Burke has 30 days to respond to school accreditation agency

MORGANTON --

Three of Burke County's four high schools are at risk of losing their accreditation, which could adversely affect students' admissions and scholarship applications to colleges and universities.
Accreditation means the schools and the district meet internationally recognized standards for education.
School Superintendent David Burleson and the Burke County Board of Education Chair Tracy Norman received identical letters, dated April 24, from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
Burleson referred questions about the letter and the district's possible response to school board attorney Jon Jones, who released the letter Wednesday afternoon. Norman did not answer her cell phone.
The letter signed by Dr. Donna James, SACS CASI's North Carolina director, said the organization received complaints about five incidents that may violate accreditation standards. All involve the Burke County Board of Education; two specifically name board member Rob Hairfield for sending racist e-mail and for making remarks, including "shoot to kill," during a November board meeting.
"It's a warning," said school board member Buddy Armour about the SACS CASI letter. He became involved in one of the named incidents when board member David Barnard, based on the concerns of fellow board member Karen Sain, asked Sheriff John McDevitt to frisk Armour for a weapon during a board meeting April 6.
Fellow board member Sam Wilkinson, who remembers intense SACS CASI evaluations during his career as a teacher, said the situation is "very serious."
Wilkinson and Armour have strongly opposed the other board members' refusal to allow public comments before and since the board's decision to terminate Superintendent David Burleson's contract effective June 30. Wilkinson also made the motion at the board's Monday meeting to invoke the First Amendment. The board voted it down, 2-4.
SACS CASI included the limits on public comments as one of its concerns.
Another complaint involves Board Chair Tracy Norman, though it does not name her. At the same November meeting when 38 students wanted to comment on proposed board policies about supplementary reading material, Norman suggested tracing e-mails to learn whether teachers helped organize the students' protest.
SACS CASI classifies its standards into seven areas of school operations and management. The letter cites possible violations in four of the seven: Vision and Purpose, Governance and Leadership, Stakesholders Communications and Relationships and Commitment to Continuous Improvement.
SACS CASI gives the school district 30 days to respond. After it has the district's response in hand, the organization will judge how well the Burke County school district and its board of education are complying with SACS CASI's standards.
The Decatur, Ga.,-based organization's vice president for communications, Jennifer Oliver, said it is premature to speculate about what may happen after SACS CASI receives the district's response.
Oliver said it is very rare for SACS CASI, which accredits 13,000 public and private school districts and schools, to notify a board of education about its concerns over problems and complaints. She said in a year there probably aren't 10 notices such as Burke County's.
She said it is even more rare for SACS CASI to withdraw a school or district's accreditation. Oliver said that happened only once in the past 40 years. Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia lost its accreditation in 2008 after SACS CASI "found evidence to support a conclusion that the effectiveness of the Clayton County Board of Education is fatally flawed."
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue removed from office the Clayton County school board members who refused to resign.
Buddy Armour remarked, "If that's what they need to do here, that's fine with me."
Freedom High School earned its SACS CASI accreditation in 1973, East Burke High School in 1974 and Patton High School in 2007. The district's fourth high school, Draughn, opened last fall and won't be eligible for accreditation until it's completed its first year in operation.
To earn and maintain accreditation, school districts must meet rigorous SACS standards, engage in continuous improvement and demonstrate quality assurance through internal and external reviews. The standards are based on research about factors that impact student achievement.
As for the impact on Burke County students, Oliver said, "It could be a detriment" if the high schools lose their accreditation. She said some colleges and universities will not accept applications from students in unaccredited high schools. She also said some of the Clayton County students have had trouble getting Georgia state scholarships.
Oliver said SACS CASI received complaints about Burke County from more than one person. She said most, but not all, arrived in the past 30 days.
She had not seen the complaints that touched off the review of Burke County Public Schools, nor did she know who sent them.
Oliver said SACS CASI accepts complaints from anyone — not necessarily educators — but only considers ones that are signed and have complete contact information.