said, "I'm angry about this." He said attorney Bennett had not made it clear that state law allowed the state action with the school board having no say-so" He said he had listened to a tape of the prior meeting three times. Attorney Bennett said, "I'm pretty sure I said we had no choice, but I apologize if I did not make it clear."
Mr. Smith also said, "I am told that the Howard money is off the table now. This whole thing makes us look like a bunch of fools." Ms. Robinson said she had been told the same thing.
Ms. Jones said her vote was "a community stance." She said school officials "have worked a lot of years and they are so close to coming off the list. Now the students will become part of another experiment at the cost of their academic achievement."
She said, "The school's going off the list and the state is going to say, 'Yay, we did it.' "
Mr. McClendon said the venture "is not a partnership," saying the state was completely running the show.
He said, "The way this went down was really, really wrong."