A key battle in the war between Jackson Academy and the Voyles family will take place in Hinds County Court next month.
Jackson Academy and its headmaster, Edward Wettech scheduled a hearing on a motion to compel arbitration on June 18.
Voyleses have a son who began his education in kindergarten at JA and was going to enter the tenth grade at the Northeast Jackson private school. Mr. Voyles noticed more students were transferring to JA that just happened to be athletes. He compiled a list of the students through publicly available information and share it with two friends. Of course, this being 2025 means nothing stays private if shared.
The list proved to be prophetic as four blue chip players transferred from Clinton High School to Jackson Academy during the summer. The football team went 11-1, winning the MAIS 4A state champeenship as the team averaged 41 points per game, destroying one and all who opposed it on the gridiron.
The Voyleses sued Jackson Academy and its headmaster, Edward Wettach, in Hinds County Court in January, accusing the school of retaliation.
The lawsuit alleges Wettech met with the Voyleses in May 2025 and informed the couple their son would not be allowed to continue attending Jackson Academy. The Voyleses sued the school and Headmaster in Hinds County Court Tuesday, alleging breach of contract and damages. The plaintiffs sought repayment of all eleven years of their son's tuition as well. Earlier post with copy of complaint.
The defendants promptly fired back with a motion to compel arbitration. The school contract states:
Any and all disputes of any type whatsoever between Jackson Academy, parents/guardians, and/or student shall be resolved by binding arbitration
The Voyleses argue the contract was offered on a take it or leave it basis, leaving no room for amendments or negotiating.
The case is assigned to Hinds County Court Judge Yemi King.
Attorney Grafton Bragg represents the plaintiffs while attorney Stephen Montaganet represents the defendants.
How Did We Get Here? (Synopsis of Case)
Jason and Carolyn Voyles sued the school and Headmaster Edward Wettach in Hinds County Circuit Court in January. charging the defendants terminated their son's enrollment because the father blew the whistle on alleged "recruiting" of public school athletes for sports. However, Jackson Academy said not so fast, my friend as it filed a motion to compel arbitration that dished some dirt on the Voyles while rebutting their claims.
The plaintiff's son started attending Jackson Academy in 2014 in K-4. He was a rising sophomore after the 2023-2024 school year and played on the baseball team. Mr. and Mrs. Voyles signed a re-enrollment contract in May 2025.
18. On June 9, 2025, Jason, Carolyn, Eddie, and a board member met in Eddie's office. According to Eddie, Jackson Academy had decided to unenroll the Voyles family, including C.V. from the school.19. Eddie claimed ""the amount of negativity"" caused by the pdf was ""just unacceptable and extreme."" When Carolyn asked Eddie to identify any factual inaccuracies with the pdf, Eddie responded: ""I am not dealing with facts."
21. And it was the facts-not Jason's actions-that sparked the negative backlash that Jackson Academy felt. The facts of Jackson Academy's illegal recruiting demonstrated just how far it had strayed from its mission. Rather than inspiring and equipping "each student" for success, Jackson Academy actively poached rosters of nearby schools so it could win more games.This harms Jackson Academy's students who have devoted their time and loyalty to the school and who, because of Jackson Academy's actions, have fewer athletic slots for which to compete....
The complaint charged JA with breach of contract and sought repayment of 11 years of tuition as well as damages.
43 comments:
So, now we get to add the name of Yemi Kings, esquire, to the most honorable Bench of Jackson Area Adjudicators, Arbiters and Equity Masters who, as jurists, grace the pages of this blog. Judge Kings describes himself as 'Just another kid from Lanier'.
Who would have thought JA would claim that diversity is its strength?
Yawn……
What is perhaps missed is that the Voyles have paid the full tuition which was one of the two highest priced tuitions when my child went there decades ago. No doubt tuition has increased over the years and is not likely to be re-couped by the sports programs.
That begs the question is how much will the parents of the recruited children pay in tuition and other fees? If they are getting a full ride then ALL of JA's parents should be incensed. The JA teachers and coaches of other sports should be livid. Can we assume the football coach gets rewarded if the team is more successful?
Also, it used to be that the requirements to be accepted were published as well as the college acceptance rates.
Yemi doesn't always know what he's doing.
the headmaster sounds like a baby
6/7of the 9 baseball starters are all recent transfers. I wonder if that gets brought up in the hearing. I feel sorry for the seniors that have played their whole life for JA and get screwed in the end. Just like football
Yemi might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but you must assume he can recognize a hot potato when it is thrown his way. Send it to arbitration and move on to cooler issues.
Friday Night Lights, Mississippi version (and worse).
