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Public now a part of meetings
Published Friday, June 13, 2008
The Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — Beginning in July the Natchez-Adams School District will start to develop a new rapport with the public.
On Thursday the school district’s board members voted to allow public comments at their future meetings.
And while members of the public will now have a chance to voice their ideas at the meetings, the new meeting style will not be without restrictions.
The board’s attorney Bruce Kuehnle said the public comments portion will first be implemented on a 90-day trial basis.
“We’re going to see how it works,” he said.
In addition to the possibility of a limited lifespan for the program the number of speakers per meeting will also be limited.
Kuehnle said only five speakers will be allowed at each meeting.
Those speakers will be asked to sign a roster and briefly outline what they plan to discuss with the board.
Speakers will be allowed three minutes to present their questions or ideas.
Kuehnle said after the five spots on the roster have been filled no additional speakers will be allowed.
“This is not like other public boards,” Kuehnle said.
Kuehnle said since much of what is discussed during public comments deals directly with personnel matters or individual students, restrictions were necessary.
In other news, the board passed a motion to allow the creation of a new counselor position at Central Alternative School.
The district’s human resources manager John Sullivan said the new counselor would focus on decreasing the school’s dropout rate and helping students to earn general equivalency degrees.
“They have an extensive case load,” he said of the counselors.
Sullivan also said the district is making excellent progress in hiring new staff for the coming school year.
“Things are going well,” he said.
Sullivan said all of the teachers the district has hired, or will hire, are qualified and certified.
“They are ready to go to work,” he said.
The board also discussed the sale of a building near Historic Jefferson College.
The district’s director of operations Wayne Barnett said a building on the grounds of the Old Washington School will be sold with the contingent that the buyer remove it from the school’s property.
Barnett said the district has already gotten permission from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to remove the structure.
Barnett said the building is an “eyesore,” that needed to be removed in order to beautify the grounds.
The district is currently renovating another building on the same property.
“It would make an ideal hunting camp,” he said of the building to be removed.
Barnett said he was not sure of the building’s value but did say possible buyers had expressed interest in the building.
Comments
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 12:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How gracious of the school board to allow fifteen minutes of comments from the public who pays their salaries.
I am surprised Bruce Kuehnle is willing to represent such an elitist board; I remember him as a first grader who bravely spoke up to the principal at Carpenter #2 and explained to her that it was he and one other who started the ruckus in the bathroom that landed several of us in the office. He also pointed out to the principal who was not involved and saved these innocent parties an unjust punishment Mrs. Bailey was more than happy to deliver them to in her misguided capacity as policeman of children.
Bruce, how about talking some sense into this school board? I know you have good sense. You know as well as I do that this new rapport is nothing more than a consensus building tactic designed to make attendees "feel empowered" in addressing a body created to serve them.
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 12:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Power gone to their "Heads"?
Posted by msubulldog (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 4:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This school board is the only public school board to be appointed and not elected in the state of Mississippi. That's taxation without representation. Maybe we should get a petition started. The Natchez board of Aldermen appoint some of these members and the Adams county board of supervisors appoint the rest of the board members.
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 5:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To understand about removing school boards from voter control it is helpful to look at the history of American education and what the aims of it are. Charlotte Iserbyt was the number 2 in the Department of Education under Reagan and wrote a book giving the timeline of the changes to the system in her book published online here:
http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/Mom...
It really isn't possible to understand the issues involved without reading this very well researched book. A petition is a good idea, but the makers of it need to know what they are dealing with.
Posted by niderbip (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 5:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
if they demand your money the least they can do is listen to your opinion. if they don't, they can always fund it privately.
however, the reality of it is that 5 3-minute slots will prove to be about 4 too many.
the average joe public has little interest in how his money is spent.
Posted by NatchezEnema (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Imagine that, the public schools letting the public speak. You wonder why the schools are shot around here?
Posted by anonymouscoward (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 11:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Has anybody heard about the school board firing all of the white teachers at Natchez High? I've had at least one say that the administration told her that 'white people shouldn't teach black students'.
Posted by DSGB (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 12:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Fired all the white teachers because they shouldn't teach black kids, how about fire all teachers that cannot teach any kid!!!!!! If anyone in administration had the gall to say anything like that to a teacher or anyone that person need to make it known who said it and to what extent it was actually said. I am shocked, I hope this is not true, but it is the Natchez Adams School District and I put nothing pass them!!!
