Brenda Brantley was the first of seven stakeholders to address concerns to the Treutlen Board of Education members at its November meeting.

The cafeteria of Treutlen County Middle and High School was filled with standing room only as an estimated 300 parents and stakeholders in the school system came to the November meeting of the Board of Education and demanded to be heard.

Superintendent Dr. Bradley Anderson filled almost an hour and a half of time during the meeting before allowing any public participaton by having numerous staff and himself address the Board on various issues but while the patience of the audience appeared to become restless, it did not deterred those gathered from what they had come to do.. However, when they did have the opportunity seven stakeholders addressed the Board on various issues including school safety, lack of leadership, staff morale, inappropriate curriculum, and more.

The last to speak was Kyle Braddy, who didn’t mince words.

“We did a survey, and the majority of students and parents don’t believe their concerns are being addressed by the administration,” he began. “We also sent out surveys to the teachers, and one teacher actually asked if it “was a trick” from the Superintendent. Staff members are afraid to do anything for fear of retaliation. The numbers show that most people believe the teachers are doing the best they can for our children, but they are afraid."

“Why are we hiring administrators from outside the area when we have qualified people in Treutlen County to fill those position,” he continued asking rhetorically. “The Superintendent may be the guy you want to buy a used car from, but he is not the man to lead our schools and we are asking for his immediate resignation.”

After each person spoke, Board Chair Alvin Heath assured the speaker that they would hear something from the Board by December 1, but those in attendance said they were not going to back down and would continue their efforts to bring the school system back into accountability.