Pickens County School Board Votes To Reconfigure Aliceville And Reform School Districts

PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI)- Rumors and speculations have continued to swirl about what the future will be for schools in Pickens County.

During Monday night’s school board meeting, concerned parents and residents finally received that answer.

After discussing things over with members with the Justice Department, the school board voted to reconfigure the schools in the Aliceville and Reform area.

“For the superintendent to recommend and the board to go for it, that shows the disconnect that they have with the community that they are supposed to serve,” said Terrence Windham, a concerned resident who was opposed to a reconfiguration. “The middle school had the highest grade average in the Aliceville school system, so why would you change that.”

Windham is one of the many Aliceville residents who came out to the Pickens County school board meeting, pleading to board members not to make any changes to the Aliceville School District.

However, when the meeting ended Monday night, that request went unfulfilled.

“We were very disappointed,” Windham expressed. “We expected them to do the right thing. We expected them to vote the correct way. We expected them to listen to these almost 700 people in a community that only has 2,300 people, that’s disappointing that they don’t want to listen to them.”

“The main thing this board heard is our high schools are our identities and we want to do all we can to keep them, and unfortunately that means doing some reconfigurations and that’s where we’re at,” said Jamie Chapman, Pickens County Schools Superintendent.

According to Chapman, a reconfiguration was the best decision for both districts due to a steady decline in student enrollment at the schools.

Chapman said they discussed the matter with DOJ prior to Monday night’s decision, and they also had no objection to the reconfiguration.

Now that the board has voted, this is how the schools could potentially look once the reconfigurations take place.

Aliceville Elementary School would consist of grades K-6, while the high school would consist of grades 7-12.

In the Reform area, Reform Elementary School would consist of grades K-4, while Pickens County High School would consist of grades 5-12.

Even though school leaders believe this is the best plan to have all of the schools in the district reach its 250 enrollment mark, parents have other viewpoints.

“I have a young daughter who’s growing up and I want her to grow up in a environment where it’s more secure, more safe for middle school students to be together, than middle school and high school students,” said Windham.

“We still have to serve our kids and we feel like this plan give us that opportunity to do it and sustain it with the support staff that’s needed in the form of an assistant principal, full-time counselor, and a full-time librarian and media specialist,” said Chapman.

Even though the board voted for the reconfiguration, since the district is under a federal consent decree, a federal judge first has to approve this decision before it can be finalized.

If approved, Chapman said he hopes to have the reconfigurations take place by the start of the upcoming school year.

The superintendent also adds that no jobs will be lost during this reconfiguration.