Gilmer Free Press

G.S.C. Report: Meeting with Deputy State Superintendent of Schools – 02.22.12

On Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Dr. Carl Armour, a member of the Gilmer Schools Coalition, and I met with Deputy State Superintendent of Schools, Charles Heinlein and his attorney to discuss the State’s takeover of Gilmer County Schools and to seek clarification on some of the most frequently asked questions.

Most will remember the listing of those questions in a January 05, 2012 letter to State Superintendent Marple.

Dr. Armour and I both found the meeting to be informative and productive.

One of the questions members of the Coalition had early on was whether Gilmer County had an approved facilities plan. Deputy State Superintendent Heinlein assured us that the County has a facilities plan and that it is public information and it is available in the County Board Office. As of now, the plan has a shared elementary school with Troy and Alum Bridge at Linn and one additional elementary school that may be sited at one of three locations.

In our discussion the question concerning the usability of Normantown School came up ; however, Dr. Armour and I were not well enough informed on the condition of Normantown School to discuss the issue. Perhaps the Coalition should seek information on the question.

The County’s plan has not been approved by the School Building Authority as yet and the level of funding available is uncertain. The location and configuration of facilities for elementary schools remains a topic of great interest to parents and taxpayers in the county.

The specific reasons for the State takeover have been included in the Audit Report of October 11, 2011. While many would disagree with some of the cited deficiencies, there were some issues of concern which had existed for some period of time.

A complete listing of the deficiencies that have been submitted to the County Superintendent for addressing is in a document entitled Gilmer County Required Revisions to the County Electronic Strategic Plan and like the facilities plan, it is public information. As the specific items are addressed, the list will grow shorter.

We all agreed that the public should be kept abreast of the progress that is being made toward meeting the completion of the charge given by the State Board of Education.

Many have asked the question about when we can expect the State to return the administration of the County schools back to the duly elected members of the Gilmer County Board of Education and the taxpayers of the county.

Dr. Armour and I learned about the process that the State utilizes in such cases. As explained the return is not instantaneous but rather a gradual process. AS the local school board addresses specific issues, an audit of the progress is done, sometimes in a very short time, to determine what responsibilities can be returned to the local level. Progress may be in finance, personnel, certification, technology or other areas on a gradual basis until it is thought that the county is ready to assume full responsibility.

How soon this occurs depends upon how the local board and the superintendent come together to satisfy the requirements of the audit. What is apparent is that after a takeover happens, it is in the best interests of the local board to assess the steps that need to be taken to move forward and begin to return responsibility to the local level.

As spokesperson for the Coalition, I was encouraged at the sense of willingness on the part of State officials to work with the county to restore ownership of the schools to the local board. I believe that while there were some very real problems with the way the takeover was done, our challenge now is to understand how we move forward to get our county schools back and achieve improvements technology, academics, personnel practices, and facilities planning.

The long-term goals will require concessions and compromises but also open the door to improved educational opportunity for the students of Gilmer County.

There is one great area of agreement with both local citizens and State Officials and that is the need to have open lines of communication and complete transparency with the public’s interests.

All in all I believe that Dr. Armour and I came away from the meeting better informed and optimistic about the prospects for the future.

Deputy State Superintendent Charles Heinlein and Gilmer County Superintendent Blankenship are expected at our next Coalition meeting.

An announcement of the meeting date, time and place will be forthcoming and the public will have a chance to hear from these officials and ask questions.

This week I am to meet with Dr. Gus Penix who is in charge of performance audits.

William K. Simmons
Gilmer Schools Coalition

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This is what I am talking about.  Professional, intelligent individuals discussing issues.  This is how positive communication is performed, dialogue established and evidentually issues resolved.

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This is an example of leadership, transparency and how information should be made available to the public. Perhaps the county commission could take notes of the coalition’s fact finding and reporting to the public to understand how to make progress and keep the citizens of Gilmer County informed.

Thank you Dr. Simmons and Dr. Armour.

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Thank you Dr Simmons and Dr Armour for your time, your efforts and your report.  It is appreciated.
One item you did not hit on, which likely is in the top three of all volatile issues, is the GCHS administration.
I am sure there are parents, staff, teachers, students and others, waiting anxiously to see positive change in this area.
Actually seeing change in HS Administration, would give a lot of GC citizens hope that there is remedy to our school ills.
This topic could be put to rest fast and easily, if someone has the where with all to take the necessary steps.
With no change in the administration, we have little hope of seeing other positive improvement, at least from this citizen.

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Taking the high road of the mediation table for conflict resolution has been the signature of the Coalition since inception.  This chance to speak is the olive branch extended to the State Bd of Ed. There must be some accountability for the unethical behaviors leading to the take over.  However, we are in the midst of that take over and must find the path that will restore legal, local control. Mr. Blankenship’s attitude of independent authority and his statements to parents that the board will approve and would encourage Rosedale/Lockney students transfer to Frametown schools if they don’t want to send the children to Glenville must change. He needs to stop pushing taxpayers and their families out of Gilmer. The SBA meets in March and will announce awards in April if the schedule does not change.  Now that the State has control, will they appropriate any funds to get the Normantown children out of trailers or will they have tunnel vision.