By Josh Mitchell
Corinth Today News Editor
A battle between the Alcorn County School District administration and parents who want to save their community schools took center stage Monday night.
On one side of the issue are parents who say their children thrive in the Glendale and Rienzi schools, but on the other side is the district administration that says closing those schools could save the district more than $700,000 a year.
Both sides seem to agree that the district is short on funds, but the friction occurs when it comes to how savings should be achieved.
The school board Monday authorized Superintendent Larry Mitchell to investigate the possibility of closing those schools and sending the children to Biggersville and Alcorn Central.
Emotional vs. Financial
Mitchell said he thinks people have a sentimental attachment to Glendale and Rienzi.
“I’ve had several say, ‘My mama went there, my grandmama went there,’” Mitchell told Corinth Today. “It’s an emotional issue with most folks. To me it’s a financial issue.”
Closing those schools could save the district about $720,000 annually, said Mitchell, who plans to come back to the next meeting with more figures.
The savings would mainly come from reductions in staff and utility and maintenance costs, Mitchell said. However, he said some teachers and other staff from Rienzi and Glendale could fill openings at other schools. If there are not enough openings, the teachers from Rienzi and Glendale could still be used as tutors and interventionists, said Mitchell.
Resident Jodie Fiveash said they are “wonderful schools” and that closing them would be “drastic” and “unnecessary.”
“They’re community schools,” Fiveash said. “The community surrounds them. They are wonderful resources to the county, and they are A and B schools, and our children thrive there.”
Repairs Needed
Money is needed throughout the district to make building repairs, Mitchell said.
“We have all sorts of problems that we need to be addressing, and we haven’t been able to do it simply because” of funding issues, he said.
“Our facilities have been neglected a long time,” Mitchell said.
The district also has $5 million in debt that needs to be paid off, he said.
But parents who support the Glendale and Rienzi schools are upset that their community schools may be sacrificed to come up with the funds to fix other problems in the district.
Petitions
Fiveash presented a petition to the school board to stop the process of looking into the closure of the schools. She said the petition had more than 500 signatures.
Fiveash submitted a separate petition asking that the school board meetings start at 6 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. to give people who work time to get to the meetings.
School Board President Carroll Morton said his concern about starting the meeting later is that it would force school staff to stay at work later and be away from their families longer.
But Morton said people who cannot make the meeting until after 5 p.m. can request an agenda item be moved until later in the meeting so they can be there when it is brought up.
Board member Mary Coleman said she opposed changing the meeting time saying the same time has been in effect her nine years on the board.
Controversy Over Position
Fireworks also arose at the meeting over a new position called director of transportation and school plant management.
Board member Russ Nash did not see why the position is needed.
“I just don’t see how it is justified,” Nash said, pointing out that this is money that will be spent when people are fighting to keep schools from closing.
Moreover, Nash said there are other needs in the district such as buses, technology and raises for custodial and cafeteria workers.
But board member Randy Wilbanks said he spoke with a friend who serves on the school board in McNairy County, Tenn., and that person said a similar position there has more than paid for itself
Wilbanks added that the schools in Alcorn County need repair.
“We need someone in place who can get the job done,” he said.
But Nash took issue with Wilbanks making a comparison with McNairy County.
“This is Alcorn County,” Nash asserted.
Schools May Not Close
Meanwhile, Mitchell said the school board’s vote to allow him to investigate the possible closure of the Rienzi and Glendale schools does not mean that action will be taken. This just means that different avenues of saving money are being looked at, Mitchell added.
Nash opposed the superintendent looking into the possibility of closing the schools.
Another option is to raise property taxes, Mitchell said, noting that the millage could be increased a little before hitting the 55-mill ceiling.
Children at the Glendale and Rienzi schools already have an “edge” over other students in the district because of their student-to-teacher ratios, Mitchell said.
The more campuses the district operates, the more money that will be spent, he said.
That seemed to do little to convince one woman who was brought to tears over the prospect of Glendale Elementary closing. She said her son has succeeded at that school.
Fiveash pressed Mitchell on what other options were being explored other than closing the Glendale and Rienzi schools. Mitchell said closing middle schools is one idea but said he is not ready to take that step.
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