MPS School Board Debates Sex Allegations, New Test Guidelines
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During the public comments of Tuesday’s school board meeting, local activist Karen Jones took the podium calling out the board for allowing what she sites as civil and human rights violations in the school system.
“Our children are being raped. Sexually exploited. They are being arrested,” said Jones.
The board dismissed her after she started calling out employee names and Jones was escorted out.
The board would not go into detail about the alleged incident of November 30th. They are leaving it to the Montgomery Police Department.
“There is on ongoing investigation. There were some other things being done,” said board member Mary Briers.
“We do not sit in position for the cause of harming children or seeing children harmed,” said superintendent Margaret Allen.
But board member Lesa Keith agreed with Jones.
And she says the principals and teachers need to be held accountable not only in the safety of the students, but test scores. She was referring to the new “Every Student Succeeds Act” allowing for firing of principals of poor scoring schools.
“When you look at our ACT scores, 75-80 percent of our students are failing or not college ready. And you have a school system that says we have 32 of 40 schools listed making all A’s and B’s. There’s something wrong with those figures,” said Keith.
However, board president Melissa Snowden disagrees with blaming the principals and teachers for the test scores of schools.
“Firing all our principals or teachers, I don’t think that is the real solution. I think we really need the community to come together and to help us educate because they are our future,” said Snowden.
