BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL CLOSING WATCH: MORE SECRET MEETINGS

STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, MIMS WITHOLDING PUBLIC DOCUMENTS ON SCHOOL CLOSING DATA ** CLOSED DOOR SERIAL MEETING OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WITH SUPEINTENDENT FORGES REDUCTION IN FORCE (RIF) PLAN ** Pouncey Nurses MIMS’ CLOSING LIST AT SCOOL BOARD MEETING : - Pouncey - Mims Strikes Deal On School Closings; Board Accepted Without Analysis, Public Hearing, Public Left in Dark, Authentic Public Engagement Shafted

 

Not Enough Public in Public Schools (Birmingham News Editorial)
http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/118336439722530.xml&coll    In January, 2007 Alabama State Department of Education chief finance officer Craig Pouncey and Stan Mims sealed their “FAUSTIAN DEAL” to close Birmingham schools - in a closed door meeting in the office of the school district's attorneys to trim Birmingham City Schools by $18 million in expenses.    In yet another closed door meeting, Birmingham school board members continued its pattern, practice, custom, and usage of meeting behind closed doors to conduct the public’s business. Over the years, Birmingham’s boards of education have lost Alabama Supreme Court cases involving withholding public information and violating Alabama’s old “Sun Shine Law” (replaced in 2005 by the “Open Meetings Act”).  TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!Read Alabama's attorney general’s “Open Meetings Manual” http://www.ag.state.al.us/documents/open meeging.pdfAnd HERE'S A "HOW TO" power point presentation you can study to better understand Alabama's "Open Meetings" law: http://www.ago.state.al.us/seminar/sunshine_law_training.ppt. Remember, Alabama's State Motto is – “Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere”(We Dare Defend Our Rights!)Citizens for Better Schools has sent demand letters to both state school superintendent Joe Morton and Birmingham Superintendent Stan Mims further seeking disclosure of public information. We are doing everything reasonably possible to avoid costly litigation with the Alabama State Department of Education and the Birmingham Board of Education. On July 24, 2007 legal counsel for Mims (Birmingham superintendent) entered a legal settlement with CFBS in our public records lawsuit in Bessemer, Alabama Circuit Court (Jackson v. Mims).  Mims will hand over all of the information originally requested of the district by Citizens for Better Schools last year.  It is shameful that the public's school district has to pay legal fees and costs to produce public records due to be timely disclosed upon public request by public school officials such as Drs. Mims and Morton.

 

Is Birmingham's school district in a death spiral? Read the Birmingham New's report "Which way Forward" at http://blog.al.com/bn/2007/03/which_way_forward.html ** Does Mims have a plan to halt student exodus from city schools? Will the county's school system ultimately take over from Birmingham?

Pouncey - Mims Strikes Deal On Closings? The Alabama State Department of Education's (ALSDE) Craig Pouncey imposed a school closing plan on Stan Mims and Birmingham's school board.  Authentic Public engagement was shafted.  Where is the school Board's 6107 Policy Committee "recommendations," as required by the Birmingham Board of Education Policy Manual on school closings, mergers, consolidation, or other use of schools - Public Trust Was Abolished by these "secret deals?""Deal or No Deal?"   Word out of Montgomery is Craig Pouncey and Stan Mims have struck a deal, an "agreement on a "plan" to trim Birmingham City Schools' rising $18 million budget deficit, by cutting $21-22 million in expenses.  Citizens for Better Schools has been unable to report the details of the Pouncey-Mims deal due to their failure to disclose requested public documents. We continue our efforts to report details of this "deal, as soon as Citizens for Better Schools disgorges public documents from school officials (Documents such as personnel and operating costs data assumptions; reviews of past results of "fascicle recovery plans" for Birmingham City Schools."