Oktibbeha County Schools Under State Control

[bitsontherun ltsJCOvw]OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Oktibbeha County School District is now officially under state control.  Governor Phil Bryant signed the proclamation early this afternoon.

The Governor stated in a press release, “The current leadership in the Oktibbeha County School District is jeopardizing the learning environment. The  students and communities in that district deserve better.”

The Department of Education has already assigned a Conservator to the district.  Jayne Sargent, the former Superintendent of the Jackson Public Schools, will begin Monday as Interim Conservator.

A meeting is scheduled for parents of the district on Monday to give them more information about what happens from here.

Last month, the district received a “D” ranking from the Accreditation Commission for failing 29 out of 30 standards.  Some of the violations included:

– Unable to verify that all employees have a valid license.

– Buses are not cleaned or properly maintained.

– District facilities were not clean and sanitary.

– Some students who had failed to meet graduation requirements were allowed to participate in graduation exercises.

This is not the first time that the Oktibbeha County School District has been taken over. The district was also under conservatorship in the late 1990s.