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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
May 6,2021
From the Staff
Let’s avert crisis with school board
and do so without upsetting
apple cart of solid student performance
The situation with the school board
and superintendent is still shy of crisis
level, but has reached a point where
something has to be done, if for no other
reason than to calm the amount of divi
siveness in the community.
For those blissfully unaware or under
a rock, here’s the situation: in the past
two years, two superintendents have
been essentially fired with the board not
providing even a whiff of the reasons for
removal. Two weeks ago, a political
group, Impact Pickens, presented a cache
of texts mainly from the board chair to
the current superintendent, but also
to/from other board members, showing
plans to get rid of the second of the su
perintendents as early as October and
presenting an underhanded, cavalier ap
proach to removing the leader who had
only been hired months earlier.
The board shelled out more than
$400,000 to buy Dr. Rick Townsend out
of his contract in February and spent
$178,000 to buy his predecessor Dr.
Carlton Wilson out in December of 2020.
Roughly $600,000 of tax dollars down
the drain.
As a point to consider, in Georgia any
employer, including a school board, may
fire someone simply because they don’t
like him. They may have had to battle
over parting compensation, but as far as
the laws and state agencies go, telling the
past two superintendents “we don’t like
the way you are running the schools,
you’re fired” is legal. But even that
didn’t happen, at least not publicly. The
school board gets an “F” in public com
munication. There is no law that silences
them - that is a tired and false excuse.
The history of our school board over
the past 10 years is chock full of short
tenures of both paid leaders and elected
board members, political rifts, squab
bling and backstabbing. To state the ob
vious, this has to change. Here is what
we suggest, which falls short of Impact
Pickens’ demands for three board mem
bers and superintendent to go.
First, we have in place the perfect
body to deal with this, the grand jury. For
those who need a civics reminder, grand
juries in Georgia were set up to investi
gate governments’ operations for any
reason, not just criminal action.
Section 15-12-71 of Georgia code
spells this out: “Duties of grand jury - the
grand jury shall, whenever deemed nec
essary by eight or more of its members,
appoint a committee of its members to
inspect or investigate any county office
or ... the county board of education, or
the county school superintendent or any
of the records, accounts, property, or op
erations of any of the foregoing.”
This isn’t done often and it usually
comes from the top down; a government
official starts the process, but the power
is with the people (the grand jurors). If
you are among the current grand jurors,
be active, tell the DA’s office and judge
to convene your group and take an unbi
ased look at the school district predica
ment.
The conclusion here (according to one
legal expert familiar with grand juries
who did not want to be named) would
likely be limited to a report. It seems un
likely anything reported thus far rises to
the level of criminal charges against any
one. But that report from an unbiased
group with the power to summon people
to speak could clear the air, set the record
straight and offer recommendations to
move ahead.
Second, we’ll cut to the chase - board
chair Sue Finley needs to resign. She was
in charge when all hell broke loose. The
school board meeting on January 18 was
the nastiest gathering of any government
group we have seen; never has a contin
gent of deputies been called in to secure
an official gathering here in modem his
tory.
Just like the presidents of groups,
coaches of teams, CEO’s and captains of
ship, when your organization goes badly
into the ditch, the leader has to go - if for
no other reason than to lay groundwork
for a new course.
In this particular case, Finley’s own
texts add to our call for her resignation.
They simply went too far in advocating
and celebrating for a change in the super
intendent position.
With the departure of the board chair,
the balance of power shifts dramatically
to an even playing field. The board
would then have two clear camps of two
members each in regard to the superin
tendent. Bring in an independent fifth
board member, (perhaps follow a grand
jury recommendation) and immediately
there is a new board dynamic and hope
fully a chance to see if they can get trac
tion to move forward together. This could
include looking at the current superinten
dent’s position but giving him a fair
chance to present his case.
The calls for three board members to
resign along with the superintendent sim
ply throws too much into turmoil. And
based on our past history, the revolving
door of board members and superintend
ents is the cause of the problems, not the
solution.
Finally, we would like to end on a pos
itive note, which may seem impossible,
but it’s not. Pickens schools over the past
decade have outperformed most similar
school systems in academics. We beat
our neighboring systems with graduation
rate; our SAT averages are solid; our
schools are safe; our graduates are suc
ceeding; our teachers are well-paid by
state standards and holding proper certi
fications.
Despite the unceasing turf war at the
central office, the student body, as a
whole, is thriving. Of course there is al
ways room for improvement but most
students are well served.
The most important thing our school
system does (educate students), it is
doing very well. For people who want to
upturn the whole apple cart, don’t forget
this.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706)253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens CountV, Georgia. Entered
at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia. 30143 as Mail Matter of Second
Class. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PICKENS COUNTY
PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
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WEATHER
By
William
Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
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27
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29
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April
30
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to flyers.
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School
HAPPY HOTFEPS DfsY—
bWb THMJKS for not telun
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BAD TEENAGER^Y
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-JDc=-
Ponderings of a Simple Man
Py Caleb Smith
No LeSy No
More
Every year, the Oscars are
presented to the viewing pub
lic. Hollywood treats the
world to a night of glamour,
fashion, and celebration.
And every year, like most
Americans, I clear my calen
dar to be certain I’m free
when it airs. I don’t want to
be in a restaurant and acci
dently catch a glimpse of it
after all.
If I wanted an hour of rich
people yelling at me and
telling me how terrible I was,
I would actually read the
emails my editor sends me.
So instead of subjecting
myself to being berated, I set
aside the little block of time,
turn the old VHS player on,
and pop in the best movie
every created.
Tombstone.
A stirring tale of love,
brotherhood, redemption,
and justice, all served up with
a heaping pile of good old
fashioned violence. In the
words of Wyatt Earp, “No
point is better made than the
one made with the tip of a .45
slug. “
(Editors note. We can find
no evidence whatsoever that
Wyatt Earp, or indeed any
one, every said this. We’re
pretty sure he’s making it
up.)
My favorite character, as
many of you may guess, is
none other than our native
Georgian, Doc Holliday. A
sarcastic jerk who, while
loyal to his friends, will
brook no lip from anyone
else. He takes risks without
regard to his own well being
and often acts without think
ing things through, often re
sulting in calamity.
I can’t imagine why I feel
drawn to the character so
much, must just be the Geor
gia thing.
Wyatt, with Doc at his
side and brothers Virgil and
Morgan, team up to take out
the vile band of outlaws
known as the Cowboys. A
couple hours of righteous
face punching and justice in
jections administered at the
end of a Colt Peacemaker,
they emerge triumphant,
though at a great cost.
Hey don’t be mad at me
for spoilers, if you hadn’t
seen Tombstone yet, I have
no sympathy for you. Seri
ously, what’s wrong with
you?
The movie can best be de
scribed by a tombstone
barely glimpsed as they enter
the titular city. In a blink and
you’ll miss it moment, the
following inscription can be
read in the town’s Boot Hill:
Here lies Lester Moore, Four
shots from a .44, No Les, No
more.
Irreverent, violent, and yet
still humorous, that’s the tale
I love. The friendship be
tween Doc and Wyatt, the
brotherhood, only cemented
the deal for me.
So I will not ever watch
the Oscars. To my mind, the
greatest movie has already
been made: Tombstone.
To me, Tombstone re
ceives ALL of the awards, no
les, no more..
[Caleb Smith is a long
time, award-winning, colum
nist for the Progress.]
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