2014/02/27 – Some legislators are crying foul at a series of attempts to preserve the accreditation of a school falling under conservatorship, while letting majority black schools suffer.

“I think that what’s happening in this situation is the skill of influence,” said Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville. “What’s good for the goose should always be good for the gander, but that’s not what I’m seeing here.”

Under current state law and Mississippi Board of Education standards, any school failing its accreditation due to falling grades or sloppy financial stewardship runs the risk of getting placed under conservatorship by the state.  The Mississippi Department of Education directly takes over the governing of a district under conservatorship, often dissolving the locally-elected or appointed board of education in the process.

A second, more unfortunate, consequence of a district falling under conservatorship is the loss of accreditation, which subsequently leads to many students losing their chance to participate in sports-related activities and tournaments, including basketball and football.

State lawmakers tried to pass legislation in February that would keep a district’s athletic programs from being punished in the event of a state takeover.  Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, failed to amend an education bill allowing students in conservatorship districts to still participate in extra-curricular activities, so long as their school retains a Grade A or Grade B status.  The situation would apply specifically to Scott County Schools because Scott County fell under conservatorship for statute violations rather than grade failure.

Rep. Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, said the amendment appeared preferential, because of the presence of an nationally ranked athlete at the school, namely Victoria Vivians, a Scott Central athlete who ranks second nationally all-time in girls basketball.

The same month Rep. Miles’ amendment failed, the Mississippi Board of Education approved a temporary rule that will allow the Commission on School Accreditation and the board to waffle a bit before withdrawing accreditation in a district under conservatorship.

The board proposed altering language in the Public School Accountability Standards from “any school district placed in conservatorship will have its accreditation withdrawn” to “any school district placed in conservatorship may have its accreditation withdrawn.”

The rule is temporary at the moment and lasts for 120 days while the revised policy awaits public comment under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Public comment is rolling in already as critics say the rule change is designed to single out special treatment for the majority-white Scott County School District. Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, demanded to know where the concern was for student athletes when majority-black school districts fell under conservatorship in previous years.

“Amanda Elzy High School in Leflore County was a school whose students were taken into conservatorship even though they won the state basketball championship, and they were declared ineligible to play basketball again,” Hines said.  “Some of these students were on the verge of getting scholarships, and sports scholarships were the only outlet for college that many of these children had, but that didn’t stop anybody from taking that away from them.”

It turns out that Mississippi has been happily destroying the sports careers of students in majority-black districts falling under conservatorship for years now.  Of the seven districts currently under conservatorship, six have black student majorities of more than 90 percent.  In fact, the only conservatorship school district that isn’t almost 100 percent black is Tate County School District, which went under conservatorship because there wasn’t enough tax revenue to keep books on the desks and fuel  in the buses.  According to the district’s conservator, James Malone, Tate County schools had to actually borrow money to meet payroll in 2010 thanks to plummeting tax revenue in the district.

To add to calls of favoritism, Governor Phil Bryant declared this month that he would not declare a state of emergency in an effort to take over Scott County Schools, so long as Superintendent Bingham Moncrief and school board members agreed to resign their positions, effective Feb. 28.

State Superintendent Carey Wright said in a press release that the board is offering to change the rules for Scott County specifically because of its grade status.

“It is an unusual situation because the district has a B performance classification. I have directed staff to craft language that would allow the State Board of Education to have greater flexibility when similar situations occur in the future,” Wright wrote, referring to the rules change.

Hines remains outraged at the preferential treatment, however.

“We need to look at all the variables in the equation and look at upgrading our whole state system,” Hines said.  “Local factors come into play when it comes to student grades.  Lots of things play into a child’s ability to perform well.  I’m not making excuses, but some students have a good environment for academic success and some don’t, and poverty plays an unmitigated role in this and we’ll never get a hand on this situation so long as we are an impoverished state.”

Sadly, state legislators are planning to underfund public schools again this year, despite statewide education shortfalls amid raging poverty.  Lawmakers are looking to underfund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program—a formula that sets the absolute minimum funding necessary to keep schools operating efficiently.  Lawmakers have only fully funded MAEP twice since 1997.

A Center for Education Innovation report revealed that Jackson Public Schools is expected to experience MAEP underfunding of $17.2 million during the 2013-2014 school year, forcing the district to eliminate 50 teachers.

 Source: NAACPMS Staff

###

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.  For more information about the Mississippi NAACP or news stories, call 601-353-8452 or log on to www.naacpms.org.  Like us on Facebook by searching Mississippi NAACP and follow us on Twitter @MSNAACP.