After enough back and forth to make your head spin, Georgia Washington Middle School will finally be sold to the town of Pike Road.
On Friday, May 11, interim State Superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson executed a contract that will ultimately generate $9.85 million for the cash-strapped Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) General Fund, and give MPS an annual recurring savings estimated at $600,000.
The sale has been months in the making after the Alabama Education Association (AEA) initially halted it by filing a lawsuit on behalf of three Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) employees.
The suit — made against Richardson, Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone and Chief Administrative Officer Reginald Eggleston — claimed Richardson did not have the legal authority to sell the school and questioned whether or not the sale is a conflict of interest for Richardson who was previously involved with Pike Road Schools as executive director of the Pike Road Leadership Council.
Ahead of a court hearing in March, the town of Pike Road’s terminated the contract to pursue “other options” to serve its students in the fall.
Ultimately, the Alabama Supreme Court stepped in and ordered the Montgomery County Circuit Court to dismiss the case saying Richardson’s decision to put the school up for sale fell is within his legal authority as interim superintendent, due to the school system’s financial issues.
Richardson had announced the sale of the school during a February during a press conference when an intervention plan of the Montgomery Public School System was released. He said if the school wasn’t sold, layoffs would have to be made.
