Muscogee County School District
Address
2960 Macon Road
Columbus
, Georgia, 31906
United States
Coordinates32°28′38″N 84°56′52″W / 32.477177°N 84.947696°W / 32.477177; -84.947696[1]
District information
GradesPre-school–12
SuperintendentDavid Lewis
Accreditation(s)Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Georgia Accrediting Commission
Students and staff
Enrollment32,944[2]
Faculty4,068[2]
Other information
Websitemuscogee.k12.ga.us

The Muscogee County School District (MCSD) is the county government agency which operates the public schools in Muscogee County, Georgia.

The district serves as the designated school district all parts of the county, except Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), for grades K-12. Fort Moore children are zoned to Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools for grades K-8.[3] However high school students attend the public high schools in the respective counties they are located in.[4] Any Fort Moore pupil, however, may attend Muscogee County schools if their parents wish, as per House Bill 224. The district does not give transportation to HB224 transfers.[5]

History

Integration

In 1963, the district formed a special committee on desegregation. In September of that year, the school board approved a freedom of choice plan which would integrate one grade each year. In January 1964, the NAACP filed a lawsuit Lockett v. the Board of Education of Muscogee School District asserting that even with the choice plan, the district maintained an inferior school system for negroes. Superintendent Dr. William Henry Shaw testified that segregation was a "long and universal custom" and that abandoning it would "injure the feelings and physical well-being of the children." Nevertheless, in September 1968, the MCSD ruled that all grades were to be integrated through Freedom of Choice. When the federal court case U. S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education ruled that teaching staffs must also be integrated, the district agreed to assign at least two teachers who would be in the racial minority to the faculty of every school. Both teachers and students considered the goal of this time period to be more focused on survival than on education. By 1970, under the freedom of choice plan, 27 of 67 schools in the district remained completely segregated. At this time, while most of the white schools employed only the mandated two black teachers, but some of the black schools employed more white teachers. Under the threat of a cutoff of $1.8 million in federal funds, the school district integrated the schools in 1971, resulting in a 70% white student population at each school. Various changes were made to appease the different groups: for example, pictures of George Washington Carver were removed from Carver High School to soothe white students. In 1997 federal jurisdiction over the school district ended.[6]

Board of education

The Muscogee County Board of Education is the school district's elected governing body, and consists of nine members elected to staggered four-year terms. Eight of the members are elected from districts; one is elected at large. The Board of Education meets on the second and third Monday of each month unless the schedule is interrupted for a holiday.

Board Members

Term ends 12-31-2024

Term ends 12-31- 2026

Term ends 12-31-2024

Term ends 12-31-2026

Term ends 12-31-2024

Term ends 12-31-2026

Term ends 12-31-2024

Term ends 12-31-2026

Term ends 12-31-2026

Elementary schools (Pre K–5 )

Middle schools (6–8)

High schools (9–12)

Jordan Vocational High School

References

  1. ^ "Free US Geocoder". Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  2. ^ a b School Stats, Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  3. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Muscogee County, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2022. - Text list - "Fort Benning Schools" refers to the DoDEA schools on Fort Moore, formerly Fort Benning. The document states that the county schools have high school zoning.
  4. ^ "Fort Benning Schools". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved July 4, 2022. - The document states that the county schools have high school zoning.
  5. ^ "Fort Benning Transfer (FBT) Applications Available July 1". Muscogee County School District. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Lyles, Marion. "Segregation to Desegregation: The Journey of African American Students to Academic Excellence or Academic Despair" (PDF). Retrieved January 9, 2019.

External links

Columbus, Georgia
Authority control databases
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