City School Board hears from concerned parents

Jan. 28—Tuesday evening the Thomasville City School Board of Education held their first regular board meeting for 2023, opening with community input regarding recent rumors that the district is considering cutting down the number of Advanced Placement classes provided to the school.

Austin Williams explained to the board that his son is currently attending Jerger Elementary, and his daughter is planning on joining him in the fall. When he enrolled his child at Jerger, he was impressed by the educational opportunities afforded to city students and was concerned regarding these rumors.

"I've been impressed by what I've learned about the variety of educational opportunities and the rigor of the curriculum available to our city students in Thomasville," he said. "However, the community has recently heard the district is considering cutting the number of AP classes offered by more than 70%, from 18 down to five."

A reduction in instructional variety should be a last resort and these rumored considerations should alarm the community as a whole, Williams continued.

"Dramatically reducing the instructional variety for our students should be the last resort for this district, this should represent a major red flag for our community," he said. "If these cuts are being considered in the face of budget challenges, I would ask that all of you interact with the community and the parents directly about these challenges, before making this decision that would impact the quality of the education available to our students."

Offering his support to fundraising efforts or to future millage rate increases if required, he added that he hoped he had misunderstood the nature of the district's considerations and wished for clarity on this topic.

"I hope I've misunderstood what I've heard about this situation and I ask to bring public clarity to these concerns," Williams said. "Are AP classes being considered for removal? How much money are these AP cuts projected to save for the district annually? As part of the budget discussions, are teaching personnel cuts being discussed or are any existing vacancies planning to be left unfilled in the next year?"

Williams continued his questioning of the school board, asking for clarification on the cause for these deficits motivating the rumored AP class cuts as well as the nature of district office staff raises being considered.

"If the district is experiencing operational budget deficits, what is driving these deficits and how significant are they," Williams asked. "Are these instructional cuts being considered in a budget that also includes consideration for raises for district office staff? If so, what is the total amount of budget allocated for district office staff raises next year?"

He finished with asking about the nature of the school board's meeting agendas only being released 15 minutes prior to a meeting, and whether or not the board believed that met the standards for a publicly posted meeting, before thanking them for their time.

"Thank you for your time and I hope you'll provide answers to these questions for the community to consider," Williams said.

Following Williams, other community members, including Carol Dixon, Hank Crane and John Adam Wise, presented their own concerns regarding Scholars Academy, overworked staff, vacancies for teacher positions and interest in a publicly available audit of the district.

Afterward, the regular board meeting handled business including the approval of the December 31, 2022 Financial Report, the reelection of Kejar Butler and Britney Glass as board chair and vice-chair respectively, and unanimous approval of Revised Policy EEE: Wellness Program Section, E: Business Management.

During his report, Superintendent Dr. Raymond Bryant Jr. discussed the community as a whole and the crossroads that the district finds itself at.

"I truly believe Thomasville City Schools is at a crossroads," he said. "Do we strive for excellency in all that we are and all that we do or do we remain complacent in the status quo? Do we strive for unity or dwell individually? Do we speak the truth or peddle in lies and innuendo? Are we here for the betterment of all of our students or do we pander to adult agendas?"

A professional educator for 27 years, Bryant said that he is concerned about the rumors that are floating around the district and him personally.

"These questions will need to be asked and answered for the preservation of the school district," he said. "This is the canary in the coal mine. I have served in the role of superintendent for the past 18 months and have been a professional educator for the last 27. I am extremely concerned about the rumors, the lies and innuendo that are being stated about me as a professional educator, both in the school district and within this community."

Asking for the referenced rumors to end, he said that providing the best educational environment for the students, no matter their level of development or needs, is his sole purpose as superintendent.

"I am asking you to cease and desist," Bryant said. "I am a father, a husband, a son, and a professional educator and I have people who care about me as well, and my wellbeing. My sole and only purpose being in the role of superintendent of Thomasville City Schools is to create and provide the best educational environment as possible for all students. Regular ed., special ed., gifted, black, white, it does not matter to me."

He continued on with his report, saying that this year was the year of accountability amongst the adults of Thomasville City Schools and spoke about the talented workers of the district.

"I have never shied away from accountability or constructive criticism, and never will, actually to the contrary, which is one of the reasons I've identified this school year as the year of accountability for the adults in Thomasville City Schools," Bryant said. "Teachers, administrators, directors, all of them. What I don't do well with is half-truths, lies, rumors and innuendo about me and you're not even taking the time and sit down and have a conversation with me. There are many incredible and talented people in Thomasville City Schools, not only in this district office, but also in our schools as well, working extremely hard on the behalf of all of our students."

Bryant said his commitment is the pursuit of academic excellence and care for all students.

"What I am committed to, what they are committed to, will always be an unrelenting pursuit of academic excellence and care for all students," he said.

Following the superintendent report, the school board entered into executive session before adjourning.