The Board of Trustees for the Jackson Public School District is now short of a quorum. WLBT reported:
Jackson Public Schools board member Dr. Richard Lind has announced his resignation from the Board of Trustees. Dr. Lind was appointed to the JPS School Board in 2014 by former Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber.
Board members Kimberly Campbell and Kodi Hobbs also resigned in recent months. Former Board President Beneta Burt's term ended on June 30th.
There are currently three sitting members on the board, Camille Stutts Simms, Rickey Jones and Jed Oppenheim. The full Board consists of seven members selected from each of the city's seven wards. Trustees who sit on the board are appointed by the mayor of Jackson and must be confirmed by the city council.
Interim JPS Superintendent, Dr. Frederick Murray said, "The work of the Board is extremely important, however, we don't anticipate the lack of a quorum hindering any of our work as we prepare for the new school year beginning August 8th. This will not impact our day to day operations."
Four members are required for a quorum. With only three members, the Board cannot vote on any matters or transact other business until a fourth board member is confirmed by the city.
According to the school district's website, leaders have made contact with the office of Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and anticipate the nomination and confirmation of a new board member in early August.
Kingfish note: Ridiculous. One Board member's term expired frankly, she will not be missed as she was the defender of everything wrong with JPS. Ms. Campbell was literally run off of the board. She was probably the strongest advocate for any reforms of JPS. Can't have that, of course, in Jackson. She was subjected to a smear campaign that trashed her worse than almost anyone in Jackson has had to endure. No community leaders came to her defense, of course. Two more members now quit- knowing that this will put the district into a bind. Jackson leadership in action.
Make no mistake, the lack of a quorum presents problems. The payment of claims dockets can't be approved. Disciplinary actions of employees that require Board action can't be undertaken. However, the lack of a quorum means parents can't appeal the discipline of their little hellions to the school board. Some consolation.
Pitiful.
10 comments:
This article and commentary is on point,..right down to the "little hellions" comment. Again, pitiful..
Better check phone/email records of Aaron Banks (Ward 6 City Councilman). Sounds like he might have facilitated this...as Mr. Lind was representing Ward 6 but lived in Ward 4. JFP reported that a city council member contacted Mr Lind about resigning and getting a Ward 6 resident on the board. Inquiring minds would like to know.
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2017/jul/21/jps-board-forced-halt-work-after-fourth-member-lea/
No problem. Interim appointment Monday morning. Moving right along.....
Would like to hear more about the smear campaign against Ms Campbell. This is the first I've heard about that. Who were the ringleaders?
1:20pm, I think that most councilmen don't utilize their public phone or email addresses very much, unless some idiot happens to find it in the yellow pages.
@1:55
There's a Facebook live nut by the name of Napoleon Edwards who is paid to smear whomever if the price is right. He just got out of jail a couple of weeks ago for parole violation. The charge? Cyberbullying.
How difficult would it be to get a couple of JPS 3rd graders to say "uh huh" when soliciting their Proxy to form a Quorum? At least that's how it works in one organization I'm a member of.
4:00 - I didn't realize members of the Madison County Board of Supervisors read this blog.
Same question as @1:55, Kingfish enlighten us on this smear campaign. I'm all ears
I read about this pitiful school board situation not long after reading this obit for Rowan Taylor. I recommend you read it:
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Rowan-Taylor&lc=7253&pid=186158492&mid=7493943
My late wife knew him through her work as Communications Director for United Way, of which he was a big supporter. My point is that this is the kind of person we used to have on our school board. Big businessmen, presidents of banks and corporations were willing to give of their time for things useful to the city without expecting any personal return.
Among other problems. most of our banks and big enterprises are now owned by out-of-state folks who don't know or care much about Jackson.
And this kind of political shenanigins certainly doesn't motivate honest people to serve on local boards.
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