Area parents react to Columbus Schools ending GTECH partnership

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus Municipal School District voted to discontinue its contract with Golden Triangle Early College High School.

It was a decision that had some area parents upset.

“When she found out she cried. My husband had to console her because she was so upset,” said GTECH parent Denise Mize.

Mize said her daughter was gearing up for her senior year in the GTECH program.

She planned to graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree, but now all of that has been taken from her.

Almost four years of hard work– gone.

“It made me really angry because my daughter has invested so much time in GTECH because she was in band at her school prior and because we chose GTECH she could not do extracurricular activities so if she was to have to go back to Columbus High, she would miss out on that band scholarship that would help her with her college,” said Mize.

Another parent, Shane Tompkins, has a son enrolled in the GTECH program.

“We invested into this thing and it’s a four-year program and our son’s a Freshman and we’d like to complete it because it has a lot of the aspects of, I guess, education that we were excited about for our child,” said Tompkins.

Jason Spears is the Board President for the Columbus Municipal School District.

He said the decision to end the program was a tough one.

“We have to look at everything from state law, we have to look at everything from the fiduciary responsibility of the finances, and we have to make a decision for the community as a whole that’s going to have the greatest impact long term,” said Spears.

One major deciding factor came to board members’ attention just this year.

“It was a “at-risk” for all the different public schools that are here in this area that are the feeder schools that go into the particular program. Those “at-risk” students go through a selection process. Over the last year and going into this next MOA session, it has been broadened greatly. By broadening it, it takes the initial feeder schools and includes other school that aren’t feeder schools,” said Spears.

Spears said there are public school programs now that could potentially fill the gap the GTECH program leaves behind.

Parents said that wasn’t good enough.

“Yes you can do this dual enrollment, yes you can go online and do it, but it’s not the same. They’re getting the best of both worlds,” said Tompkins.

Some parents aren’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.

“I will move. I will do whatever I have to, to make sure my child attends GTECH,” said Mize.

“We can’t operate a district on the fear of repercussions. We have to operate the district on facts, laws, and what is beneficial to all parties involved,” said Spears.

The contract for Columbus Municipal Schools and The Golden Triangle Early College High School program expires on June 30.

There’s no word yet on whether the school will have any redress.

Administrators at EMCC have not yet commented.