One Ebony Voice

The following is an exerpt of the February 1, 2010 letter sent to the Dougherty County Board of Education in Albany Georgia. The letter was sent by Reve' M. Pete. In addition to each board member, a copy of this letter was sent to others in the Dougherty County community.

Through the local television news media and The Albany Herald newspaper, concerns regarding the selection of Dr. Joshua Murfree as the only finalist for the position of Dougherty County School Superintendent have come to my attention. One of the concerns raised was that by a vote of 5-2, the Board of Education selected Dr. Murfree, who the Georgia School Board Association had ranked 34th out of 37 applicants for the position of Superintendent.

As a result of hearing and reading about such concerns, I wrote a letter to the Editor of The Albany Herald newspaper, questioning whether or not the Board of Education was under obligation to follow the recommendation of the Georgia School Board Association. In local televised news, or news articles and editorials written since my letter to the Editor was published (Saturday, January 30, 2010), I have not heard or seen an answer to my question. Therefore I, a Dougherty County taxpayer and registered voter, am formally addressing this and other questions to the Board of Education. My questions are as follows:

• What if any obligation is the Board of Education under to accept without question or other consideration the recommendation of the Georgia School Board Association in the matter regarding the selection of a finalist for Dougherty County School Superintendent?
• If such an obligation exists, what is the basis of that obligation?
• What criteria did the Georgia School Board Association use as a basis for ranking applicants for the position of Dougherty County School Superintendent?
• Without revealing the identity of any applicant other than Dr. Murfree, what were the differences in qualifications as identified by the Georgia School Board Association between Dr. Murfree and the following applicants:
1. The applicant ranked # 1?
2. The applicant ranked #10?
3. The applicant ranked #15?
4. The applicant ranked #20?
5. The applicant ranked #25?
6. The applicant ranked #30?

After these questions were presented to the Dougherty County Board of Education in a called meeting on February 3, 2010, Board members reported that there were no rankings by the Georgia School Board Association. This information was later reported by the local news media and also in The Albany Herald. The information initially reported to the public by the local news media and The Albany Herald (Dr. Joshua Murfree ranked 34^th out of 37 applicants) had been, to say the least, inaccurate. During the February 3, 2010 called meeting, a Board Member also read the qualifications for the position of Dougherty County School Superintendent. The Board of Education had unanimously agreed upon those qualifications for the position of Superintendent by a vote of 7-0. Regarding education experience in K-12, the requirements stated "not manditory".

• Think Outside the Box
• Christians Should Not Abandon Public Schools
• College Education: Short-Term Investment, Long-Term Gain
• Standing in the Gap: Faith-based After-School Programs
• Scriptures for Anyone Dealing witht the Hostile News Media