Tension Surrounds Upcoming Consolidation In Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Concerned parents filled the Montgomery County Courthouse Wednesday night to voice their opinions about the consolidation between Winona and Montgomery County School Systems.

Parents with the Montgomery County School District said they’re upset and disappointed that they’re being left out in this process, and feel as if this is not a consolidation, and instead a takeover strategy by the Winona School District.

“They just really need to think about what they’re doing and the people that it’s going to affect and not make it about money, make it about the babies,” said Jasmine Robinson, who has three kids in the Montgomery County School District.

Robinson said she came out to the meeting with a lot of questions, but left with none of them being answered.

“They didn’t tell us what is going to happen if they do consolidate the schools,” she expressed. “They didn’t say what they’re going to do with our babies, they didn’t say if they’re going to be in the same classes or if they’re going to be separate, who’s going to be their teachers, how are they going to treat them.”

Robinson said she believes Senate Bill 2495 discriminates against the Montgomery County School District and favors the Winona School District.

“I don’t want the schools to consolidate but if they do consolidate, I want my babies to get the same treatment that they get now Kilmichael, said Robinson. “It’s not about the teachers being black or white, it’s how they treat my babies that’s all I care about.”

She was one of the hundreds of concerned parents who came out expressing their opinions to members of the Department of Justice.

During the meeting, parents expressed that they want equal representation with the consolidated school systems.

“It’s not the fact of them consolidating is just the point that it’s unfair,” said Kolandty Williams, who has three kids in the Montgomery County School District. “The people in Montgomery County we have no say so, everything that we’re asking them, we’re getting no answers.”

With parents not getting the answers or equal representation they want, Montgomery County Board of Education attorney Chynee Bailey, said they’ve now filed a lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Education and the consolidated school board.

“The basis of the litigation is violation of equal protection clause because there’s no representation on the interim board which will serve from July 1 until January 1 of 2019,” said Bailey. “Then there are also violations of equal protection because, the Montgomery County School District is abolished so none of the teachers were rehired or have been hired in the new consolidated district to date. Also, we’ve alleged vote dilution that the drawing of the two new districts for people who reside outside of the city limits, it has been done in such a way that it will be highly unlikely that the county voters will be able to elect a minority representative.”

Bailey said right now they’re still waiting to hear back from a federal judge on their lawsuit.

No one from the consolidated school board was in attendance for Wednesday night’s meeting.