The Greene County Democrat

Category: School

  • Eutaw City Council concerned about financial recordkeeping and reporting

    At its regular meeting on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, the Eutaw City Council was unable to get a second and vote on a motion made by Councilman Joe Lee Powell to pay bills for the month of August.
    Three Council members present, LaTasha Johnson, Jeffrey Carpenter and Sheila H. Smith expressed misgivings about paying the bills without a more detailed financial statement and record of the City’s finances and bank accounts. Councilman Bennie Abrams was absent and was not present to second or vote on the motion. Had Abrams been present, the motion may have resulted in a tie vote on paying the bills.
    Councilwoman LaTasha Johnson said she sent Mayor Steele a letter asking for specific information about bills and bank accounts especially the funds coming from electronic bingo. Councilman Carpenter said he has been pushing for many years for the city to have a budget and pay bills based on a plan and a budget.

    Mayor Steele said the City of Eutaw did not have its records in proper form to provide the reports and budget that were being requested. Steele said Council members could come to City Hall “at any time and request that the City Clerk show them any bills, bank statements or other financial data they want to see.”
    Steele said that he had discussed this with James Gardner, the City’s CPA and accounting firm and was advised that additional funds were needed to train and support City Hall staff to enter information in the computer system to generate the needed reports. Steele said that he would invite Gardner to speak with the Council at a work session on Monday, September 18, 2017 to explain the situation.
    At the Council Work Session, Gardner explained that the last audit for the City of Eutaw was done by him in FY2012 and that a Financial Compilation Report and Financial Statement was done for fiscal year 2014, through September 30, 2014. There have been no financial statements or reports done by his firm for the ensuing fiscal years of 2015, 2016 and 2017. Bank statements and files of receipts and expenditures are on file in the City Hall, which could be used to construct a financial statement and reports.
    Gardner said that he would send an estimate of the cost to do these unaudited compilation statements by the next City Council meeting. Gardner said it would cost $4,000 to $7,000 to train City Hall staff to enter financial information in a modified QuickBooks system, for the city’s multiple accounts, starting October 1, 2017. Once this training was done and the system was properly maintained he could do an audited statement for the FY2018, which ends September 30, 2018.
    Mayor Steele said that he would bring a report from the CPA firm on recordkeeping, accounting and financial reporting to the next meeting for the Council to make a formal decision.
    At the Council Work Session, Mayor Steele reported that the City water system expansion project was moving toward conclusion. More new digitized self-reporting water meters will still be installed, including individual meters in Carver Circle taking the place of a single master meter.
    Steele said the new water tank would be painted by the end of October and put into operation by the end of the year. This would allow the power pole to be moved from its temporary location in the street near the Courthouse to its permanent place. The Mayor also indicated that the water line contractor would return to fix other areas that were affected by the construction.
    The Mayor indicated that the City’s knuckle-boom truck to cut and remove trees from city roadways was in the shop and would require $18,000 to $20,000 to repair. He reported that both City backhoes were also in the shop for repair and that the city workers were doing their best to pick up branches piled up on the side of roads and streets.
    Steele said, “Our equipment is very old and in need of repair and upgrading. We are going to do our best to prepare for the Tour of Homes, scheduled for October 7 and 8, in Eutaw.”
    At the September 12 Council meeting, Councilwoman Sheila H. Smith confronted Mayor Steele and tried to make a motion to deny the Mayor the use of a new 2017 Tahoe, he uses for conducting city business. Smith said the vehicle could be better used by the Police Department.
    Steele said he needed the car to show visitors interested in the community, a positive image of the community. He also said he needed a reliable vehicle to travel to meetings to seek resources for the city. The Mayor suggested that Smith was taking these actions against him, as personal retribution, because he had requested that she turn in her city issued cell phone. The Mayor was successful in ruling the motion out-of-order but the issue lingers and may come up again in future meetings.

