Category: Jefferson County Board of Education
Gonsoulin Responds to Parents Critical of JefCoEd Move to Hold School Virtually
Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin announced last week that his system would begin the new school year with virtual online learning for the first nine weeks because of concerns over COVID-19, after parents in a survey voted 56% to 44% in favor of that method.
Since then, many in the 44% have been letting Gonsoulin know about their displeasure with the decision, and the superintendent responded to those complaints at the beginning of a called special board of education meeting Tuesday morning.
“My stance on that is that we serve everyone, those who agree and those who disagree,” Gonsoulin said. “The safety and well-being of our more than 35,000 students and more than 4,500 staff members is paramount.” Read more.
Jefferson County Schools to Go Virtual-Only for First Nine Weeks; Some Student Athletes and Staff Have Tested Positive for COVID
UPDATED — The Jefferson County Board of Education voted Tuesday to begin the 2020-2021 school year Sept. 1 with nine weeks of online education only and no option for traditional classroom learning, as educators and parents continue to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
The recommendation came from Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin after weeks of town hall meetings with parents, faculty, staff and other stakeholders, as well as an online survey in which Gonsoulin said 80% of JefCoEd families responded. In that survey, 56% were in favor of online learning, and 44% wanted traditional face-to-face classroom learning.
The board approved the recommendation by a 4-1 vote in Tuesday’s online meeting.
Gonsoulin in a later press conference said that some student athletes have tested positive for COVID-19, as have some faculty and staff members, as the schools gear up to reopen. He said no employees will be furloughed because of the return to virtual learning. Read more.
Jefferson County Board of Education Unanimously Approves ‘School Roadmap’
Parents can choose between traditional in-person classes, remote learning with Jefferson County teachers, or virtual learning with outsourced teachers. Read more.
Court Says Gardendale Must Pay Opponents’ Legal Fees in Failed School System Breakaway
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund got an early Christmas present this week, at the expense of the city of Gardendale.
In what may be the last act in the six-year-long saga of the city’s abortive attempt to break away from the Jefferson County Schools, U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala ruled on Monday that Gardendale must reimburse the LDF and attorney U.W. Clemon for costs and legal fees incurred in their effort to stop the breakaway. That effort was victorious for Clemon and his team when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Gardendale could not split from JefCoEd because the proposed split was motivated by racial animosity.
Haikala ruled that Gardendale must pay almost $850,000 in fees and expenses because their effort was in bad faith, and that awarding those fees to the LDF and Clemon “…hopefully will prompt more respectful arguments in the future.”
Read more.
Walter Gonsoulin Named New JefCoEd Superintendent, Its First African American Leader
Walter Gonsoulin, who has served as interim superintendent of the Jefferson County Schools since the departure last month of Craig Pouncey, now holds the position for good.
Gonsoulin was selected unanimously by the JefCoEd Board of Education in its regular monthly meeting Thursday morning. Unlike previous searches for a new superintendent, this search was over and done almost as quickly as legally allowed — just four days after the deadline for submitting applications had passed.
While other African American educators have served briefly as interim superintendents for JefCoEd in the past, Gonsoulin is the first in the system’s history to hold the job on a permanent basis.
“It’s a great honor and a great privilege to be a part of history,” he said. “I’m thankful that the board had confidence in me to appoint me. We’re just ready to get to work to serve our 36,000 students.” Read more.
Jefferson County BOE May Have New Superintendent Chosen Before Thanksgiving
If everything goes according to plan, the Jefferson County Board of Education may hire a new superintendent before its students take off for the Thanksgiving holiday break. Read more.
The Beginning of the End? Court Motion Starts Process to Declare Desegregation in Jefferson County Schools Complete
In 1971, when the U.S. District Court first ruled that Jefferson County Schools were segregated and required the court’s supervision to integrate, most of the people who would be directly affected had not yet been born — in numerous cases, their parents hadn’t born yet, either.
But that era might be coming to an end at long last, though that end may still be three or four years away.
JefCoEd is scheduled to file a motion with District Judge Madeline Haikala that seeks to amend an order handed down in Stout v. Jefferson County Board of Education, the landmark case that found the county system operated separate schools for white and African American students. The motion to amend comes after lengthy negotiations with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which originally filed the lawsuit in 1965, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Read more.
Pouncey Gets Sendoff From JefCoEd
The meeting room was filled with Jefferson County Schools officials and administrators, plus mayors and other dignitaries, even maintenance workers, to see off Superintendent Craig Pouncey on his last day in office.
But perhaps none stood out more than Larry Lee — and it wasn’t just because of his brightly-colored Hawaiian shirt, liberally sprinkled with Auburn University logos.
Lee, a well-known public education advocate and outspoken blogger from Montgomery, was in attendance Thursday morning to give his best wishes to his friend, who is leaving to take over the presidency of Coastal Alabama Community College in Bay Minette.
“Craig, I didn’t know so many people were coming to make sure you got gone!” Lee joked. “Y’all had a good man here for five years, and I wish the state could have taken him away from you, and I’ve written about that…. God knows we need some leadership in Montgomery, where we ain’t got none.”
Read more.
Jefferson County Board of Education Makes History With Appointment of First African American as Interim Superintendent
It was a history-making moment for the Jefferson County Board of Education.
The board on Wednesday unanimously selected Dr. Walter Gonsoulin Jr. as interim superintendent, making him the first African American to head the system in its 200 years of existence. Gonsoulin is temporarily replacing the departing Dr. Craig Pouncey.
“I feel humbled and honored to be chosen by the board,” Gonsoulin said after the meeting.
Gonsoulin joined JefCoEd as a deputy superintendent of school and community support in 2017. One of six deputies currently on the JefCoEd staff, he has had oversight over half of the system’s schools. Before that, Gonsoulin served as superintendent of Fairfield City Schools, a job he took in 2012 after moving from an assistant superintendent’s post in Starkville, Mississippi’s city school system. Read more.
JefCoEd Superintendent Craig Pouncey Resigns to Take Community College Presidency
Dr. Craig Pouncey, who has served as superintendent of the Jefferson County Schools since 2014, is leaving that job to become president of a community college headquartered in Bay Minette.
Coastal Alabama Community College, formerly known as Faulkner State Community College, announced the hiring of Pouncey on Wednesday morning.
Pouncey was hired to replace Stephen Nowlin, whose contract was bought out in May 2014 after a troubled tenure lasting 16 months.
Read more.
