The Future Of Schools In Pickens County Hangs In The Balance

PICKENS COUNTY, Al. (WCBI)- The future of schools in Pickens County Alabama continues to loom on the horizon.

During Monday night’s school board meeting, Pickens County Superintendent Jamie Chapman said he met with members the Justice Department, as well as Lee vs. Macon attorneys to discuss possible re-configurations of the schools.

During the meeting, the board chose not to take any action regarding the future of schools in Aliceville and in the Reform area.

Instead, Chapman said he’s wants to wait until he hears back from members with the DOJ before moving forward on the matter.

This topic continues to stir up conversation in the community as everyone is anxiously awaiting to see what the end results are going to be.

Parents from the Aliceville school district tell WCBI they want the schools to stay the same and don’t want any re-configurations to take place.

However, Chapman said it all comes down to funding.

Due to the steady decline of enrollment in both school systems, he believes a re-configuration may be the best option for both districts.

“The numbers show that we just don’t have the students that we once had,” said Chapman. “Everybody wants those support units of that assistant principal, that counselor, and that librarian, in the high school and middle school, but when you get below 250 it becomes a very serious funding shortage because you lose the ability to have the full-time support staff in a school under 250 at the middle school and high school levels.”

The superintendent said he plans to hear back from DOJ sometime next month.

Then the board will hold a meeting, discuss the results, and make a final decision on what the future will be for schools in Pickens County.