  • Newswire : Historic marker honors Autherine Lucy Foster, Tuscaloosa Civil Rights heroine


     U. A. campus to honor Autherine Lucy Foster; and her 1956 student photo
    TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A giant in civil rights history was recognized on Friday, September 15, 2017 with the unveiling of the Autherine Lucy Foster Historic Marker at The University of Alabama.
    An afternoon ceremony was held on the lawn of Graves Hall. Speakers were UA President Stuart R. Bell, Dr. Peter Hlebowitsh, dean of the College of Education; Marian Accinno Loftin, a UA distinguished alumna; and Dr. E. Culpepper “Cully” Clark, former UA dean and communication professor emeritus and author of “The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation’s Last Stand at The University of Alabama.”
    In stressing Foster’s importance to UA’s history, Bell said, “Mrs. Foster’s initiative and courage opened the doors and created the opportunity for all races to attend the University. This historic marker will serve as a testament to her enduring impact on our campus and beyond.”
    Hlebowitsh said the idea for the marker came from faculty who petitioned the University to place a historic marker near the site where Foster first attempted to enroll but was driven away by a mob in 1956.
    “We are gratified that the University is recognizing Mrs. Foster in this manner,” Hlebowitsh said. “This honor is in keeping with the magnitude of her contributions to the history of our University.”
    On being notified of the honor, Foster said, “I never imagined my decision to enroll would affect so many in so many ways. Today, I have several children who have attended the University and am, myself, a proud graduate and member of the alumni association. I am very humbled that the University has chosen to recognize me in this way.”
    The Autherine Lucy Foster story is one of persistence, patience and desire for self-improvement. In 1952, after graduating with an English degree from Miles College, she applied to UA but was rejected because of her race. After a three-year legal battle, she was admitted by court order.
    On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 1956, she registered as a student in UA’s College of Education. That Friday, Feb. 3, she attended her first class as a graduate student in library science, becoming the first black person in Alabama admitted to a white public school or university. But on Monday, Feb. 6, as some 3,000 protested, the board of trustees expelled her, citing her and other students’ safety.
    Loftin was in a children’s literature class with Foster on that fateful day. She had these memories of the turbulence as well as of Foster’s contributions to UA history:
    “On Friday, February 3, Autherine’s first day in class, she crossed the Quad alone without notable incident. But on Monday a crowd gathered, and the disturbance accelerated. Chants became angry shouts. Our class was dismissed, and Autherine was ushered out of the building to safety.”
    Loftin continued: “I had the honor of nominating her to the College of Education’s Educator Hall of Fame — our College’s highest honor — and to be seated at her table in 2016 when she was inducted. It was a delight to see her interact with the guests, who admired her so greatly. Seated in her wheelchair, she was gracious, with a good-natured sense of humor.”
    In 1988, the University officially annulled her expulsion. The next year she re-enrolled at UA with her daughter, Grazia. Foster earned a master’s in elementary education in 1991 and participated in the graduation ceremony in May 1992 with her daughter, a corporate finance major.
    In 1998, UA named an endowed fellowship in Foster’s honor and unveiled a portrait of her in the Student Union Building. She was recognized again in 2010 when the University dedicated the Autherine Lucy Clock Tower recognizing her as one of three UA desegregation pioneers, along with Vivian Malone and James Hood.
    Today, UA is a multicultural campus including more than 4,000 African-Americans among its approximately 38,500 students.

  • Students participate in launching new technology program

    BOE group.jpg At a press conference held Monday, August 28, 2017, Greene County Schools Superintendent Dr. James Carter, members of the school board, principals and students officially launched the new technology program which will place a Tablet or Chrome book in the hands of each child enrolled in the system.
    Students representing each of the three school facilities were present to conduct the official opening and display of the Tablets and Chrome Books. They shared expressions of excitement and anticipation in having access to take-home technology.
    Dr. Carter made the following statement: “Today we set a milestone in the the Greene County community. We are expanding our vision for technology to transform the learning opportunities for all students in the Greene County School System by providing Chrome Books and tablets to our students.

