School board reviews $663,000 partnership with district attorney to curb truancy

The Mobile County Public School System Board of School Commissioners on July 22 reviewed a proposed agreement with the district attorney's office aimed at reducing student truancy and preventing dropouts. The superintendent identified the item as Action Item C4 and cited a $663,000 amount tied to the initiative.

The superintendent described how the partnership would operate: "They have people they employ to do checks at each school to make sure that the kids are coming to school on time," he said, adding that the DA's staff conducts home visits when necessary. He characterized the arrangement as a way to "try to eliminate some of those barriers" that keep students from attending.

Board members asked about historical caseloads and program outcomes. The superintendent said, "When the DA's office, Keith Blackwood, took over, he had a backlog of 15,000 truancy" cases and added, "I think he's reduced that, probably 90%." The remark was presented as the superintendent's assessment; no supporting data was provided during the meeting.

A board member asked whether schools or the DA's office initiate contact; the superintendent replied that it "goes both ways" and that "the school mainly contact them." The exchange also established that the program will require documentation and coordination between schools and the DA's office.

The superintendent and other board members framed the proposal as a partnership to reduce absenteeism through casework, home visits and school-level checks. The board moved its action items toward the consent agenda with no recorded debate or formal roll-call vote on C4 during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript.

Next steps were not set out in the transcript beyond inclusion of the item on the agenda; the board packet lists the DA partnership as Action Item C4 with the stated dollar amount.