School Board Yanks Chance of Success from Students and Asks for a Second Chance

August 28, 9:21 PMEducation Headlines ExaminerAndrea Hermitt

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In a sleepy little Georgia County called Clayton, years of infighting among adult board members has caused the diplomas of thousands of children to mean squat.  “A loss of accreditation means the 50,000 Clayton students could have trouble getting into some colleges and universities, or receiving scholarship money. High school juniors and seniors will be able to maintain Hope scholarship eligibility because of legislation signed earlier this year by Gov. Sonny Perdue.” 

This loss of accreditation is not a surprise to the people of Georgia.  Anyone who was breathing in Georgia for the past year was aware of the threats to yank accreditation from Clayton County Schools.  There had been warnings.  Guidelines were set.  People were fired.  People were hired.  (With big price tags too!) But most of all, promises were made to parents and their children.  These promises were not kept.    

Here is a video of the lines formed when parents were made aware of the issue last Spring.  The board eventually refused to hear parents concerns and turned them away. 

Most astounding to me is the remarks made by the current Superintendant John Thompson. “Thompson said he was disappointed that families were not willing to give the district another chance.”  Another Chance????  Really???   

The High School Seniors whose diplomas won’t be worth the paper they are written on can’t afford another chance.  The Juniors and seniors competing for scholarships to colleges will no longer be eligible.  They can’t afford to give anyone another chance.   

This is not the time for second chances.  If Clayton County were smart, they would take this opportunity to start from scratch and privatize public education in that county.  Why not try it?  Things cannot get much worse than they already are anyway.