The Valdosta Board of Education voted tonight 8 to 1 for a statement opposing school system consolidation. Here are some still pictures.
Update 10AM 30 August 2011: Video to come of the board statements and vote is now available (see below).

Chairman Lee asked Vanassa Flucas to read the statement.

The statement Ms. Flucas read is on the VBOE website LAKE video is now available.

The Valdosta City School Board opposes consolidating the Valdosta City and Lowndes County school systems at this time. This Board feels that a decision to merge the two systems should be a collaboratively planned effort between the two school boards and citizens of both the city and county, along with those who have the best interest in educating all the children of our area.

The Valdosta City School Board is proud

of our school system. We have an organization that has been both academically and fiscally mindful of the needs of our students, and are committed to excellence. We have strong, highly qualified leaders, teachers, and staff in place and through their effort; our students are showing continuous growth and improvement. Our board will continue to support our students, leadership, teachers, and staff in improving the education for the children in our community.

We encourage the community to vote NO to consolidation at this time,

[applause]

and ask that those who desire consolidation come together with the two systems to discuss and plan the true feasibility of Valdosta City and Lowndes County eventually merging at a future time. Ultimately, this decision must be acceptable by both school systems and city and county residents.

We welcome you to come out to one of three planned forums with the Valdosta City Schools to witness our commitment and to answer any questions you may have on this serious topic. These forums will be September 8, at Valdosta High School (PAC), September 20, at Valdosta Middle School, and October 25, at J.L. Lomax Elementary School.

As always, we appreciate the trust you have placed in us as the Valdosta City School Board and will continue to work toward constant strides for educational excellence in our schools.

The Chair asked for a motion and a second and got both. Jeana Beeland then made a long statement saying she was going to vote no. Here is LAKE video of her statement.

Finally, the board voted. Video to come is now available of the board vote. Eight yesses:

And one no:

There were also statements by quite a few citizens at the end of the meeting.

Video to come.

-jsq

Short Link: