A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 37-17-6(11)(b) of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, the Mississippi Board of Education met on May 18, 2007, to determine whether there was sufficient cause to believe that an extreme emergency situation exists in the Jefferson Davis County School District which jeopardizes the educational interests of the children enrolled in the schools of this District; and

WHEREAS, the State Superintendent of Education presented to the Board information regarding serious leadership and management deficiencies in the Jefferson Davis County School District; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Accreditation, Mississippi Department of Education, presented to the Board information regarding serious violations of accreditation standards pertaining to leadership issues, Mississippi Board of Education policy, and state law; and

WHEREAS, the Commission on School Accreditation, by resolution dated May 10, 2007, found that there is sufficient cause to believe that an extreme emergency situation exists in the Jefferson Davis County School District brought on by serious violations of accreditation standards, Board policy, and state law; and

WHEREAS, following due deliberation, the Mississippi Board of Education found that there is sufficient cause to believe that an extreme emergency situation exists in the Jefferson Davis County School District brought on by serious leadership and management concerns existing in this District and by serious violations of accreditation standards, Board policy, and state law, which jeopardize the educational interests of the children enrolled in the schools of this District, and which, without intervention by the Mississippi Board of Education, could result in the continuation of an unstable environment, thereby denying the students of this District the opportunity to learn, to excel, and to obtain a free and appropriate public education; and

WHEREAS, by Resolution adopted by the Mississippi Board of Education at its May 18, 2007 meeting, as issued to me, as Governor of the State of Mississippi, it was requested that a State of Emergency be declared in the Jefferson Davis County School District pursuant to Section 37-17-6(11)(b) of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Jefferson Davis County School District has been unable to appoint an interim superintendent and has requested emergency relief in resolving critical issues which severely impact the educational interests of the children enrolled in the Jefferson Davis County School District; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Haley Barbour, Governor of the State of Mississippi, in response to the Resolution and request of the Mississippi Board of Education, and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Mississippi, including Section 37-17-6(11)(b) of the Mississippi Code of 1972, do hereby issue this Proclamation to

declare that a state of emergency exists in the Jefferson Davis County School District which jeopardizes the educational interests of the children enrolled in the schools of this District.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Mississippi to be affixed.

DONE at the Capitol, in the City of Jackson, this the 21st day of May, in the year of our Lord, two thousand and seven and of the Independence of the United Sates of America, the two hundred and thirty-first.

HALEY BARBOUR
GOVERNOR