The West Bolivar school board didn’t meet for roughly two months — disrupting food and transportation services for summer school students

By Leonardo Bevilacqua | Originally published by Mississippi Today

ROSEDALE — The West Bolivar School District stopped busing and feeding summer school students this month. The problem wasn’t that the school ran out of food or money. It’s that the school board hadn’t met in about two months to approve purchases and contract workers.

Fewer than three board members, too few for a quorum, showed up to at least four meetings in April, May and June. State law requires a quorum to approve spending and hiring.

Meanwhile, the district stopped paying its bills. Bus drivers and food service workers lost their summer jobs. 

“We’re supposed to be the ones that make the decisions for the children, and we can’t come together,” school board President Jackie Lloyd told Mississippi Today. She was one of two board members who showed up regularly to meetings over the last two months.

For nearly two weeks, the Delta district lacked a top executive. District Superintendent L’Kenna Whitehead, whose contract was not renewed by the board for the next school year, is on vacation through the end of June. 

The board has yet to name a superintendent for the new school year, which begins Aug. 24.

The school board on Thursday was able to appoint a designee to purchase food and supplies on behalf of the district. 

At its Thursday meeting, enough board members were present to approve bill payments, renew contracts for student support services, approve monthly financial reports as well as funding to continue an early college program, among other important board business.

West Bolivar’s school board governance woes come at a time when state lawmakers are debating measures to increase qualifications for school board members and allow members to be removed for misconduct and poor meeting attendance. District consolidation is also on the table as a way to reduce bureaucracy and tackle dysfunctional school leadership.

The Mississippi Department of Education is investigating West Bolivar schools, according to a response to a records request filed by Mississippi Today in March. State education department officials Jo Ann Malone, associate state superintendent, and John Ferrell, chief of school and district transformation, observed the Thursday meeting by teleconference. Department spokesperson Shanderia Minor told Mississippi Today she could not provide additional comment in light of the active investigation.

Over half of residents in Rosedale, one of several rural communities in Bolivar County served by the district, live below the poverty line. Over a third of residents in Shaw, which is roughly 28 miles southwest from Rosedale, live below the poverty line.

The district received “D” and “F” ratings on the state accountability system for the past five school years.

Turnover in critical administrative positions and a vacancy on the school board could continue to stymie operations.

The district’s business manager and payroll clerk have given notice of their plans to resign at the end of June, Lloyd told Mississippi Today. That raises concerns there won’t be anyone in place to cut paychecks for employees or to close out the year’s accounts. Lloyd said she also worries that the district could miss the budget submission deadline to the county board of supervisors by Aug. 15. 

In addition, no one qualified to run for the open school board seat in November. 

The school board also missed its deadline to choose an interim board member, so the position will remain vacant until at least November, when a candidate would need to run for the position. 

About 10% of Rosedale residents and 16% of Shaw residents have at least a bachelor’s degree, which is a requirement for most administrative roles in a school district.

Open leadership positions have the district in a “chokehold,” Lloyd said. The district also needs a curriculum director and a high school principal. Lloyd said she hopes the district can find a superintendent, but she fears many superintendent candidates are already contracted with a district. 

Meanwhile, some district staff are working without the promise of a paycheck. At the meeting Thursday, Lloyd thanked Cook, the maintenance director, for driving a busload of students to summer school in a school bus although he did not get paid for it. 

District parents, guardians, staff and community members have been preparing food for students. Lloyd thanked them Thursday for stepping up to help.

“Some of those individuals that work in the district paid out of their pocket to order food to make sure those children were fed,” she told Mississippi Today.

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article