There is a story on Page One about a protest and call for change at Clarksdale Municipal School District. There is also a story on Page 5 about changes at Clarkdale Municipal School District.
Your Clarksdale Press Register thinks they are related and these stories go a little deeper than what the headline says.
Clarksdale Superintendent Dr. Joe Nelson took on a failing school district and has made some tough personnel decisions. That was part of the reason Nelson was brought in by our city school board.
Things had to change at Clarksdale schools and an unbiased, non-political highly-qualified and professional educator was wisely handed the job.
A superintendent and school board’s focus should always be the education of our children and not job security of a school employee.
And let’s address the protest by a student of a Facebook post.
Your Clarksdale Press Register does not support bigotry and the hate that is the deep root of racism -- Black or White.
Let’s let our school trustees and school board check into these allegations. It’s their job to set the tone for our schools and implement discipline for students and staff alike in a fair and equal manner.
And lastly, we don’t know why our city leaders decided to get involved with a letter demanding firings and resignations.
“Once a person is appointed to a term of office of a local board, he or she can only be removed prior to the expiration of his term pursuant to some specific statutory provision.” (Atty. Gen. Opinion, 11-17-03)
Our Mayor and Commissioners appoint school board members, but they don’t run our schools. That’s a school board and superintendent’s job.
No, your Clarksdale Press Register wonders if there are not political reasons, nepotism and a good-ole-boy system behind the protests and letter issued by the city.
We think this community is smart enough to look a little deeper and see the truth. Let’s keep the focus on bettering our school district and the education of our children. Let’s not fan the flames of civil unrest for political, personal or monetary gain.
