Questions for Michael Thurmond, Interim Superintendent

There were some questions parents had for Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond last week at the Tucker Parent council meeting. He didn't get a chance to answer all of them, so we are hoping for a final meeting hosted by the Tucker Parent Council before school is out.  

We have asked TPC to invite our Tucker board representatives since we are unaware of any opportunities the community has been offered to actually have a chance to hear them speak about their views on education and how they will benefit Tucker.  

The next school board election is next year, either July or November 2014, depending on whom you ask. If Tucker is not being fairly represented by the status quo, we need to work together as a community to find some outstanding potential board members and encourage them to run for the office. Otherwise our schools, our community and our children will continue to suffer as being an area in DeKalb that truly has gone without any "local control" in this important area.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS FOR SUPERINTENDENT MICHAEL THURMOND:

1. There are parents and homeowners here tonight who are still waiting to learn whether or not a cell phone tower will go up at their school. Do you have any updates for them? It has been nearly two years.

2. Are you aware of the efforts by a community calling themselves "Lakeside" is going through in order to form a city of Lakeside that could potentially take money, residents and schools away from the Tucker community, which is more than 120 years old? Is this divisiveness something that is still plaguing the school system. Can accreditation remain at risk if neighboring communities are unable to get along?

3. In light of the fact that the board member currently serving and the super district member are both residents of the Lakeside area, what can you say to reassure residents that their children are being represented in the decisions being made at all? How do we know our property values are being protected?

4. Can you explain the school council/parent council/PTA model for parent involvement and is it fair to allow these groups to give input to the school system that might only reflect their views personally, not the views of the majority. What responsibility does the school have to the community? 

5. Principals, even good ones, in the current system are loyal only to the administration. In times past the principal was the advocate for the children, the parents, the teachers, the community because they were involved and even lived in the same area. Now they rotate through some schools only staying a short year or two. How can the community trust that the school is going to be an asset and not a liability?

We pay a lot in taxes, but we are made to look like an area in poverty because this school has been designated as a Title I. Is that fair to those who live around here who are not in poverty? Where do these other children come from and are we actually helping them by transferring them all over the county? Why can't they be reached in schools near them? Many parents say it is this problem that causing them to leave for other schools and other areas.  

6. Is the board and administration aware of a large push right now for charter clusters? Are they doing this on their own or with help?  Does anyone in Tucker realize this initiative? Are we getting the same help?

7. Would you consider protecting Brockett Elementary as a historic school and declare that it will not be placed on a list to be torn down? The push for new construction is causing us to forget the past. A school like Brockett is important to the Civil Rights history because this architecture was meant to inspire a change - that all children are given the same opportunity as well as a natural surrounding to inspire them and a community around the school to support them as they learn.  

Large, technical schools that house thousands may be the future, but Tucker is very protective of its past, too. We don't want to see history torn down and forgotten. We love our small neighborhood schools. We love to keep our children closer to home. If Livsey and Brocket and Midvale are what works here, why do we have to change to something that is not proven?

8. What is the status of the Idlewood Elementary redistricting as well as the Evansdale redistricting?  

9. Rumors are that you plan to tear down Tucker Middle. Is that true?

10. We want to believe in you, Superintendent Thurmond, but you have not said you will remain past a year. What will happen to the school system if and when you leave? Fear is that it will revert right back to where it was.

11. What is being done to settle lawsuits and reduce spending on legal?

12. What is being done to get help to teachers who are overworked and overloaded?

13. Are you looking into better ways to help teach the non-English speaking or English as second language?  

14. What is the "chain of command?" Do you consider the PTA as an official part of the chain of command?

15. So many families have left our schools and gone on to home school, private schools, etc. How can we trust that the 99,000 students is a valid number? It never seems to change but we know many families who have left. Is it possible that we are paying to educate too many children who do not live here? What can be done to stop that?

16. There is a large immigrant and refugee population in DeKalb that needs extra help. Are we getting the federal funds we should to help these children? We have heard they are overcrowded at Jolly. Will they be sending many of those children here as well?

17. If we cannot talk or interact with the board, how are we supposed to get our opinions and feedback to them. How do we know that they know anything about us?  

18. Will you ask the legislators to approve vouchers if the schools are not able to serve the communities, like ours, that are caught in the middle of a North /South battle? 

19. If pre-K is so vital, why was it cut back and will you work to restore it?  

20. Can you please stop the furlough days??

Thank you!