    “Technology has the potential to bring new possibilities to teaching and learning by providing our teachers with the opportunity to share best practices and offer parents the platform to engage in their students learning.
    “We are pleased to provide our students with this remarkable tool. Parents will receive training as well so that they will be able to assist their students at home.”
    It was also noted that this program will allow the school system to expand its online courses for students.
    According to Dr. Carter, approximately 947 Chrome Books will be distributed to students in grades 4 through 12, and 327 tablets will be provided to the lower grades.
    Others present for the press conference included School Board President Leo Branch, Vice President Dr. Carol P. Zippert and board member Carrie Dancy. Principals Barbara Martin, Frederick Square, Dr. Sharon Jennings and Gary Rice accompanied the students.
    This project is co-sponsored by the Housing Authority of Greene County and T-Mobile.

  • Mike Espy receives award at Federation’s 50th Anniversary

    FederationMike Espy, former Secretary of Agriculture received the Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday night in Birmingham as part of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives’ 50th Annual Meeting and anniversary. Shirley Blakely of Mississippi, Board Chair, joined by other board members and Cornelius Blanding, Executive Director, presented the award. The meeting continued Friday and Saturday at the Federation’s Rural Training and Research Center. More than 500 people attended the three-day celebration. The Federation was founded 1967 by 22 cooperatives and credit unions, arising out of the Civil Rights Movement, who banded together for mutual assistance, training and pooled resources. For more information, see the organization’s website at: http://www.federation.coop.

  • School system and Children’s Policy Council hold Tie Tying Ceremony for 9th Grade Academy

    The Greene County School System held its second annual Tie Tying Ceremony for the students entering the 9th Grade Academy. This event commenced last year with the formation of the Academy to high light the students’ Rites of Passage from Middle School to High School. The Academy is designed to give special attention to students as they transition and prepare for college and career. The designated attire of navy blue jackets, white shirts and ties identifies the 9th grade students as they pursue their academic mission. The ceremony was co-sponsored by the Greene County Children’s Policy Council, where District Judge Lillie Jones Osborne is President. The CPC also donated the ties for the students. School officials and community leaders volunteered to teach and assist the students in the tie tying process.

  • Greene County Freedom Day celebration scheduled for July 29

    The Greene County Civil Rights Museum, Inc. and several other Greene County community organizations will host the 48th Annual Greene County Freedom Day Celebration on Saturday, July 29, 2017 beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the William M. Branch Courthouse in Eutaw, according to Spiver Gordon, Museum president.
    The day long celebration will include a program honoring the Honorable Robert Hines, former county commissioner, school board member, community leader, church leader and lifelong farmer. Mr. Hines is also the last surviving elected official of the initial group of Black elected officials in 1969.
    Other honorees at the celebration will include the Honorable Earnestine Tucker and the Honorable Harrison Taylor, both of Tuscaloosa. Special honorees will also include other freedom fighters who were engaged in the struggle for voting rights and civil rights in 1969.
    Rev. Wendell Paris of Jackson, MS will be the keynote speaker. He is one of the early foot soldiers of the Voting and Civil Rights Movement. Other state and national leaders have been invited to this special celebration.
    The day-long festivities will continue on the old courthouse square in Eutaw with praise, music, fellowship fun and food.

     

  • University of West Alabama receives approval for a charter school; Will this help or hurt public education in Sumter County?

