Citizen talks to BOE about KBMS issues
A Jackson County citizen addressed the Jackson County Board of Education Monday night about reported problems at Kings Bridge Middle School and about recent comments some students made online to Herald publisher Mike Buffington.
Redd Howe, holding a highlighted copy of last week’s editorial page from The Jackson Herald, read several comments students had posted on the newspaper’s website in support of principal, Debra Morris and against publisher Buffington’s comments.
Howe questioned the motives of the students in disparaging the editorial, wondering whether someone at the school had encouraged them to post the comments, and asked the school board if they had a plan to improve writing scores at King’s Bridge.
The school posted a 28.8 percent failure rate for the 2011 eighth-grade writing test, compared with failure rates at other local middle schools ranging from 7.6 percent (Commerce Middle School) to 14.8 percent (West Jackson Middle).
“I just want to know if you have a plan to improve the writing failure rate,and when will you let us know that?” Howe said. He also questioned whether school officials were “making our children a captive audience and manipulating and coercing them to fight the school’s battle.”
Howe said he does not have a student at the school, but he does help pay for it through his taxes, and also questioned whether a lawyer should be consulted in order to investigate any possible wrongdoing. And, if necessary, the removal of the principal.
“I will require no less than that, personally,” he said.
The board made no response to Howe and quickly went through the rest of the agenda items.
Howe questioned the motives of the students in disparaging the editorial, wondering whether someone at the school had encouraged them to post the comments, and asked the school board if they had a plan to improve writing scores at King’s Bridge.
The school posted a 28.8 percent failure rate for the 2011 eighth-grade writing test, compared with failure rates at other local middle schools ranging from 7.6 percent (Commerce Middle School) to 14.8 percent (West Jackson Middle).
“I just want to know if you have a plan to improve the writing failure rate,and when will you let us know that?” Howe said. He also questioned whether school officials were “making our children a captive audience and manipulating and coercing them to fight the school’s battle.”
Howe said he does not have a student at the school, but he does help pay for it through his taxes, and also questioned whether a lawyer should be consulted in order to investigate any possible wrongdoing. And, if necessary, the removal of the principal.
“I will require no less than that, personally,” he said.
The board made no response to Howe and quickly went through the rest of the agenda items.
Only in Jackson County GA could that happen!
I think the public deserves to know this new job title and what it will entail.
Will she spread her intimidation and bullying to the whole county now?
The possibilities are endless of what she can do on the county level. Depends on the position and what she will have access to.
Are they doing this so they can keep their thumb on her?
This has to be the dumbest decision, to date, by the Jackson Cty BOE!!!
This change was not in the last BOE meeting notes.
https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/meetings/viewmeetingOrder.aspx?S=4091&MID=19554
I wish her superiors would treat her water board style the way she treated her employees of the past.
This woman has destroyed too many careers and relationships because she needed to "throw someone under the bus" and Tag, Your It!!!!
Race Card or not, this BOE decisions is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Burying things under the rug is not cheap.
This money would have been better spent on students.
Good luck to all those involved with this change.
One of them was
Retirements
XYZ Name, School Nutrition Director, System-wide (effective 6/30/11)
So that position was available since Dec.