The Commission on School Accreditation is set to meet on July 18, 2018, to discuss taking over the Noxubee County School District.
The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday and will determine if an extreme emergency situation exists in the Noxubee County School District that jeopardizes the safety, security and educational interests of the children enrolled.
Reports from the MDE said the district which has less than 1,500 students currently has an “F” rating.
“A recent accreditation audit of the school district found that Noxubee is in violation of, I think 26 out of the 32 processed standards and not only that, they are in severe financial distress meaning that they will not be able to meet their payroll by the end of July which means that they don’t have the money to pay their teachers and their staff,” Smith said.
Pete Smith, Chief of Communications & Government Relations said if the commission decides that the district is in need of a takeover, the state board of education will also need to vote on the matter and they will then ask the Governor to declare a state of emergency so that the department can come in and provide a system for that district to recover.
“If the Governor so chooses to sign the state of emergency, that will release funds from a loan account that is held at the state treasurer’s office so that we can go in and provide financial assistance, but we would also place an interim superintendent into the district to start rebuilding the district from their academic standpoint, to helping children, and to also ensure that they are back on track financially,” Smith said.
Smith added that each of the steps are in accordance with state law and that in addition to replacing the superintendent, the Noxubee County School board would be disbanded.
The State Board of Education is set to meet on Thursday, July 19th.
