Parents and community members of the former Montgomery County School District met Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 3:30 p.m. at the Zion District Building to discuss with Andrew Beshai, with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, their current feelings on the consolidation of the Winona and Montgomery County school district.
Beshai’s visit was two-fold. Justice Neal B. Biggers Jr. heard oral arguments to clarify issues concerning a lawsuit filed by those in the former Montgomery County School District 10 a.m. Tuesday at the United States Federal Building in Oxford. Beshai told those in attendance that the former Montgomery County School District had a desegregation order in place, however the former Winona Separate School District did not.
“We want to transfer over the order to the new Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District,” he said.
Beshai said without the order there’s not much his office can do, and they want to be able to come in and monitor things to see how they are going.
And the consensus of the group in attendance both Sunday and Monday is that there are things that could be better in the district. Some of the problems mentioned were overcrowding at the elementary school and the special education classes, bus routes and the GPA ranking of the former Montgomery County students.
The biggest issue is the name of the schools. Parents and community leaders said it doesn’t feel like “their school” -- it still feels like Winona. They feel left out and some even feel unwelcomed.
“It’s all Winona. It’s Winona Elementary School, Winona High School, it’s their mascot, it’s their colors,” Kolandty Williams, a parent in the district, said.
“We thought we were going to get a vote as a student body,” Loretta Hopkins added. “That’s what they said but it didn’t happen.”
“It should be Montgomery County High School,” Lakeisha Jones said. “That’s what it is. It’s not Winona anymore, it’s all Montgomery County.”
The second issue was the issue of the GPA rankings for seniors. Williams said she was surprised to learn how far her daughter and others have dropped in ranking once Montgomery County and Winona consolidated.
“We had our number 1, 2 and 3 in place before the consolidation happened,” Williams said. She said but when senior GPAs came out at the beginning of the year, she was surprised as to where her daughter ranked.
“She was supposed to be number 3, now she’s number 33,” she said. “Our number 1 is now number 20 and our number 2 is now 22.”
Another issue voiced was regarding Math, English and PE credits parents said their children had taken at Montgomery County that were not counted when the consolidated took place. They said the courses had to be retaken. They said no one ever told them they would have to retake the classes.
Transportation and bus routes were also a concern. At the beginning of school, students weren’t arriving home from school until 7 p.m. Some parents present said this lasted for a week and a half.
“Our kids still are arriving at home late,” Jones said. “We have some that don’t get home until 5 p.m.”
Superintendent Teresa Jackson said some Montgomery County students took English Composition I through Mississippi Valley State University but didn’t take Composition II. She explained that in order to receive the dual credit both classes had to be completed. But, because only one was completed, those students were placed in English IV.
As to the overcrowding, she said hires were made after school began to help with the issue. Jackson also said to learn the top Montgomery County students dropped significantly in their ranking is concerning and something she would look into.
“We looked at all of our students and the work that they’ve done over the years to get their GPAs,” Jackson said. “It’s the same as if someone moved into the county.”
Operations Director Charlie Parkerson said nothing has changed about the routes for students coming from the former Montgomery County School District.
“It’s the same route they had in Montgomery County. We kept all routes the same. There are some students that are getting home about 5 p.m. but that’s the time they got home last year,” Parkerson said.
He echoed Jacksons saying they are working to shorten the bus routes. “We cover the entire county now so we’re covering a great distance but all bus routes are running very smoothly now.”
