We, the citizens, parents, and teachers impacted by the proposed changes to the schools of Lawrence County, ask that the school board and county commissioners pause the school closure process to allow actual meaningful inputs and review of the facts affecting this county.  It appears this process is being fast tracked without meaningful dialog or full evaluation of all aspects.

We know that information was submitted for use by the Visionary Committee and deliberately withheld from them.  We assume this was to skew the results. Further, we also know that a preferred recommendation of the Visionary Committee was deliberately withheld from options available.  Our concern is that there are questionable ethics at play in the process.

There is no transparency on the data being used.  We are concerned that only the data that supports a predetermined outcome is being used and, again, there is potentially an ethical issue with determining the options.

Location Census data for the students is not fully considered.  A topical review by concerned parents and teachers indicate that the western part of the county is more student centric, yet all schools in that portion are being closed.  

There has been no discussion on how any of the proposed options would be implemented. At the beginning of this school year, work that was required to be complete by the bringing of the school year was still lacking, the proposed options are significantly more complex with significantly more work to be done, how can any reasonable person think this will occur. 

Teachers currently have one day to prepare classrooms for students.  A disruption of this magnitude will most certainly need additional work in preparation for both closure and restart in new locations.  Obviously directing teachers and staff to do that work or purchase packing supplies outside contract requirements and hours presents a legal concern under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Union Contract.  This would set up directed overtime under the law. How will this be addressed? We do not seek to stop the process, we only seek to slow the process and provide an opportunity for meaningful input and transparency.

The residents have more than sufficient data, from verified public sources, that show Plan 1, the status quo, is the only acceptable option at this time.