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School Board – February 2015
I don’t know how you view my appearance before the board tonight, one more time. I feel a sense of frustration that whatever is said here for the most part falls on deaf ears. Does the school board know or even care that 12 children left the Magee schools in 1 week? And these were from good families, committed to their children getting the best possible education in a safe environment.
Since the last time I was here, 3 of my 4 grandchildren that were in the Magee schools have left, or rather more accurately were forced to leave. You may not feel they were forced to leave, but those are the facts. Due to the uncontrolled bullying and inadequate education they were receiving, they had no choice.
Academically, they are so far behind they are having to be tutored to catch up to their grade level, although their report cards at Magee did not reflect there was any problem. I have since discovered that there are parents of children in Magee having to pay tutors to keep their children up to their grade level because they realize their children are losing out in the Magee School System.
On January 12, my daughter called and said she was going to the school to confront Dr. Boone about an incident in which her son was bullied in the bathroom at Magee Elementary. This was the third time Leslie has made Dr. Boone aware of this occurring, and she has been assured twice before it would never happen again. Each time it was the same child that bullied our grandson. Ms. Boone’s solution to this was just to move the bully to another classroom. This was no solution, as the bullying behavior was occurring whether on the playground or the bathroom. In addition, Ms. Boone was unable to provide any evidence that the previous incidents had been documented in any fashion, or the bully’s parents contacted.
It is very frustrating to try to work and wonder if your child is being taken care of at school. It has been an eye-opening experience to see how different one school can be from another. When I pick up my grandchildren from school, it is amazing to hear:
“I love my new school.”
“There are no bullies on the playground.”
“When you go to the bathroom it doesn’t smell like pee.”
And finally:
“Linnie, God is in this school. We say a prayer, and say the blessing, and we can talk in the lunch room” (A rule in the Magee Schools that is kept to the max for the teacher’s convenience)
You know scripture says that all things work together for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. I know this is true. I think today I can say thank you for the bullies, the common core curriculum, and principals who are more concerning about keeping their jobs than caring for our children. This is because all of this has lead my grandchildren away from Magee schools to a place where they are cared for and taught the basics of knowledge that they will need to make it in life.
Finally, due to the same lack of leadership, our Magee High school is in an embarrassing situation. Have you as a board realized that the senior football players have had three of their coaches fired in three years. That is unheard of. Why can we not handle situations as they occur, force the adults to act like adults and resolve their differences rather than running to the Central office to get someone fired. Jimbo Nowell is not perfect, but he is a Christian man who loves his boys and wants nothing more that to continue as their coach. You as the School Board have the final authority to right an injustice that has been done. It is in your hands, no one else’s.
Linda Bennett
Pictured Linda and her husband Bill