The Commission on School Accreditation has determined that an extreme emergency exists in the Noxubee County School District (NCSD) that jeopardizes the safety, security, and educational interests of the children enrolled in the schools in the district. As a result, the Mississippi State Board of Education will consider whether to ask Gov. Phil Bryant to declare a state of emergency in the district.
RELATED: MDE looks to take over Noxubee School District
The NCSD is in violation of 26 of the 32 accreditation standards that all Mississippi public school districts are required to meet. The violations are documented in the On-Site Investigative Audit of NCSD, which the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) conducted after the district reported severe financial issues.
“Without money to operate the district, the teachers cannot be paid, therefore there will be no learning, no growing for those students in that district,” said Erin Meyer, Special Assistant Attorney General who serves as council to the Office of Accreditation. “School starts in a couple of weeks, this is critical. The district has met the state board’s definition of failing for two consecutive years.”
The Commission on School Accreditation determined an emergency exists because NCSD has serious violations of federal and state law and accreditation standards, serious concerns regarding financial resources, inappropriate standards of governance, and a continued pattern of poor academic performance.
The regularly scheduled Board meeting is set for July 19 in the Fourth Floor Board Room of the Central High School Building, 359 N. West St., Jackson. Watch a live stream of the meeting beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