Posted by ladyrider (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 1:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A fired teacher told me that she overhead the principal at NHS saying he thought that black students would respond better to black teachers.
Posted by drawpaintsing (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Kids these days, need a teacher who has the patience to deal with them these days...whether they are Black or White.
Posted by triscuit (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The majority of those weren't firings, they were just emergency contracts with some knowledgeable individuals who weren't certified as teachers. Either they have to get certified or they don't get renewed. At least that's what I heard.
Posted by ladyrider (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The ex-teacher that I know has a masters in the field she was teaching - she is certified but maybe her certification was not in high school.
Posted by anonymouscoward (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 3:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I heard that they actually fired all of the English dept, and they have been teaching for years. They didn't actually "fire" them as to "not renew their contracts". It amounts to the same thing.
Posted by firered (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, Whatever the case may be, the teachers who did not have their contracts renewed were telling all of the students about it. They said that their contracts weren't being renewed because black students will not respond to white teachers. One black teacher was also not rehired to kinda cover some butts. From what one of the teachers told the students, one of them has a lawyer and is going to try to get to the bottom of all of this.
Now, if this is the case then that is not right. What about the white students going there? Are they just going to segregate the school? We've fought all these years to desegregate, and now that its here everyone wants to go back? Now that's not right...
Posted by straightshooter1 (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have a family member who teaches there and the students that they teach actually do better than most of the other teachers students on their test that they have to take to graduate. My family member is white, by the way. Says that 85% of the students want to learn but the 15% that are undisciplined, disrupt the classes and make it difficult for the rest to learn. My family member is very well liked by the students and other faculty in general because of the fact they care about the students and the good students recognize it. Family member has had contract renewed.
I will say that is rough out there with the disruptive ones. Family member has been knocked down before by a student but other students came to their aid and protected them. Lots of cursing, drug usage and general lack of morals from what I gather. Parents are to blame for that, IMO.
Posted by oldsaw (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 5:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What kind of teacher discusses their contracts with a student?
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on June 13, 2008 at 7:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
From the last several postings, it sounds like Natchez High has gone to "Pot"! I'm glad I graduated from Natchez-Adams when there were two separate systems. Be that as it may! Of course, there are teachers and students of all races,as such, who do want to learn. I can see where there is a problem, but the problem was forced on the environment, so I guess you have to live with it? Solve it School Board and do your job-you wanted your job!
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 12:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why is it so hard to control the 15 percent?????
Posted by straightshooter1 (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The 15% no longer have principals that can paddle or correct in any manner because the mommas threaten to sue or raise hell about their childs' treatment. There aren't fathers in most of the households who will whip a kids ass for getting in trouble at school. That's what is wrong with our system and our country. I had my butt paddled by a teacher when I was a senior in highschool. I promise you, I never gave that teacher any more problems. Kids today don't have that fear, respect, whatever you want to call it, for teachers/adults because they haven't been taught it at home. And the kids who are bad, and their are bad ones, can do and say almost anything in school and not be reprimanded. If the are sent home, the teacher is required to prepare and send to them all their classwork and homework that they would have missed while they are at home. It's a complete joke. It puts more work on the teachers who are having to deal with a failed system and a failing society. We, my age group, would have be given zeros for those days and possible given an opportunity to do extra work to make up some of the work we missed to help improve those zeros. Those combinations of policies, paddlings and zeros, was a deterent to some of us who could have been part of the 15%....just my opinion.
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 2:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Guts needed and 0 Tolerance!
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How about expelling the kids that disrupt class continously and could care less, and will never care.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 5:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well i guess i missed out,because everybody from my grandma including parents and close relatives whipped us when we deserved it. If we got a spanking at school,we got one when we got home. They didn,t even call they teacher,just let us have it...
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you follow the rules you don,t need teachers with patience. If you parents discipline you then you will most likely follow the rules. Never held a whipping against my parents. The only thing that bothered me was if they didn,t spend time with me and my sister.Respecet is taught in the home at a very early age,not in school.
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on June 15, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Public now a part of meetings? Oh, really? That won't get very far before a stop will come to that idea. NASD is not interested in any public input. The administration is going to do what it wants to, regardless!
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