Contract complete: Georgia Washington Middle School to be sold to Pike Road
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.
Following expiration, Pike Road terminates purchase contract for Georgia Washington Middle School
On Monday a contract for the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School to the Town of Pike Road expired amid an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Alabama Education Association (AEA) on behalf of three Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) employees. A judge in the Montgomery County Circuit Court was scheduled to hear the case on Thursday, but Pike Road’s attorney, Susan Copeland, told WFSA-12 the town has gone ahead and terminated the contract and is pursuing “other options” to serve students in the fall. Copeland’s full statement is below: Pike Road’s termination of the contract for the purchase of Georgia Washington school does moot that part of the appeal that concerns the sale of GW school. However, the trial court’s injunction on appeal was much broader than merely enjoining the sale of GW. It enjoined the State Superintendent from closing GW and other MPS schools and prohibited him from taking any action to accomplish those closures and relocating students to other schools. So the appeal remains as to the power and authority of the State Superintendent to act on behalf of a local board of education in those matters Interim State Superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson announced the sale of Georgia Washington in early February during a press conference when an intervention plan of the Montgomery Public School System was released. He said if the school isn’t sold, layoffs will have to be made. “If Georgia Washington is NOT sold, we anticipate approximately 200 MPS teachers and 75 support staff will have to be laid off in order for MPS to meet its financial obligation,” Richardson added.
Alabama Education Association files lawsuit to block sale of Georgia Washington Middle School
The Alabama Education Association (AEA) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of three Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) employees aimed at halting the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School to the neighboring Pike Road school system. AEA filed the lawsuit on Friday — against interim State Superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson, Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone and Chief Administrative Officer Reginald Eggleston — claims does not have the legal authority to sell the school and questions 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. The lawsuit requests a temporary halt of the sale until the legality of Richardson’s involvement in the sale is resolved. Richardson issued a statement in response to the suit explaining his only concern is the children of Montgomery County. “My concern is now, and has always been, the children of Montgomery County. My resolve is to make sure the students who attend Montgomery Public schools get a quality education. The student achievement in Montgomery’s non-magnet schools are some of the lowest in the state,” said Richardson. He continued, “In more than 50 years of education experience, and having been involved in numerous school interventions all across this state, I have never witnessed this kind of dismal student achievement. It is wrong, deceptive, and dishonest to sit by and continue to watch young people, who are full of potential, graduate from high school with reading and math scores that are unacceptable and don’t even approach Alabama’s average – much less other states. My primary concern is the proper education of children – not inconveniencing adults.” Richardson announced the sale of the school earlier this month during a press conference when an intervention plan of the Montgomery Public School System was released. He said if the school isn’t sold, layoffs will have to be made. “If Georgia Washington is NOT sold, we anticipate approximately 200 MPS teachers and 75 support staff will have to be laid off in order for MPS to meet its financial obligation,” Richardson added. A hearing for the lawsuit will take place Monday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m. The plaintiffs are Edwards Simms, a Robert E. Lee High School teacher with a child at Georgia Washington, Chisholm Elementary Child Nutrition Program manager Edwina Relf and Tislam Ellis, a Sidney Lanier High School teacher.
