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Box 3, Folder 17, Document 48
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WEEKLY SESSION
Tuesday, July 8, 1969
S SET
_ Harmony Prevails as EOA,
~ Atlanta School Board Meet
By JUNIE BROWN
: Atlanta Journal Education Editor
. Put the Atlanta Board of Edu-
cation and an education subcom-
mittee of Economic Opportunity
Atlanta (EQOA) together and
What would you get?
Sweetness and light.
. Members of the subcommittee
left the Monday night meeting
which they expected to be a
fracas still a little unsure of
what had actually happened.
Not only did they get a sym-
pathetic hearing, but at the
Yecommendation of Atlanta
Supt. of Schools Dr. John Let-
son, the subcommittee will hold
weekly meetings with the board
“as long as is necessary” to
discuss and iron out their com-
plaints.
“DO YOU REALIZE what
this means?” Mrs. Marilyn
Graybill asked following
Meeting. “It means we ."e ac-
tually going to get in on school
decisions at the policy level.”
“This is the best board meet-
ing I’ve ever attended,” said
Robert Tuve, chairman of an-
other citizens group, Better
Schools Atlanta. “I’d say this
Was & very positive response,”
“I'd say we made a start,”
gaid Mrs. Maggie Moody chair-
man of the subcommittee of the
EOA Citizens Advisory Council.
- The meeting began on a sour
note when board chairman Bill
Wainwright grilled Mrs. Moody
about differences between her’
€orrespondences praising the
High School and request that
the board -build a new high
school on Field Road to serve
the expanding northwest At-
lanta population.
Mrs. Hill maintained Archer
is housing 1,700 students but
has a capacity for only 1,200.
Dr. Letson told the parents
the schoo] board included ad-
ditions for Archer, Harper and
West Fulton High Schools in
this bond issue to take care of
population -growth in that area. |,
board for working with the sub-
committee and published re-
ports that the subcommittee had
etiticized the beard for failure
to commumicate and cooperate, |
However, the tone of the!
meeting began to change after)
one of the subcommittee mem-
bers came to Mrs .Moody’s de-
fense.
“You're awful stiff,’ Mrs.
Susie LaBord told Wainwright.
“You're like you’ve got Mrs.
Moody on trial. We’re here to
talk about our children’s prob-
lems, aot to jerk up Mrs.
Moody. We don’t want anymore
of that kind of talk,” she said.
AFTER A BRIEF exchange
between Wainwright and an-
eather subcommittee member,
Mrs. Dorothy Bolden, over
whether the board should re-
spond te the complaints of the
group in writing or, as Wain-
wright said, by having Dr. Let-
son “throw the answers out on
the table,” Dr. Letson took over
the meeting.
“Mr. Wainwright may I sug-
gest that we take each one of
these broad areas the subcom-
mittee is questioning us about
moe ns a mes meeting to
wi em in depth,”
Dr. Letson said. te
“Let me illustrate,” Letson
went on. The Atlanta school
lunch program is the largest
food service operation in At-
Janta. If you want.a thorough
understanding of our school
goer it’s abosolutely
al that you spend the
ime to learn about it
“We'll set up these meetings,
one on each topic or more if
hecessary, and have all the staff
people, erea superintendents
and principals here to answer
your questions. Then you can
help us evaluate the program
and if there’s a better way to
do it, we'll be glad to take your
recommendations,”
THE FIRST meeting, set for
? p.m. Wednesday, will deal
with the operation of the school
pag acti ne as board’s
Icy on free an i
ey eee. ve
Mrs. Odessa Hill, Mrs, M
Sanford and Mrs. Olivia Pullen
Tepresenting the Perry Homes
area, appeared before the board
earlier in the evening to dis-
cuss overcrowding in Archer
Tuesday, July 8, 1969
S SET
_ Harmony Prevails as EOA,
~ Atlanta School Board Meet
By JUNIE BROWN
: Atlanta Journal Education Editor
. Put the Atlanta Board of Edu-
cation and an education subcom-
mittee of Economic Opportunity
Atlanta (EQOA) together and
What would you get?
Sweetness and light.
. Members of the subcommittee
left the Monday night meeting
which they expected to be a
fracas still a little unsure of
what had actually happened.
Not only did they get a sym-
pathetic hearing, but at the
Yecommendation of Atlanta
Supt. of Schools Dr. John Let-
son, the subcommittee will hold
weekly meetings with the board
“as long as is necessary” to
discuss and iron out their com-
plaints.
“DO YOU REALIZE what
this means?” Mrs. Marilyn
Graybill asked following
Meeting. “It means we ."e ac-
tually going to get in on school
decisions at the policy level.”
“This is the best board meet-
ing I’ve ever attended,” said
Robert Tuve, chairman of an-
other citizens group, Better
Schools Atlanta. “I’d say this
Was & very positive response,”
“I'd say we made a start,”
gaid Mrs. Maggie Moody chair-
man of the subcommittee of the
EOA Citizens Advisory Council.
- The meeting began on a sour
note when board chairman Bill
Wainwright grilled Mrs. Moody
about differences between her’
€orrespondences praising the
High School and request that
the board -build a new high
school on Field Road to serve
the expanding northwest At-
lanta population.
Mrs. Hill maintained Archer
is housing 1,700 students but
has a capacity for only 1,200.
Dr. Letson told the parents
the schoo] board included ad-
ditions for Archer, Harper and
West Fulton High Schools in
this bond issue to take care of
population -growth in that area. |,
board for working with the sub-
committee and published re-
ports that the subcommittee had
etiticized the beard for failure
to commumicate and cooperate, |
However, the tone of the!
meeting began to change after)
one of the subcommittee mem-
bers came to Mrs .Moody’s de-
fense.
“You're awful stiff,’ Mrs.
Susie LaBord told Wainwright.
“You're like you’ve got Mrs.
Moody on trial. We’re here to
talk about our children’s prob-
lems, aot to jerk up Mrs.
Moody. We don’t want anymore
of that kind of talk,” she said.
AFTER A BRIEF exchange
between Wainwright and an-
eather subcommittee member,
Mrs. Dorothy Bolden, over
whether the board should re-
spond te the complaints of the
group in writing or, as Wain-
wright said, by having Dr. Let-
son “throw the answers out on
the table,” Dr. Letson took over
the meeting.
“Mr. Wainwright may I sug-
gest that we take each one of
these broad areas the subcom-
mittee is questioning us about
moe ns a mes meeting to
wi em in depth,”
Dr. Letson said. te
“Let me illustrate,” Letson
went on. The Atlanta school
lunch program is the largest
food service operation in At-
Janta. If you want.a thorough
understanding of our school
goer it’s abosolutely
al that you spend the
ime to learn about it
“We'll set up these meetings,
one on each topic or more if
hecessary, and have all the staff
people, erea superintendents
and principals here to answer
your questions. Then you can
help us evaluate the program
and if there’s a better way to
do it, we'll be glad to take your
recommendations,”
THE FIRST meeting, set for
? p.m. Wednesday, will deal
with the operation of the school
pag acti ne as board’s
Icy on free an i
ey eee. ve
Mrs. Odessa Hill, Mrs, M
Sanford and Mrs. Olivia Pullen
Tepresenting the Perry Homes
area, appeared before the board
earlier in the evening to dis-
cuss overcrowding in Archer
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