Mental health discussion, Lanier High closure dominate MPS superintendent's town hall

Jemma Stephenson, Montgomery Advertiser
·2 min read
The planned closure of the Lanier building, after which the school would merge with G. W. Carver High School, was voted on by the school board last January.
The planned closure of the Lanier building, after which the school would merge with G. W. Carver High School, was voted on by the school board last January.

At the town hall in Sidney Lanier High School, superintendent Melvin Brown tackled topics ranging from mental health to plans for the school's closure.

The Lanier auditorium, where chandeliers hang and paint peels, became the setting for tough topics as part of Brown's 100-day-plan.

Community members who identified themselves as working at different schools around MPS brought up concerns about` students' mental health post-pandemic. One woman, who said she worked with an elementary school, said that she had never had a school year where so many students had lost parents.

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MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown told the crowd the decision to close the school was made before his arrival. As far as he knew, there were no plans to revisit that decision. (File photo)
MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown told the crowd the decision to close the school was made before his arrival. As far as he knew, there were no plans to revisit that decision. (File photo)

One teacher asked Brown about the teachers' mental health and what he would be doing to support their health, as well.

Amidst this, community members asked Brown if there was any hope about not closing the Lanier school.

The planned closure of the Lanier building, after which the school would merge with G. W. Carver High School, was voted on by the school board last January. Initially, the school had also been part of the plan to rename the schools with Confederate names.

Brown told the crowd the decision to close the school was made before his arrival. As far as he knew, there were no plans to revisit that decision.

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Penni McClammy, state representative for House District 76 in Montgomery, asked if the school board could vote again after the November election when there would be a new board.

The school's planned closure is related to the state of the building. When asked after the meeting, McClammy said that she wanted more research about finances for fixing the school, such as looking into historic grants.

Penni McClammy, state representative for House District 76 in Montgomery, asked if the school board could vote again after the November election when there would be a new board.
Penni McClammy, state representative for House District 76 in Montgomery, asked if the school board could vote again after the November election when there would be a new board.

Lanier High School is set to have a controversial future. Beyond the school's closure, alumni had also requested that the school not be renamed as Sidney Lanier was a poet as well as a Confederate soldier.

When the closure was voted on, the school was dropped from the renaming committee. Some, like outgoing school board District 5 representative Jannah Bailey, have discussed still renaming the school from a Confederate name.

Then-superintendent Dr. Ann Roy Moore said that renaming would have also included rebranding the school just in time for it to be closed.

The other schools with Confederate names, Robert E. Lee High School and Jefferson Davis High School, have not been renamed yet. The process has been going on for more than two years.

Jemma Stephenson is the children and education reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at jstephenson@gannett.com or 334-261-1569.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: MPS Superintendent discuss school closure and mental health