AEA Lawsuit Against Interim State Superintendent Continued In Court
A lawsuit calling for a temporary halt to the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School made it to court, a little over a week after it was filed by the the Alabama Education Association.
The suit alleges that the approved sale of the school by interim state superintendent Ed Richardson is illegal.
A crowd rallied outside of the Montgomery County Courthouse against the sale of the school to the town of Pike Road for 9.75 million dollars.
There was standing room only in the courtroom, awaiting a judges opinion on the matter. Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson was one of many that spilled out of the courthouse. “I hope the parents will remain consistent” said Jackson “I am impressed to see a number of parents here who care for their students above and beyond the call of duty”.
The sale of Georgia Washington is part of Richardson’s intervention plan to fix a 5 million dollar deficit in the school systems budget next school year. State law also requires schools to have a one month operating budget of nearly 19 million dollars for MPS.
Thursday, a Montgomery County judge ordered mediation to try and settle the suit before the next court date later this month.
“The last law suit that we filed against the state was resolved via mediation, we will be hopeful for all the people involved” said Theron Stokes, associate director of the AEA.
The next court date is scheduled for March 29th. The suit also names Pike Road mayor Gordon stone, and MPS Chief Administrative Officer Reginald Eggleston, neither were present at the first hearing.
