Riverview parents: We want an independent investigation of the school district
Riverview parents: We want an independent investigation of the school district
The Beaufort Tribune has obtained the following letter, which is being distributed by Riverview Charter School supporters to all Riverview parents to obtain their signatures on the attached letter to the school board:
Dear Riverview Parents:
Please take a moment to review the attached letter to the Beaufort County Board of Education. As we are now well-aware, there are serious questions surrounding the data released by the District to Riverview and the Office of Civil Rights regarding the actual diversity numbers of children in the County.
Whether this was a mistake or something intentional, Beaufort County taxpayers have the right to know what happened, who was involved and what safe-guards can be put into place to ensure this does not happen again.
The Beaufort County Board of Education is responsible for investigating its own Board and its District Offices. We find this unacceptable and are calling for an immediate, independent investigation.
After reading the attached letter, please consider signing it. We will have copies of the letter and signature pages available in the RCS Office through Tuesday afternoon. We plan to present this letter during the public comment portion of the Beaufort County School Board Meeting this Tuesday, March 2nd. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
Thank you for your continued support of Riverview Charter School.
March 2, 2010
Dear Beaufort County School Board:
As citizens of Beaufort County, we are concerned about the recent inaccuracies in the School District’s reports regarding racial composition of the student population. As we are now well-aware, the recent data correction released by the District regarding the actual diversity numbers of children in the County helps Riverview meet our directive by OCR.
While we, the parents, are extremely relieved to have discovered and corrected this mistake in the eleventh hour, the previous misrepresentation of data by the District had the very real potential to force Riverview Charter School to close after this school year, which would have displaced hundreds of students, disappointed hundreds more potential students and placed over 30 teachers and staff out of work.
Beaufort County taxpayers have the right to know how and why the data was misrepresented for the past several months, why cross-checks were not in place to be certain these critical numbers were accurate and what safe-guards will be established to ensure this does not happen again.
We understand that the Board of Education is responsible for the actions of the District office and for investigating such incidents. We assert that, in this case, the potential misrepresentations are at a level of severity as to require an independent investigation. Considering the contentious state of affairs concerning Riverview; the involvement of taxpayer dollars, the possibility of malfeasance and the real potential for harm – this is exactly the type of situation that calls for an immediate, independent investigation.
As such, the parents of Riverview students are requesting an immediate, independent investigation into the discrepancies in the District’s data and possible improprieties. By doing so, you continue to do the job that the citizens elected you to do: place the interests of our children first. For this, we thank you.
Sincerely,
Riverview Supporters
All our articles about Riverview Charter School
All our articles about Beaufort County’s public schools
Racial makeup in each of Beaufort County’s public schools
Report on the racial quota imposed by OCR and the school board on Riverview Charter School
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor.
Related posts:
- Editorial: Beaufort County School District ignores Riverview Charter School
- Riverview supporter says school district’s racial data “falsification”
- Riverview Charter School organizers say school board will approve today
- Riverview Charter School issues statement, continues hopeful
- Riverview Charter School says school board racial numbers are wrong, goes forward with lottery plans
