Jefferson County Public Schools leaders faced emotional testimony Tuesday night as parents, students and educators responded to a proposed closure or merger of several schools aimed at shoring up the district’s finances. Kaitlin Webster-Hayes, a student at Liberty High School, faced severe bullying at other JCPS schools: “It traumatized me – I’ve been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since I left those schools.” She doesn’t want to see Liberty closed, because its specialized programs make it the only place she feels properly supported. “It will not be possible to replicate this in other schools to meet our needs. She believes moving the program to a smaller site could limit student access. Superintendent Brian Yearwood said the proposed changes would make the district more efficient in terms of space and money, but acknowledged the difficulty of the conversation. “I don’t like it,” he said. “That’s not what I want to see happen.” Board member Taylor Everett said the decision requires careful consideration — and he hasn’t decided how he will vote. “There’s a lot more to it than what’s on paper. It’s what I know that comes out. And we have a lot of introspection,” he said. “As a school board, we have to ask ourselves are you going to do this; we have to understand what the plan is. It has to make sense to us.” The district serves more than 94,000 students and has more than 17,000 additional seats. Officials say the proposal would better align open seating with areas that need it. Other proposed actions include merging King Elementary with Maupin Elementary, closing Zachary Taylor Elementary and moving Waller-Williams. Two more public forums are planned before the board votes on the proposed changes.
Jefferson County Public Schools leaders faced emotional testimony Tuesday night as parents, students and educators responded to a proposed closure or merger of several schools aimed at shoring up the district’s finances.
Liberty High School student Kaitlin Webster-Hayes experienced severe bullying at other JCPS schools: “It traumatized me – I’ve been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since I left those schools.”
She doesn’t want to see Liberty closed, because its specialized programs make it the only place where she feels properly supported.
“It’s not going to be possible to replicate this in other schools to meet our needs. It’s not the case,” she said.
Vanessa Garcia, a graduate of the Georgia Chafee Teenage Parent Program, said, “I probably would have dropped out of high school, taken care of my little one at home, asked his dad to provide for us and maybe not finished school like I could have done.”
She believes moving the program to a smaller site could limit student access.
Superintendent Brian Yearwood said the proposed changes would make the district more efficient in terms of space and money, but acknowledged the difficulty of the conversation.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “That’s not what I want to see happen.”
Board member Taylor Everett said the decision requires careful consideration and he has not yet decided how he will vote.
“There’s a lot more to it than what’s on paper. It’s what I know that comes out. And we have a lot of introspection,” he said. “As a board, we have to ask ourselves are you going to do this; we have to understand what the plan is. It has to make sense to us.”
The district welcomes more than 94,000 students and has more than 17,000 additional places. Officials say the proposal would better align open seating with areas that need it.
Other proposed actions include merging King Elementary with Maupin Elementary, closing Zachary Taylor Elementary and moving Waller-Williams. Two more public forums are planned before the board votes on the proposed changes.
