NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: July 19, 2018
JACKSON, Miss – The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) determined today that an extreme emergency situation exists in the Noxubee County School District (NCSD). Acting on a recommendation from the Mississippi Commission on School Accreditation, the SBE voted to ask Gov. Phil Bryant to declare a state of emergency for the school district.
The Noxubee County School District has significant issues that jeopardize the safety, security and educational interests of the children enrolled in its schools. The district 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 the Noxubee County School District (NCSD), which the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) conducted after the district reported severe financial issues. The MDE conducted the full investigative audit of all five schools in NCSD from June 25 - July 3, 2018. The MDE conducted the full investigative audit because historically, districts that have faced serious financial issues have also had numerous accreditation violations.
The SBE 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 as related to the issues of noncompliance for the Noxubee County School District.
“State law requires the Board to intervene in a school district when there is a crisis that jeopardizes the safety, security and educational interests of the students in district,” said Rosemary Aultman, the SBE chair. “Every student in the Noxubee County School District has the right to a quality education that will equip them for the future.”
A state of emergency would make NCSD a District of Transformation, which would result in the following:
- The district’s accreditation could be withdrawn
- The SBE would appoint an interim superintendent
- The local school board would be temporarily disbanded
- The SBE would become the governing body until the district is returned to local board leadership
- An interim superintendent would remain in NCSD until the district has sustained a grade of C or higher for five years.
- An interim superintendent would work with district staff to correct all accreditation violations, while making raising student achievement the primary focus
If the governor agrees with the SBE, officials from the MDE will meet with the administration, faculty and staff of NCSD after the declaration, followed by evening meetings with parents and community leaders.
On-Site Investigative Audit Report - Noxubee County School District
Media Contact:
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR
Director of Communications
601-359-3706
Jean Cook, APR
Communications Specialist
601-359-3519