Richmond County school board members informally agreed Saturday to address the system's longstanding federal desegregation order.
During a board retreat, President Jimmy Atkins asked attorney Pete Fletcher to solicit the costs of an audit of the system's progress in desegregating its schools.
The request followed a frank and sometimes contentious discussion among board members.
Since 1964, the Richmond County school system has operated under a federal court order.
Prompted by civil rights violations of the past, the orders placed on many Southern governmental bodies restrict actions by requiring pre-approval from the U.S. Justice Department and often included federal monitoring.
Mr. Fletcher said Saturday that he and Ben Allen, the attorney for the plaintiffs whose lawsuit led to the desegregation order, agree that most of the requirements have been met to reach "unitary status," a term used when schools are no longer considered a "black" school or a "white" school.
Board member Marion Barnes said many local schools still carry such descriptions, even among board members.
"We're sitting right here as a board and using the term a 'white' school and a 'black' school," he said.
That perception persists in the community also, board member Venus Cain said.
The issue hinges on trust, Mr. Barnes said, pointing out that injustices of the past remain fresh in the minds of many residents.
Mr. Fletcher said an area that remains to be corrected is the racial makeup of classified employees -- those not required to have a teaching certificate. The staff at each school must reflect the available work force, he said.
In Richmond County, white principals tend to have staffs that are predominantly white, and black principals tend to have staffs that are predominantly black, Missoura Ash, the executive director for elementary schools, told board members.
The central office is no better. Administrators often have secretaries of the same race.
Superintendent Dana Bedden said that as an outsider to the community, he has also heard trust issues raised among residents. There is concern the school board is trying to "get from under" the court order without trying to improve the conditions of the school system, he said.
Mr. Fletcher cautioned that nothing would happen quickly. He said the issue of resolving the desegregation order is more complicated than going to federal court and saying both sides agree the issues have been resolved.
A new class of plaintiffs will need to be established, and evidence must be presented to prove the system has met its obligations to desegregate, he said.
Mr. Barnes said he supports having an audit conducted with the stipulation that the board follow through on correcting any problems found.
Improving academics should take care of many of the problems, board member Frank Dolan said.
"If we get the grades up, a lot of this black and white crap will go away," he said.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
While speaking with a very liberal white friend of mine, I was told that because of the ancestry of black Americans, they were unlikely to ever improve their lot in life. How can desegregation ever take place when the enabling left has this attitude? I do not envy this task of the school board.
While speaking with some very conservative Black friends of mines, I was told that because of the ancestry of White Americans, that they were unlikely to ever treat Blacks are equals. How can desegregation ever take place when the hindering right has this attitude?
Yeah, Hypo, and that is why a majority of Whites voted for BO? You misjudge whites by thinking they don't treat blacks as equals. The election should show the truth. Although, I can understand your mistrust. I'd also prejudge someone if they spoke with words like "mines."
The way I see it, President Obama is the ruler of the federal government come Jan 20th. As the ruler, he will be in a postion to fix this problem, and we stand with him, ready to do anything that he asks of us. Stand by for Change, you can Beleive In.
DOUBLE D if you had taken time to notice, you would have seen that it was a play on PT's post. As far as " Mines" is concern, it is a habit sort of like christian's use of the word " your". I still believe that you got the gist of what I was saying. So, if PT can generalize about Blacks, why is it not okay for me to do the same about Whites?
While PT's post might be described as anecdotal, it was certainly not a generalization and does reflect what many see as the truth. It's a situation that would be worthy of intellectual debate. The "hindering right" has never (to my knowledge) been guilty of repeatedly passing legislation in the name of "fairness" but with the effect of creating dependency by any segment of the American population. I could be wrong, but I'm open to other views on the subject.
wait a minute - you mean the school board may not have been considering race in any of their previous decisions? LOL
Mr. Barnes and his cohort have been around long enough to have witnessed the duplicitous behaviors of previous boards and superintendents toward Blacks and their schools under the old dual system. They remember the obstructive behavior of board president John Fleming and his colleagues during the early days of school desegregation in Richmond County. Memories of RCBOE duplicity and obstructionism will not fade quickly from the minds of Mr. Barnes' cohort. Building trust between older Black folk and the RCBOE will be tough and will take time. But, as Mrs. Riley would remind people, "It is a new day."
