History
In 1968 the district had 4,100 "colored" students and about 1,000 white students. At that time the district had a "freedom of choice" system. During that year Herbert Hagard, the superintendent of the school system, stated his opposition to a proposed rapid integration, arguing that doing so would cause White people to leave the school district. During that year, a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asked the district to replace two school principals because the branch believed that they were not qualified educationally and mentally. The district said that it would consider the matter.
In 1986 a petition to merge the Drew School District with the Sunflower County district circulated.
In 2002 two of the district's schools had no licensed librarians. During that year a Mississippi state commission said that the district had violated accreditation standards in 2001 by not having those librarians. In 2003 the district had faced a budget deficit for the third time in a period. Judy Rhodes, the executive assistant to the state superintendent of education, said in a Board of Education meeting in Jackson, Mississippi said that "Of all the districts we're working with right now, Sunflower is the one with the most serious situation."
In 2010 State of Mississippi officials said that the management of the district should be taken over by the state government because of the existence of allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of federal funds. On April 19, 2010, the Mississippi Department of Education took control of the school district.
In February 2012 the Mississippi Senate voted 43-4 to pass Senate Bill 2330, to consolidate the Sunflower County School District, the Drew School District, and the Indianola School District into one school district. The bill went to the Mississippi House of Representatives. Later that month, the State Board of Education approved the consolidation of the Drew School District and the Sunflower County School District, and if Senate Bill 2330 is approved, Indianola School District will be added. In May 2012 Governor of Mississippi Phil Bryant signed the bill into law, requiring all three districts to consolidate. SB2330 stipulates that if a county has three school districts all under conservatorship by the Mississippi Department of Education will have them consolidated into one school district serving the entire county.
Read more about this topic: Sunflower County School District
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