Committee formed to address school system concerns
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

A standing-room-only crowd of local citizens gathered at the Jenkins County Agriculture Center Monday night to voice their concerns about the local school system following a recent announcement that nine teaching positions would be eliminated from the 2008-2009 school budget.

The meeting was organized by Robert Jenkins who addressed the group, stating, "This is about our children and the future of Jenkins County."

Jenkins challenged those present to consider stepping forward as candidates in the upcoming November election to name three positions on the Jenkins County Board of Education (BOE). The positions up for election are District #1, presently held by Roderick Campbell; District #2, held by Roy Cook; and District #4, held by Vickie Odom.

"We are not going forward. We are going backward," he said of the present leadership.

Jenkins also outlined the procedure for initiating a "recall election" for District 5, currently represented by Carroll Gay, BOE chairman. The process involves obtaining the signatures for two different petitions. The first petition must contain the signatures of at least 10 percent of the registered voters in District #5, and the second 30 percent.

Following a questions and answer session that yielded more questions than answers, former school superintendent Danny Bennett was asked to chair a committee of concerned citizens. The committee will meet with the BOE 7 p.m. Monday, March 31. Anyone who would like to submit a question to be asked of the BOE during this meeting should contact Bennett at 982-3956 prior to 10 a.m. this Thursday.

(Editor's Note: Numerous questions were presented during the meeting to which answers were unavailable. The Millen News will attempt to gather information and inform the public on some of those issues as well in next week's edition.)