I love how Bedden refers to these racial issues as "crap." But truly, I don't think we will see a lot of change in the school system- at least not change we all can agree on.
Out of the following Richmond County High Schools (ARC, Butler, Crosscreek, Glenn Hills, Hephzibah, Josey and Laney) could someone please tell me if any of these schools are still a "white" school.
As adults, we seem to be focus on the black and white issue. We need to take a stand and focus on the right issue; the students. Regardless of color, children get along. Adults bring about the division. We have to change the way we think individually and collectively to make Richmond County's school system what it needs to be. Racial division will never change as long as we think the way we think. In the time of a crisis such as a school shooting, death, etc; united we stand. If we can come together in the time of a crisis, we should be able to come together daily. Outsiders don't see white/black when they look at our school system, they see the Richmond County School system as a whole. The most intriguing part to all of this is that I know many of the members of the board's administrative team and of the school system as a whole and many of them serve as church leaders, praising God every Sunday. What happens during the week, is God left at church or do you carrying Him in your heart. Stand up for the right thing! We are no longer living on the 60's let's forgive and forget. Our children are are future! Let's be positive role models for them.
handwashedwolf, were did you see a reference to racial issues as "crap"?
I must disagree about why there is still division between black and white. I have raised my son to look beyond the color of skin and look at the person on the inside and he never made a conscious connection between his black and white school mates until he reached high school. In high school he says some of the classes he is in there is absolutely no respect given to the teacher. He said the students just talk over the teachers and when the teacher threatens them with discipline they are just laughed at. After attending this school for the last 2 years and seeing the actions of a lot of the students he is now starting to look at his school mates as black and white. I also raised 2 other sons that are now in their 20's and they never had a problem with black and white until they reached high school and had to deal with students on a day to day basis and started seeing the difference in the students. So as they have become adults their perspective has totally change from when they were in elementary and middle school and it had nothing to do with people brainwashing them into thinking that way it was just the fact that they saw it up close and personal in high school.
Go to the public schools in Richmond and Columbia county and look at anywhere the students are gathered (with the office's permission of course). If you don't have that option, find out the racial composition of the schools another way, I'm sure someone has a record of this. Compare. Desegregation is not working.
"school board turns focus to race". Of course they did! This is richmond county politics here! Do any of you expect anything besides the perverbial "playing of the race card"? Good Grief!
ConsiderThis: If you read the last part of the article you will see "... board member Frank Dolan said. "If we get the grades up, a lot of this black and white crap will go away," he said."
When I was in the military, I knew several people from the midwest and north, who never met a black person until they joined and LIVED with blacks. They all said they thought southerners were horrible for being so bigoted, then after a while THEY became bigoted? Wonder why that is?
Hephzibah 44, I applaud you for raising your children to look beneath the skin. If they were raised that way, they would stiil be looking beneath the skin in high school. Here's the deal, the missing peace in looking beneath the skin is the golden rule...treat people the way you want to be treated. The golden rule is universal it doesn't display color, it displays RESPECT!
When I taught at Langford, a "black" school, the black students (and some of the teachers) used the race issue towards the white teachers and students much more than the white teachers did. We were often accused of discriminating, when that's exactly what was happening to us.
if all the bad schools were cleaned up and all disruptive and disrespective student were expelled and sent home to their trifling parents students, then close some of the unnecessary high schools student will have not choice but to go to school together. there may even be a migration back into the inner cities because the school would then safe and conducive to properly educate our children. but then again by getting rid of all the bad students there would only need maybe 3-4 high schools then what would the school board do without all that money to spend on football stadiums or basketball gyms for schools that graduate less than 40% of their students, or useless and wasteful "programs" that in theory supposed to reach the "at risk youths", or as i call them the troublemakers who need to be expelled and sent back to their trifling parent(s)
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