Clarke County School District Board of Education members Dr. Patricia Yager and Dr. John Knox (from left to right) participate in the special called meeting held at the Athens Community Career Academy on Sept. 26. Yager, the most recent member to join the board, believes that together the board and Dr. Means can improve Athens. “I’ve learned recently that one of the reasons Dr. Means came (to Athens) is because he saw Athens as a great place and a possibility for accomplishing the equity that he wants to build,” Yager said. “I would like to believe that Athens is the place where this can be done, of all the places around the country that are trying to do this, I want to believe that it can happen in Athens and that’s why I’m trying so hard.” Photo by Luna Reichert
On Sept 26, the Clarke County School District Board of Education called for a special meeting to be held at the Athens Community Career Academy to further discuss their role regarding the AdvancED complaint.
The Clarke County School District Board of Education held a special meeting at the Athens Community Career Academy on Sept. 26 at 6:00 p.m. to further discuss the Board’s response to the complaint from AdvancED, the state of Georgia’s accreditation agency.
“(The board) asked for a special counsel for the entire district that will serve the purpose of being an unbiased attorney because our current attorney works with both sides,” board member Dr. Tawana Mattox said. “We also voted to begin drafting a letter in response to cite whether looking at our actions and looking at the standards, do we believe or do we not believe that we actually violated those things AdvancED said.”
At the Aug. 29 board meeting, CCSD Superintendent Dr. Demond Means shared a draft of his response to the complaint with board members.
“I had a total of three board members contact me and give feedback on the process and the response,” Means said. “It was very reflective feedback on making sure that the language is such that we want to be on a road of discovery together as a governance team and not in a space where it’s all or nothing.”
According to community member Nathaniel Ervin, Means is justified with requesting a special review team in his response to AdvancED.
“This board is dysfunctional and I don’t think they are gonna get anything done as long as they got the two of them with attitude that they have,” Ervin said.
At the end of the meeting, the Board adjourned with working on their own response to the complaint as well as requesting the Superintendent to provide them recommendations for legal counsel. Board member Dr. Patricia Yager believes that by better improving behavior norms, relationships will improve.
“This board is so young and is still growing, and we need to do some more to figure out what the norms of behavior are. We have policies in place, but we don’t have the norms specified particularly (in a) well (enough) way that we can clearly say (that) this is not what we want people to do and what this is what we do want people to do,” Yager said.
