Approximately 300 people attended a public forum Monday evening in Warrenton to learn more about the Warren County School Systems accreditation. Sponsored by the Warren County Quality of Life Association and the Warren County Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was an information session with Mark Elgert, a spokesperson from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
As previously reported by The McDuffie Mirror, the Warren County School System was notified in January it would lose its accreditation on July 30 because of misgovernance by the school board.
Moderators from the Fanning Institute of the University of Georgia fielded questions from the audience to Dr. Elgert. The questions -- from parents, students and concerned citizens-- covered a wide range of topics including suing board members, replacing board members and the superintendent, getting around the system for college acceptance and how to know if board members were actually doing what they said they were doing.
Dr. Elgert said the SACS investigation and report was based on watching videos of all board meetings in addition to conducting interviews and reading documents.
"All you have to do is watch those videos, or attend a board meeting and I can tell you, it will be obvious if they are doing what they say," he said. "The last thing you should do is be passive. ... Stay informed, attend board meetings."
In answer to other questions, Dr. Elgert explained the investigation process which revealed individual board members overstepped their roles by micromanaging the daily business of the school superintendent, legal options for transferring students to accredited school systems, the differences in SACS accreditation and accreditation by the Georgia Accrediting Commission, and removing members of the school board. "You can change the people and have the same problem, or it could even get worse," he said.
Although three members of the Board of Education were present at the forum, two were not -- District 3 representative Charles Culver and District 5 representative Cecil Brown.
Other questions and statements caused Dr. Elgert to point out that the school system already is suffering financially from the accreditation loss, even though the loss has not taken effect yet. A $2.8 million grant for the career academy was frozen by Commissioner Ron Jackson until progress is made in the accreditation issue.
Dr. Elgert said he met with School Superintendent Carole Jean Carey and Board of Education Chairwoman Clara Roberts earlier that day and outlined specific ways they can effectively document the board is working to meet the nine requirements from SACS to keep their accreditation. He said both ladies agreed to commit to fix the problem.
"It is our hope this adult problem does not become a kid problem," he said. "Although it isn't affecting them now, if left unchecked, the problem will have a domino effect and will eventually affect the kids' education."
After two hours of discussion, the final question of the meeting seemed a proper ending. One gentleman asked "How can we change the problem in six months? People don't just change."
As he did throughout the forum, Dr. Elgert pointed out that there is still hope for the Warren School System --
"It's true people don't change," he said. "But they can change how they govern. They can change their intent. Intent is different than their personalities."
