Only candidate for county school board seat heads group trying to take Atmore schools out of county system
The only candidate to qualify for the District 5 seat on the Escambia County (Ala.) School Board is president of the organization pursuing the possibility of pulling schools located inside the city limits of Atmore out of the county system and forming a new Atmore City School System.
Loumeek White, president of Atmore Citizens for Change, issued a release Dec. 30 saying the organization has submitted a formal complaint with the Alabama State Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights asking those entities to force the county school board to turn over all public documents relating to the Atmore schools, noting a request for such documents to the school board has not happened.
In the letter from the citizens group, it states if they do not receive those documents they will file action in circuit court. The letter, dated Dec. 30, gave the school board 10 days to release the public documents before a suit would be filed. As of Wednesday, the 10th day, no suit had been filed.
“Our main objective is to get them to release the information to see if it's feasible to have a city school system or not,” White said.
White is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for the District 5 seat on the county school board and will face no Republican opposition in the November General Election.
White said the reason he ran for the county school board seat was just in case Atmore does not develop its own city school system, he can be a voice for the Atmore schools on the county school board.
In a Dec. 29 letter to Dr. Eric Mackey, state school board superintendent, from Atmore Citizens for Change, it reads the group “Is writing to file a complaint with the Alabama State Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights on behalf of our children, the students who attend public schools in the city of Atmore, Ala., regarding violations of their civil rights and their education in the Escambia County Public School District.”
The letter also asks for the state board of education to force the county school board to release all the information that has been requested.
The letter noted that the Atmore City Council voted to have a feasibility study done to see if it was viable to separate from the county school system.
The letter notes that Escambia County High School has been on the state's failing list for a third year in a row with no change or intervention from the county school system. It also claims the County School Board Superintendent John Knott and most of the school board has refused to meet with the public on the issue.
The letter also notes that Atmore citizens have requested technical school programs for Atmore that are equivalent to the technical programs provided for Brewton and Flomaton students.
“However, no one has responded to our requests,” the letter reads. “Technical programs were moved from Escambia County High School in Atmore and placed at the Escambia County Career Technical Center in Brewton and states Atmore students “are not allowed to access” those technical programs.
The letter claims this action violates Atmore students' rights according to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Knott said the problem with transporting students in Atmore to the career tech facility in Brewton is a time issue, saying by time they are transported from Atmore to Brewton and back, there is no time for instruction.
However, he disagreed with the claim that Atmore students are being denied the same opportunities.
Escambia County High School currently offers welding classes, business classes, health care classes, agri-science and career tech. It also offers cosmetology and culinary arts, which are not offered at the career tech center or other schools.
Two years ago there was enough interest in an automotive maintenance program and the community college set up a mobile classroom at the high school to teach that class.
Knott said the same could be done if there was enough interest in other areas, such as industrial maintenance.
“We work with the college,” he said. “If there is enough interest we will fill that need. We once had automotive and paint and body in Atmore but now there's not enough interest. We are open to fill every need there and to provide every opportunity to all of our students.”
Knott also said the county school system has not withheld any information and will not withhold any public information to the city of Atmore. He also said he's never been invited to a meeting by Atmore Citizens of Change.
“The city of Atmore has every right to conduct a feasibility study,” Knott said. “And we will provide them with the information they need.”
He did say that the central office has not had time to compile all the records but said most of the information requested is posted on the state website.
The letter also says Knott wanted to stop the feasibility study and told people at the city he will not allow the city to have anything, including buildings, that belong to the county school system.
“That's not true,” Knott said. “I never said that. We will continue to work with the city of Atmore to get them everything they need for their feasibility study.”
