Clarke County School District Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas was appointed by the Board of Education in December of 2020. After managing the transition to and from remote learning and an accreditation review, Thomas announced last month that she will retire from her position on December 31, 2022.
Alexia Ridley spoke with Dr. LaKeisha Gantt, president of the Clarke County Board of Education, to talk about the search for the next superintendent and how the district is handling the omicron variant.
Alexia: Can you tell us a little bit about Dr. Thomas's main accomplishments during her tenure?
Gantt: So, let me just start by saying I'm here as an individual and I don't want to speak on behalf of the entire board. From my perspective, after navigating some stressful times for the board and the Clarke County School District, I do think that Dr. Thomas has prioritized the importance of collaboration with board members, with leaders, and community stakeholders. And so, I do think that is the strength of Dr. Thomas's.
Alexia: Can you tell us how the search process works?
Gantt: Based on the discussions at last week's work session, the board decided to take action on the decision about using an RFP for a search firm. And so that is where we are. This Thursday the board will take action and decide if they'll put forth an RFP.
Alexia: Slightly different topic here, but just minutes before this interview we got word from the school district that those recent spikes in COVID-19 cases have resulted in staff shortages severe enough to cause several Clarke County schools to go back to remote learning. Can you tell me your thoughts about having to make the difficult decision at administration level to have to go back to remote learning?
Gantt: The board generally is not directly involved in operational decisions. So typically, people who are in the midst of these decisions have more real time information.
I will say, as a board member and as a parent, I think the district is having to prioritize face to face learning and opportunities for children to interact with each other. And having to also prioritize, to the degree possible, safety, as well as staffing issues—and not just staffing issues with teachers, staffing issues with drivers, with our paraprofessionals, with nutritional workers, with our custodial staff. And so it really is a matter of trying to balance a variety of different realities and still provide a quality education to students.
As we think of our students who are younger, or students who might have learning challenges, or who might be served through special education services, the district has to weigh those needs as well. All these students can't necessarily stay home. When the school pivots, parents can’t always pivot to virtual learning.
So, there are no easy answers. And things change so rapidly that I think the district has to be in a position where they are keeping up with those changes, and then trying to respond to those changes the best way that they know how, while again, prioritizing the learning of students.
Alexia: Last year, the board did not pass a vaccine mandate for district employees. Do you think that would have made a difference?
Gantt: You know, I am not sure. I would be very curious to hear the feedback from district staff.
I know part of those conversations had to do, not necessarily just with costs, but also the testing requirement and the ability for individuals who were not vaccinated to be able to access testing after work hours. We are at a place now where we are in the process of having access to more tests for our district staff. So, I think that is one area that will be addressed.
But I think that board members in general, there was appreciation around the efforts put into the policy. But I think there were just still questions around testing and around where the district stood on that decision.
It's important for decisions like that to not just be driven by board members and by the district, but to be a collaborative effort. My own opinion is that at that point, I think that there were still enough questions that the board just did not feel comfortable moving forward.
Alexia: Can you shed any light on why Chris Pendley was removed as principal of Clarke Middle School?
Gantt: Unfortunately, there is not much that I, as a board member, can share, and really at this point that the district can. A lot of that is primarily because it is personnel. But then also as individual board members, but even as a collective body, the board is not directly involved with the placement or removal of district level leaders or school leaders or really any staff.
Board members can ask questions very similar to community members and things of that nature, but with personnel, it primarily appears on our agenda as an action to be taken. We get a list of individuals that may be transferring or resigning or being hired, but it's the recommendation from the superintendent and district staff that comes before the board taking action on that. The board is not involved in the placement of any staff, actually.
Alexia: Members of the public want to know. What do you think about their desire to know? Should that info be shared with the community?
Gantt: When you ask what do I think about people having questions? I think anytime we are talking about the public education of students and creating an atmosphere where students can thrive, stakeholders and community members should always have questions and should always collectively be able to offer solutions in support of their local school district.
If a person is a staff member, there are limitations to what will be provided to the public. That's probably the clearest thing I can say about it is that there are just limits to what type of information can be shared with the public regarding personnel matters.