    A News Analysis
    By: John Zippert,Co-Publisher

    The Alabama Public Charter School Commission on June 27, 2017 approved the application of the University of West Alabama for a charter school on campus.
    Dr. Ken Tucker, President of UWA has been vigorously promoting the idea of a charter school since the end of last year. Community meetings were held in March 2017 in Livingston, York, Emelle and Epes to solicit public comments and input on the proposed charter school.
    The mission, as stated on the website of the University’s Charter School, is to be a rural, diverse K-12 school that cultivates independent thought, promotes the building of character and civic responsibility. The school is committed to preparing all students for personal and professional success through the discovery of individual learning pathways in a rigorous and integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) focused, project-based and place-based curriculum.
    The school ties into other components of the University’s educational program including its Black Belt Teacher Corps, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Rural Schools Collaborative and others.
    The school is proposed to open a pre-K through 5th grade in 2018-2019, and add subsequent grades in the following years. Initially the school will be located on the UWA campus but other alternative sites are also being explored.
    The charter school will have its own private non-profit board of directors to control the school. The University’s board will not govern the school, according to the website, but the initial work and funding has been sponsored and coordinated with UWA.
    The website states, “ A charter school provides an alternative to students and parents. According to the Alabama Kid’s Count Data Book, there are more than 2,500 K-12 students in Sumter County. Of this number, just over 1,700 are associated with a school located in Sumter County. This reveals a deficit of more than 800 students who are either enrolled in a school system outside Sumter County or not enrolled at all. The establishment of a charter school in Sumter County gives those students another educational option.”
    Where are these 800 students? Some of the younger ones are in Headstart or Early Headstart; some attend schools in neighboring counties, e.g., Demopolis, Pickens County, Tuscaloosa; and some attend Sumter Academy, which was established in the 1960’s to accommodate white children who did not want to attend integrated schools. Recently, Sumter Academy announced it was closing its doors due to lack of enrollment.

    President Ken Tucker says that the proposed charter school will help to deal with depopulation, loss of business and industry, skilled workforce shortages, poverty and lack of child well being. Marcus Campbell, Chair of the Sumter County Commission says he was on an exploratory committee for the charter school and was told that it would help to attract new industry and people to the community.
    The charter school will be funded based on the state per-pupil allocation. If the charter school draws from children attending the public schools, then it will hurt and reduce the budget for the existing public schools in the county. The charter school seems to sidestep this concern by focusing on the students, mostly white, from Sumter County, who seemingly chose not to attend public schools in the county.
    Ms. Daisybelle Quinney, Sumter County School Board member says, “I am opposed to this charter school, it further divides the community and takes resources from public education. If UWA was so concerned and interested in the welfare and future of Sumter County students why didn’t they come to meet with our Board and Superintendent and help to bring all the students together in one great school system.”
    Ms. Julene Delaine, another SC school Board member said,
    “I am 100% for public schools. I think it is time for people in Sumter County, Black and white, to come together to build up and make things better, not worse and tear things apart.”
    Delaine also pointed out that members of the last graduating class at Sumter Central had entered college at a sophomore level because of taking Advanced Placement classes in the public school and that students earned $6.5 million in college scholarships.
    An official release, faxed to the Democrat from the Sumter County Board of Education, stated the following: “The Sumter County Board of Education will continue to improve all aspects of our academic and extra curricular programs. At this time we do not have any comments on the UWA charter school.”
    Ms. Drucilla Jackson, Vice-Chair of the Sumter County Commission, said, “ I graduated from UWA but what they are doing to set up a new school to take resources from the public schools is shameful and unacceptable. They are going to take a few of our brightest and best students out of the public schools but most of the students will be white students fleeing school integration. The saddest part of this is that white folks need to face up to living and working in a society with Black people if we are going to have real change in the Black Belt.”
    There are many questions that the people of Sumter and surrounding counties need to ask about this charter school. How many students and resources will they take from Sumter County Public Schools and Headstart? How diverse will their student body really be and how will they insure this? What kind of teachers will they have at the school?; will they be properly credentialized? Why does the charter school need a separate board that has only two African-American members in a county with a 70% Black majority?
    Dr. Carol P. Zippert, a Greene County School Board member said, “ It is undeniable that this charter school will take resources from the public schools but the real issue is that UWA and its white supporters do not accept or want to be governed and controlled by a Board of Education and Superintendent elected by a Black majority population in Sumter County. How will UWA help education in the Alabama Black Belt if they do not trust or believe in Black leadership?”

