COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -
The Muscogee County School Board made a decision to close the Academic Success Center in a 7 to 2 vote.
"We want to implement the transition plan that was presented to the board this evening and prepare those students, their parents, home schools and the Academic Success [Center] for that transition," Board Chair Cathy Williams said.
The Muscogee County School District said it was lacking $30 million from the 2009 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or SPLOST. To make up for the shortfall, Interim Superintendent John Phillips recently proposed to close the school.
Several members of the Columbus chapter of the NAACP were at Monday night's school board meeting to fight for the Academic Success Center to remain open.
The alternative school is located on Manchester Expressway and has been open since 1990. About 200 students attend the school.
Williams says the Center
was eliminated not because of the proposed fine arts academy but because of its
short falls.
"They had a low
graduation rate, we found that some kids were disillusioned when they got to
Academic Success because they weren't in a traditional high school environment,
they missed their peers, they missed sports, they missed extra-curricular activities,"
Williams said.
Also Monday, board members met with the superintendent search firm. They will meet again next week with four participants.
Officials hope to have a new superintendent by the end of December.
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