A couple of dozen parents, teachers and community leaders gathered at Buffalo United Methodist Church Monday night to air their concerns about area schools.
The community meeting, hosted by the NAACP, was requested by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, which sent two staff attorneys to gain input in conjunction with school site visits at each of the Kosciusko and Attala County schools this week. The DOJ representatives did not take questions about their visit, nor did they respond to any comments made by those in attendance.
The school visits are part of the DOJ periodic review of schools that have open desegregation orders. The orders for both Kosciusko and
Attala County schools were originally issued in the 1970s, according to a 2014 database created by ProPublica, “an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.”
While some stories were specific to individual families or districts, some issues were noted by multiple speakers.
Parents indicated that they are particularly concerned about the qualification levels of some teachers and with the use of long-term substitutes, who may not be prepared to fully teach a class they are assigned.
As solutions, parents said they would like to see some sort of evaluation of potential substitute teachers and to have a rotation list so the same few people don’t always receive available substitute assignments.
Attala County parents said that in their district, there are obvious differences between facilities and supplies available at schools on opposite sides of the district.
Kosciusko parents said they believe decisions are sometimes driven by a desire to keep wealthier families from moving their children to private schools.
Several parents also said speaking up isn’t always welcomed by some school administrators.
“I speak up and I think there is some form of retaliation against my child,” said one parent.
Whether any of the specific items mentioned by parents would be addressed during the site visits is unknown.
Kosciusko schools were visited by the DOJ representatives Tuesday, and Attala County school visits were scheduled for Wednesday.
Attala County Superintendent Bryan Weaver said Tuesday that his district will comply with anything the DOJ tells him needs to be done.
“We don’t knowingly do anything that is in violation of the law. Hopefully, they (DOJ) keep it within the boundaries of why they are here,” he said. “If they bring anything up from the meeting, we’ll be able to defend those.”
