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Jackson County Board of Education Statement |
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At the beginning of this Board meeting we would like to make a statement about the recent controversy over graduation honors. We know many of you are upset, angry or disappointed, based on the information you have been given, and we are hoping that you will set aside those feelings and listen to us for a few moments.
In the local paper a story was presented to all of you. We have remained quiet due to concerns about confidentiality and legal rights. We have resolved some of those concerns, and now would like to review some facts with all of you here tonight. First of all, on Dec. 22, there were student discipline hearings resulting from an unfortunate incident on the property of Scotts Creek School. For what is believed to be the first time in the state of North Carolina, a public school system had to address pipe bombings on school property. The student hearings resulted in agreements being worked out with the principal, superintendent, attorneys, students and their parents, and those agreements were then presented to this Board for us to consider and approve. At that time, Mr. (Ken) Henke provided the information that the designations of valedictorian and salutatorian were not used and had not been used during previous graduation exercises at Smoky Mountain High School. Based on this information, which we later learned was incorrect, the Board did not foresee a problem when we approved one student's proposed agreement. Let us make clear that, by Dec. 22, the class ranking at SMHS had not been determined and, due to some computer and other problems, could not be determined until the end of January. The Board policy on class ranking is as follows: "A ranking in grade 12 shall be completed at the end of the first semester. Rankings obtained from this calculation shall be used for all graduation exercise functions. Final rankings are computed at the end of the final marking period." Before entering any agreement, the Board was assured that this policy and class rankings would not be affected by the agreement, and that nothing in the agreement would prevent appropriate recognition and honors from being bestowed on other students at graduation exercises. Please understand that we cannot change class ranking, and there never was any consideration to do so. By the time of the hearings on Dec. 22, all grades relating to class ranking for graduation exercises had been earned. Nothing was taken away from or given to any student. Their rankings are based solely on what they had earned, through their own hard work, by the end of the first senior semester, just as stated in the Board policy. This Board tries hard to make the best decisions we can, and we can only make decisions with the information provided to us by the responsible parties. Here, there was a mistake made, and a breakdown in that process. We were upset when we learned that the information upon which we had relied was incorrect. This Board always has felt strongly that appropriate honors at graduation should go to the student who was ranked the highest and who will be actively participating in his senior year at SMHS, and in the graduation exercises. Board policy speaks only to the issue of official class rankings and when those rankings will be determined for college admission purposes and graduation exercises and functions. Honorary titles such as valedictorian and salutatorian are established by the school. The are site-based decisions which the Board usually does not address and on which the Board usually has no input. They may choose to use them or not, or to recognize a "Most Distinguished Scholar," or provide other such honors. Many schools do not use the descriptions or designations of "Valedictorian" or "Salutatorian," and, in fact, that has been the case in Jackson County in the past. When class ranking was finally determined in late January, the parents of the second-ranked student were told by the principal of the high school that their child would receive appropriate recognition at the graduation exercise. This was followed by a letter on Jan. 31 from our Board Chair and Superintendent, advising the parents that, because the top-ranked student would be absent from the graduation ceremony, their son would be asked to participate in the graduation as the current highest academically ranked student at the ceremony. The letter advised that the principal would be directed to work with the guidance faculty and others to appropriately recognize their son and invited their input into that process. Since that letter, and as a result of further review and discussion with the parties involved, we are now able to announce that the school will be able to designate the second-ranked student as Salutatorian, or any other appropriate designation as determined at the high school. In other words, he will be in the exact same position he was in before anything happened, based solely on his own accomplishments through the years. The parents of the number two-ranked student have been advised of this, through their attorney. There also has been considerable discussion about the top-ranked student and her position. We are aware that some people have suggested various analogies about her situation. Some have suggested that the situation is as if the top-ranked student had moved away from Jackson County, or even if she had died; that the honor of Valedictorian would then be given to the number two-ranked student. These analogies simply do not apply. The number one-ranked student has not withdrawn from school and remains legally enrolled. She has not been convicted of any crime. Please understand that state law and current educational practice discourage the suspension of children without considering whether alternative education programs can or should be provided. The Board has provided for such programs and will approve them for several students recently subjected to school discipline. As a result, we anticipate that the student who is ranked number one will graduate on time from SMHS. There will not, however, be any recognition of a Valedictorian in the absence of the top-ranked student from the graduation ceremony. As the Board policy provides, final rankings also will be computed, at the end of the senior year, but will not affect the rankings used to determine graduation ceremonial honors. Finally, a word or two regarding the headline of "Secret Deal." We cannot emphasize enough that there are valid reasons why we cannot discuss individuals in an open meeting. Would you want us to discuss your job or your child and the problems you have in an open meeting? This Board has attempted to be as open and as honest as we can be. We began over a year ago to set aside some time at each regular meeting for people to come and address concerns, offer ideas, etc., and no one came. It is very easy for people to make judgments and statements about this Board, even though they do not have all the information we must consider and sometimes cannot disclose. We sometimes have to make very difficult choices that affect, at the same time, the interests of both a single child and all other children. Sometimes those interests seem to run against each other, and we try to make the best choices we can. Sometimes there simply are no choices that are right for everyone. Unfortunately, this situation has gotten out of hand. We deeply regret that. We have been working hard to correct the situation. We have all dedicated our lives to volunteer work with children. We are not paid for this position. We are not perfect people. We have made many decisions that are not easy and we know that we cannot make everyone happy all of the time. We are sometimes at the unfair disadvantage of to not being able to fully explain our actins to you because of confidentiality requirements. We do, however, try very hard to do the very best we can to serve and meet the needs of your children. We hope this clears up some of your concerns about class ranking and graduation. Our greatest hope and prayer is that this senior class can have a wonderful celebration of its accomplishments at graduation. We believe all 184 students should be recognized, honored and saluted on their special day. We hope this situation does not tarnish the graduation of the Class of 2000. We also hope all of you will work together with us toward that end. - Read by School Board Chairman Martha Queen Feb. 28 at Fairview School. |
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