     

  • BBC Foundation announces grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation for local Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation

    BBCF

    BBCF named as TRHT place grantee joining 13 other TRHT places nationwide. BBCF will organize all TRHT Selma place activities.
    June 29, 2017 (Selma, AL) The Black Belt Community Foundation announces a $3 million grant over 4 years from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) in support of its local Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) work in Selma, Alabama.
    TRHT is a comprehensive, national and community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. A primary focus of the TRHT is jettisoning the deeply held, and often unconscious, beliefs that undergird racism – the main one being the belief in a “hierarchy of human value.” This belief, which has fueled racism and conscious and unconscious bias throughout American culture, is the perception of a person’s or group’s inferiority or superiority based on physical characteristics, race, ethnicity or place of origin.
    The TRHT was initiated in January 2016 by the Kellogg Foundation. Now in its implementation phase, TRHT Selma is one of 14 places throughout the country receiving support from the Kellogg Foundation to implement this work, building on the TRHT process and framework co-developed in the 2016 design phase.
    BBCF President Felecia Lucky states, “We are so very excited to be joining the national process that the Kellogg Foundation, long a leader in philanthropy, has started. We feel that our deeply seated connections and network of team players, professionals and volunteers across all of Alabama’s Black Belt will be able to hit the ground running with what TRHT has begun. Symbolically, Alabama’s Black Belt represents a crucible for all of the issues that TRHT explores and addresses, from pre Civil War days through Reconstruction, the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras up unto this very day. There is much work to be done, and we are proud to be partners. Having the opportunity to partner with the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation is a huge plus given its deep history and proven track record of work addressing these issues.”
    The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation founded after the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery March addresses violence in all of its forms will become an integral community partner for BBCF’s TRHT outreach activities.

    Ainka Jackson, Executive Director of the Selma Center states, “We believe that broken relationships have led to a broken economy which has led to broken communities. The TRHT gives us an opportunity to heal those relationships, our economy and our community and the Selma Center for Nonviolence is excited to be a partner in this journey of healing and transformation!”

  • Newswire : US denies visa to Gambian school robotics team

    Robot built by high school students in The Gambia will be shipped to Washington, DC, for event without its inventors.

    By: Azad Essa and Colin Baker, Aljazeera News
    87f862ab9177420f9972517b771b7dca_18

    The team built the robot during rigorous seven-hour shifts throughout Ramadan [Moctar Darboe/Al Jazeera]

