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Dothan board member warns 60% of students are not proficient, alleges contract reviews delay services
Summary
At the March 17 Dothan City Board of Education meeting, board member Dr. Franklin Jones said outside presenters showed roughly 60% of students are not proficient and accused off‑record contract reviews by the chair and board attorney of delaying services and blurring governance roles.
Dr. Franklin Jones, a Dothan City Board member, told the board on March 17 that data presented earlier by outside experts showed about 60% of the district’s students are not proficient in core skills and that the district lacks urgency to improve outcomes.
“We are about to send over 500 students into a cruel world,” Jones said, arguing the board must prioritize timely academic action rather than delay. He tied those academic concerns to governance practices, saying a prior board vote to have the board attorney review contracts has morphed into a broader operational review that delays services intended for students.
Jones said documents show multiple instances in which contract review by the chair and the board attorney extended beyond legal sufficiency checks and effectively determined which recommendations proceeded to the board, bypassing full public deliberation. “When contracts are effectively screened or delayed outside of a public meeting, it raises serious concerns about transparency,” he said.
Vice Chair Mrs. Brenda Guilford addressed procedure for audience members, explaining that any board member can make a motion and that a second does not indicate agreement — it only allows an item to be discussed and then voted on. Guilford also read from Alabama Constitutional Amendment 284 to underscore that the superintendent has authority to negotiate and execute contracts approved by the board.
Board member Mrs. Taiisha Walton said the timeline of earlier decisions is well documented and pressed for action, not simply discussion. Walton also said some members had been threatened with censure for raising governance questions and emphasized that “open dialogue … is not misconduct. It is governance.”
The exchange highlighted a tension between board members’ calls for quicker academic interventions and concerns about internal processes for handling contracts and operational decisions. The board took no formal governance action at the meeting to change contract-review procedures; multiple routine agenda items and contracts were approved during the session.
Next steps: board members requested that governance and contract-review practices be clarified so that administration recommendations are vetted publicly and timely supports for students proceed without undue delay.