Thay is the basic, accurate, spot on point that the immature, blind, coach supporting daddies will not ever see. Period. I have a grand kid that is a pretty good U-10 baseball player. I doubt he will ever be a New York Yankee, but he loves the sport. The LAST place he will attend school is JA, if I have any influence at all in the matter.
This is just a trickle down from the cutthroat mess that college football is in.
None of the transfers are getting a "full ride." If other rich parents want to cover their tuition for them, that's their business.
@1004 I beg to disagree.
A senior headed to play college football for sure did. Several baseball players have said they aren’t paying either.
The DEI lefties are running the show. NE Jackson is creeping to the left. Sell while you can get a decent price.
Or...... he handles the civil case docket in County Court. Not a lot of high-profile or interesting cases come through his court. He might relish the chance to hear this case. Doesn't matter as there will be an interloc no matter what happens.
The private school sports team I played on in high school (the 90's) routinely got hammered since we had to play all the large public schools. Win or lose and at the end of the day, the students all learned valuable lessons from participating and the school was no worse off from having a team that had a losing record every year. Really unfortunate that administrations and parents put so much weight on winning these days. I look back on my playing days with fondness - not sure that's the case now with student athletes.
How far have we come when not too long ago Woodland Hills Academy got the death penalty for exactly what JA is doing.
That’s not true at all. I know for sure 1 graduating senior did
It’s sad to see what has become of Jackson Academy. I feel
Sorry for the graduating student athletes that had their playing time and value degraded by recruited kids. I don’t blame the recruited kids or families, this is on JA
My daughter went to Jackson Prep, Ivy League college, and is now a specialized Radiologist. While I’m very much a football fan, I did not care about JP competing with a Jackson Public School. That helps no student
You are wrong if you believe there are no free rides here-
Once J&J boy goes into bankruptcy JA will need to find another experienced bagman.
A quick Google search lists the various levels of giving to JA and it is all 501(c)(3). A student on a “free ride” very well could be receiving a scholarship funded by a JA supporter who is receiving a tax deduction for charitable contributions.
As the ballsport gods intended!
If you snooze you looze!
The Downfall: JA's Recipe
A fish out of water headmaster with no leadership experience, meat head AD that values winning championships above all else, coaches that care more about winning than developing kids, spineless board too afraid to tell the administration no and a sugar daddy plaintiff lawyer willing to buy championships as long as his boy gets to play QB.
What about the Voyles' son??? "kicking their son out of the only school he had ever known" How embarrassing for him. Where is he in school?
Hartfield's as bad as JA -- maybe worse -- not sure why they are flying under the radar.
Successful competitors want to win. Head cases want to win at all costs. -Nancy Lopez
From a parent who has kid at JA....would I do it again. NO! Definitely not
Why do you need to know where a minor is in school?
JA has already lost.
Says the douchebag blogger who has made an entire post about where minors go to school.
My kids went to Lanier High School then to University of Chicago undergrad and law school. Now they work for a hedge fund on Wall Street! We got offers from JA and Prep but we knew we were smarter than those people! My kids never took guns to school or got beat up although there were some bangers at the school it wasn’t that bad!
I am glad the Voyles are suing the school. We can’t let public school kids ruin the prestige of our private schools. Eventually they will be as dangerous as public schools. We have to keep private schools the way they were originally designed to be. If your family can’t afford a country club membership at either River Hills or JCC then you shouldn’t be allowed to come to JA or Prep. Just that simple . If you can’t afford to live in a house in EastOver or Annandale then you shouldn’t be allowed to go to school with these kids. I understand that not everyone can be like us but at some point you have to GTFO!
Exactly
Exactly
What to bet
I heard the bagman’s kid is terrible
They are making a senior WR play it now because he can’t throw the ball
Was the kid that was killed in the breaking and entering addressed by JA? Glad I live in Annandale
Money definitely is the root of all evil.
I've read all this complaint about JA lowering standards and becoming just another public school but I haven't read anybody cite the academic failure of the transfer athletes. I think that is the ultimate issue. Are they academically eligible? Either they are or they are not. If someone is paying their tuition so what? Ole Miss recruits athletes from any hellhole they can find them and nobody cares as long as they win. It is presumed that they are academically eligible. Maybe. Maybe not. Don't send your kids to Ole Miss either lest they get tainted by the transfers from hell.
0535- they are really lowered their standards. Ask where some of the harder teachers are? They left. What about the kid that got killed breaking and entering. Crazy!
The love of money is the root of all evil.
I have kids at Madison Central so I have no dog in this fight. But it’s good to see Jackson Academy getting their butts whipped by a bunch of paying kids at Magnolia Heights. And then there’s Prep and MRA Grant didn’t get out. At least they are with their own dudes
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