    Five teenage pupils from The Gambia, a small nation in Africa. who built a robot for a prestigious international competition in the United States will not be able to accompany their invention to the event after being denied a visa.
    The Gambian pupils become the second team of students refused entry to the US to attend the FIRST Global robotics event in Washington, DC, on July 16-18. On Saturday, it was reported that an all-girls team from Afghanistan were also denied a visa to travel to the US to showcase their creation at the same competition.
    Moktar Darboe, director of The Gambia’s ministry of higher education, research, science and technology, told Al Jazeera that the team, made up of high school pupils aged 17-18, were “very disappointed”.
    “They put in so much effort into building this, and now, after all the sacrifice and energy they put in, they have been left disheartened,” Darboe, who is also the team’s mentor, said on Monday.
    The robot, a ball sorting machine, will be shipped off in the next day or two, he added.
    The Gambian American Association will represent the team at the event and the students in The Gambia’s capital, Banjul, will watch it over Skype.
    The FIRST Global Challenge is open to students aged 15 to 18 from across the globe. According to FIRST, around 158 countries will be represented, including 40 African countries. Only the teams from Afghanistan and The Gambia have had their visas rejected so far.
    Darboe said that the visa was denied shortly after their interview at the US embassy in Banjul in April. They were not given any explanation. “We were only told that we did not qualify and that we could try again.”
    According to Darboe, the students had to pay $170 each for the visa application. “Their parents had to sacrifice a lot to pay this fee.” The students continued building the robot despite being denied the visa, hoping the decision would ultimately change.
    They were further buoyed by a visit of US Ambassador C Patricia Alsup to their project site last month. “She gave us hope not to give up, and she said they would give us all their support to help us go further,” 17-year-old Khadijatou Gassam, a science student and spokesperson for the team, said.
    The US embassy in Banjul told Al Jazeera that it did not comment on consular affairs. Kevin Brosnahan, a spokesperson for the state department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, said he was unable to discuss individual visa cases.
    Last week, the US Supreme Court allowed the partial enforcement of President Donald Trump’s travel ban on residents, citizens and refugees from six Muslim-majority countries – but both The Gambia and Afghanistan are not on the list.
    In March, at least 60 African citizens were denied visas for African Global Economic and Development Summit in the US state of California. Organizers said at the time they were not sure if the rejection was linked to Trump’s anti-immigrant policies or if talk of the travel ban was being used to “to blatantly reject everyone”.
    Darboe said building the robot was difficult. When parts arrived, customs officials took their time in releasing them. “They asked us if were building RoboCop,” he said.
    Fatoumata Ceesay, the team’s programmer, told Al Jazeera that she had come to terms with the fact their creation will be run by other students in the US. The 17-year-old said they had worked under trying conditions, day and night, and with little guidance over the entire Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. “And we started building it after the [visa] rejection. We built it despite knowing we weren’t going,” she said.
    Gassam says that she was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to represent The Gambia and “show the world [that] ‘yes, we can do it’”. “But we’re not giving up, despite the challenges we face, we still continue to work hard,” she said. “Next year it will be somewhere else, so I think next year we have hope to get there.”

  • BBC Foundation selected as Head Start grantee for Dallas, Choctaw, Marengo and Wilcox Counties

    BBCF

    Selma-based organization will provide high-quality services to the children and families of the Black Belt region. Will host community information sessions.
    June 23, 2017 (Selma, AL) The Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) has been awarded over $1.4 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to oversee the Head Start programs in Dallas, Choctaw, Marengo, and Wilcox counties in Alabama. With the help of this grant, an estimated 307 children in Alabama’s Black Belt will be able to receive critical investment in their early educational development through high-quality program options.
    Founded in 2004 with the idea that those living and working in the Black Belt of Alabama best know the area’s challenges and opportunities, the BBCF raises funds and distributes grants to nonprofits that are making a difference in local communities.
    BBCF President Felecia Lucky states: “We are excited to be selected as a first-time Head Start grantee to provide high-quality Head Start services to children and families in the Black Belt region. With our programs, we have served over 50,000 children and families. Like Head Start, our programs emphasize the importance of starting early and working closely with families to improve academic outcomes. We were happy to answer the call to serve the community in this way, and we are ready to build on both the work of the Head Start organizations who have come before us and our successful track record of service in the region.”
    U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama states: “This is outstanding news for children and families in the Black Belt region. It is so important that our children are supported at an early age with educational programs such as Head Start so that their learning capabilities can be cultivated throughout their formative years. With this grant, the Black Belt Community Foundation will be able to bring valuable program offerings to children in the state that need this support the most.”

    Below is the information for next week’s organizational sessions in Selma:
    LOCATION: Concordia College, Wright Complex, Selma, Alabama
    1804 Green Street, Selma, AL 36701 (ph: 334-874-5700)
    June 27:  12pm-1:30pm and 4pm-5:30pm  Informational meeting for current Head Start staff.  This meeting will provide an overview of next steps.  The goal of this meeting is to help provide a clear view to the staff the process BBCF will follow in moving forward.
    June 28:  8am-5:30pm  Job Fair. Head Start job applicants can complete their job applications.
    June 29:  8am-5:30pm Call Back Interviews (Attendees will be notified in advance.)