Monds questions school superintendent’s actions

The Grady County Board of Education heard from John Monds, an outspoken critic of the board and school superintendent, on Tuesday night.

Monds requested the opportunity to speak during public participation to discuss Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gilliard.

“Over the last couple of years, I have had many conversations with Dr. Gilliard,” Monds said. He went on to say there were questions he and others had that they did not believe the superintendent had answered adequately.

Monds said his concerns were primarily focused on the superintendent’s handling of “certain situations with certain employees.”

“If the board doesn’t see anything wrong then that’s fine. If you do find that state, local, federal policies or professional standards were violated I would ask you to respond appropriately,” Monds said.

He claimed that other employees had been fired for violating policy and the superintendent should not be held to a different standard.

Monds presented the board with a list of five questions that he said he was submitting “out of concern for the school children of Grady County and the community as a whole.”

The questions center around Dr. Gilliard’s recent recommendation to transfer former Washington Middle School Principal Derrick McCoy to the central office as administrative assistant to the superintendent and recommending Michael Best as the new WMS principal. Best is a veteran of the local school system who, for the past two years, served as principal of the Baker County K-12 School in Newton.

Monds’ written questions were:

1. Did the superintendent report to the Professional Standards Commission an ethics violation within 90 days of his having knowledge that an employee had falsified a student record?

2. Did the superintendent violate local board policy by not submitting the position for Washington Middle School principal to a statewide online job database after Mr. McCoy was removed from the position?

3. Did the superintendent violate any Federal or Georgia statutes that relate to equal opportunity when he did not post the Washington Middle School principal position after it became vacant?

4. Did the board attorney render a legal opinion to the board on whether the superintendent’s non-posting of the Washington Middle School principal position was a violation of any Federal or Georgia statutes concerning equal opportunity?

5. If the board finds that the superintendent knowingly violated any of the following: local policy; code of ethics; federal statute; or Georgia statute, will the board remove the superintendent from his position?

According to Dr. Gilliard, he has met with Monds and other concerned African-American citizens regarding the administrative changes at WMS. He said that he had answered these same questions on more than one occasion in face-to-face meetings between himself and Monds. “I really have no further comment,” Dr. Gilliard said.

Monds asked that the school board members respond in the next 30 days or so.