In spite of numerous attempts to get information about an apparent unannounced July 11 Yazoo City Municipal School Board meeting and the resignation of two of the board's trustees, none of the five trustees would return telephone calls from Herald staffers.
John Wallace, who had served as school board president until last week, and Trustee Willye Neal Thomas, have tendered their resignations to the Yazoo City Board of Mayor and Aldermen. After serving only a few months on the board, Trustee Dave Collins was elected president of the board.
The two remaining board members are Vanessa Crowder, who is the most recent addition to the board, and Lula Starling, who is the longest serving member of the board.
In spite the apparent turmoil on the school board, Yazoo City Municipal School District Superintendent Dr. Darron L. Edwards said the schools will be ready to open when August rolls around.
“It's been busy, very busy,” Edwards said, Monday afternoon. “It's just what I expected it to be.”
While there approximately 50 faculty vacancies earlier this summer, Edwards said the number has been whittled down to 16.
“That's (teacher shortages) a major hurdle that everybody has,” he said. “We want to start school with all highly qualified teachers, all certified teachers. It's been an uphill battle, but most superintendents are struggling with the same thing.”
In response to concerns about the shuffling of principals within the district, Edwards said the principals' assignments have not changed yet.
“We are having conversations about changing (principals' assigned schools), and any changes have to be board-approved,” Edwards said. “If we want to keep things the same, we'll leave everybody where they are and expect to produce some of the same results. If the data says we are not improving, I have to consider who's the best fit to improve the school district here and now. Not in three years, but I have to look at where you are as a school, how long you've been there, and we have to look at the (personnel) that we have to see if there is someone else that we need to consider.”
Asked about Wallace's and Thomas' resignations, Edwards said he had met with the board once and “as far as I was concerned, we had a good relationship through the process, and everything that I know was positive. I don't know any of the details (of their resignations).
“When you have a district as large as this one, I'm just thankful that we still have three board members who are willing to turn this around,” he said.
Teachers will return to work on Aug. 3; students on Aug. 8. Student registration will be handled online and at different sites in the community. The sites will be announced later.
“We're doing some things a little differently in terms of community outreach and parental involvement,” Edwards said. “Of course, you can go to the schools and register, and you can register online, but also, we'll be setting up sites at different churches and different community locations where we'll have staff on hand to provide registration. We want to be accessible to the community and give them an opportunity when they may not be able to come to the schools, but they can go to their local churches (and) different sites that we have set up.”
Edwards, who will be moving to Yazoo City soon, said he has had “overwhelming support from the community.” He is currently a resident of Ruleville, some 60 miles from Yazoo City.
