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Worth changes graduation policy

• The Worth County School Board may have violated Georgia's Open Records Law by changing its graduation ceremony policy after a secret meeting.

Susan McCord

SYLVESTER — Worth County High School will graduate 190 but "walk" 15 more today after a 70-minute closed-door meeting of the county Board of Education.

In response to parent complaints, the School Board altered its standing policy around 10:05 p.m. Thursday and voted, 3-2, to allow students who have not passed the Georgia High School Graduation Test to participate in the graduation exercises.

"We see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. we've asked the board to allow them to walk," said parent Chuck Mathis, who said his daughter lacked only three points on the science portion to pass the graduation test.

Georgia requires students to pass the test to earn a high school diploma.

The 15 students will be presented a certificate of completion and will be introduced separately because, during the traditional graduation ceremony, an official states graduates' credentials are verified, Superintendent Jim McMickin said.

The decision divided the board but satisfied the group of students, parents and children who waited to learn the outcome of the meeting, which began at 8:45 p.m. Thursday.

The board heard no public comments at the meeting and went immediately into a closed session with McMickin.

Board member Melvin Jefferson had asked for the closed-door session, stating in his motion it was for the purpose of discussing "student matters," "student discipline," "land acquisition" or "attorney client privilege," and the board voted 5-0 to close the meeting.

The closed meeting appears to be a violation of the Georgia Open Meetings Law. It is unclear which, if any, of the exemptions to Georgia Code 50-14-1, the state's open meetings act, would apply to a discussion about changing a board policy on graduation ceremony participation.

School system attorney Clarence Miller was not present Thursday.

The law allows public agencies to close meetings to the public only for discussions about individual employees, the future acquisition of real estate and pending litigation. Federal law prohibits the release of student information.

Violating the Georgia law is a misdemeanor, punishable by a $500 fine. Elected officials that knowingly break the law may be subject to recall.

As he and others waited for the board to come out, Mathis said the group believed it already had the support of three board members – Jefferson, Mike Roberts and Gayle B. Edwards.

A woman waiting with them said she expected only a quorum of those three to attend the Thursday meeting.

They'd attended a similar session Wednesday night at the board central office, though no action was taken, she said.

At 10:05 p.m., board members came out of McMickin's office.

Jefferson mae a motion "to allow students with 26 or more credits to participate in graduation exercises with the Class of 2008."

Before a vote was taken, Board Chairman Butch Jenkins began stating his objections to the decision.

"I'm deeply opposed to this," he said. "Accountability starts with us and it dwindles down to the students. ... Almost is not good enough."

"You're out of order," Roberts interrupted. "I call for Robert's Rules of Order."

"We all agreed in that room," Jefferson said.

Roberts, Edwards and Jefferson voted to allow the students to participate. Jenkins and board member Randy Bacon voted against it.

Before the meeting adjourned, Roberts said he wanted the board attorney to investigate whether Jenkins' "way of running the board is in order."

After the meeting, one student walked up to Roberts and said he was grateful.

"It was an opportunity offered for y'all, that you (be) role models and will come back pass the test," Roberts said.

Both Roberts and Edwards face opposition July 15 in the general primary for their School Board posts.

Roberts, of the county's District 3, is opposed by David Cooper in the Democratic Primary. Edwards of District 2 faces former board member Jerry Jones in the Republican primary and Democrat Billy Culpepper in the general election Nov. 4.

Off school grounds, Jenkins further defended his decision to vote against the measure.

Several of the 15 now allowed to walk had applied for variances or waivers of the state's graduation requirements but were denied because they had not attempted to pass the test during each of the five times it was offered.

Jenkins, whose son will graduate today, added that historically few students actually return after their senior year to retake the graduation test.

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