Graduation time to stay same for O-W
By LEE HENDREN, T&D Staff Writer Friday, October 13, 20061 comment(s) | Default | Large
An effort by rural school board members to change the time of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School’s graduation has failed.
In a vote that pitted the four Orangeburg and suburban trustees against two others, the Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 board decided to keep O-W’s graduation time the same.
“This issue is dead,” Trustee Melvin Crum, who represents the Bowman area, said after the meeting. “It’s null and void until such time as this issue is brought up again, probably by someone other than me.”
O-W graduation ceremonies have traditionally been held on Saturday mornings. Crum wanted to rotate graduation ceremonies between the district’s three high schools to allow the others to also have morning ceremonies.
Orangeburg trustees opposed the change, however, saying that moving O-W’s time would require a change in the location of its ceremonies from South Carolina State University’s stadium. Moving to an inside venue would limit the number of people who can attend ceremonies at the district’s largest high school graduation, they said.
After Tuesday’s vote, high school graduation ceremonies will follow the same schedule as last year. That puts the starting times at 10 a.m. for Orangeburg-Wilkinson, noon for Bethune-Bowman and 3 p.m. for North.
Crum made a motion to begin the ceremonies at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon and to rotate the times among the three schools, starting this school year. His motion was seconded by Susan Gleaton, who represents the North area.
Crum said his proposal would leave the afternoon free for celebratory events such as cookouts.
“My intent was to promote fairness among each of the schools in the district,” Crum said.
Four board members who represent the Orangeburg city and suburban areas voted against the plan. They are Samuel Farlow, the Rev. E.T. Jones, the Rev. Nathaniel McMillan and Julius Page.
They didn’t like the prospect of moving the O-W event indoors and limiting attendance, or alternatively making thousands of people sit sweltering under the midday sun.
The board needs “to allow as many family members and friends of the graduating students as possible” to attend the ceremonies, Farlow said.
“I do not want to see 300, 400, 500 friends and relatives of graduates standing outside,” unable to get inside, Farlow said.
Crum said it was not his intent “to deny anyone the opportunity to attend the graduation of a loved one.”
He called on his colleagues to offer “fair reasons, not frivolous excuses” for not making the change.
“The excuse of heat is not an issue here,” Crum said. “In May it is not so hot. You’re not going to tell me (that). That’s just not real. I’m not believing that.”
Crum said graduation ceremonies take an hour or less, while sports fans don’t mind sitting in baseball parks for much longer than that.
“I can sit through 80 or 90 degree temperature for 45 minutes, if that be the case,” Crum said.
Board Chairman Dr. Kalu A. Kalu gave each trustee a sheet of paper listing three options for the graduation schedule. He asked each trustee to circle his or her preferred option.
Gleaton immediately asked whether board policy allows them to decide the question by paper ballots.
“I don’t want to bog down with three different motions,” Kalu said.
“Are we going to say who voted” for each of the options, Gleaton asked.
Kalu said the board members could sign the ballots if they wanted.
“You’re asking for a secret ballot. That’s not what we should be doing,” Gleaton said. “The public has a right to know how we are voting on this issue.”
“I agree with Mrs. Gleaton on this one,” Crum added.
“I want to have just one motion to go on,” Kalu said.
Crum obliged by offering his motion, although “it may get voted down.” His prediction came true, as trustees voted 4-2 against it. Kalu does not vote except to break ties.
Kalu then asked if any of the trustees wanted to offer another motion, but Crum said they could not do that because they had already voted on the other motion.
Verneta Guess, associate superintendent for administrative and student services, gave each trustee a copy of a written report on what principals are doing to increase school security.
The measures include “cameras, school resource officers, the use of identification cards, hand-held metal detectors and so forth,” Guess said.
“We have crisis management plans. We have emergency plans. Drills are held as required,” She said.
Kalu said there’s only so much the schools can do.
“We have to ask God to protect our children,” he said.
Patricia Patterson, the district English language arts specialist, presented the results of last spring’s Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests in the middle school grades.
Patterson said hundreds of students were tested at a lower grade level last year because their individual education plans required them to be taught at a lower level. This year, all students took tests for their actual grade level.
That resulted in some lower test scores, Patterson said. “The system sets us up for failure.”
Patterson said a survey of middle school students revealed that their top four priorities are their appearance, problems at home, fitting in at school and being overweight.
Getting good grades was not a priority, Patterson said.
Farlow said he noticed that the district’s female students are outperforming their male counterparts practically across the board.
Superintendent Melvin Smoak said he and his staff “are going to analyze that data to death” and look at the performance of all subgroups.
The analysis will lead to professional development sessions in which teachers learn how to provide “differentiated instruction” that is tailored to different styles of learning, Patterson said.
Kalu said the state provides minimal funding for public schools, “then we set the highest standard” in the nation for meeting requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
“And then we cry about it,” Kalu said. “We end up shooting ourselves in the foot. We make ourselves look bad.”
Teacher recruitment has to be a year-round effort, said Mattie Dillon, interim human resource services officer.
“We know we must have an edge on recruiting,” she said. “The office of human resources is already recruiting for next year.”
The search for teachers and other staff will take district representatives to Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and every accredited teacher education institution in South Carolina, Dillon said.
The district will advertise some positions locally, others statewide and a few hard-to-fill jobs nationally, she said. The district also plans to have its own teacher expo recruitment fair.
Trustees:
To subscribe to the print edition of The Times and Democrat, click here.
'97 OW Grad wrote on Oct 14, 2006 10:22 AM: