Murphy – The debate over whether valedictorians will be named for the next three years is not over yet, as at least two school board members have changed their thinking on the matter.
At the Cherokee County Board of Education meeting Thursday night, the policy passed earlier this year that installs the Latin honors system and eliminates the titles for the top two students in each senior class came up for another reading. This version included a clause that allowed first right of refusal for the top two students to speak at graduation.
However, before voting on the matter, parents spoke in public forum about their desire to see the titles retained, at least for the next three graduating classes.
Frank Hill, who spoke at a board meeting over the summer, restated his position that a grandfather clause be added to the policy. Susan Guess of Ranger also spoke publicly on the topic for the first time, saying she did not like doing away with the honor titles. “Some of these kids made it by the skin of their teeth, but they earned that title,” Guess said.
Tracy Palmer and her daughter, Alyson, were at the meeting as well. They acknowledged agreement with the other speakers and did not comment further. This time was different than previous discussions, though, as board members Keesha Curtis and Joe Wood said they had come around on a grandfather clause for the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grades.
“I have no problem with the Latin honors system, but I think we should start with a fresh baseline with the kids who are in the ninth grade now,” Curtis said. “If we don’t, it takes away from what the juniors and seniors have worked for.”
Wood added his support for the grandfather clause. The board decided not to vote on it because only four members were present with Tim West, Joey Shore and Dr. Jeff Martin absent.
Board member Arnold Mathews added that he has had three children in contention for top honors in their classes, including his daughter who was listed as No. 2 on her transcript but was not salutatorian because of a “forgotten class” added to the record of another student.
The Palmers have been outspoken on the policy since it was introduced. Tracy was not sure if the board would have the votes to make the grandfather clause happen.
“After sitting through the board meeting on Thursday evening, it is quite obvious that a couple of our elected school board members have their minds made up, and have had their minds made up since the very beginning,” Palmer said Monday. “I feel like everything that we, as parents, have said to certain board members has fallen on deaf ears.
“This whole situation could be avoided if they would vote to recognize all students with high grade point averages, but also still recognize the top two as valedictorian and salutatorian. We are asking the board members to grandfather these students in that have followed the rules. That’s all we are asking. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”
Superintendent Jeana Conley has been through the ringer from both ends of this debate. She said there was no point in taking it back to committee, but rather to have a simple up or down vote at the October meeting.
Conley reiterated what she stated previously, that cutting off the valedictorian award after the first semester of the senior year lent itself to students ending up finishing in the top two and not being recognized. “Some of those students felt like they got robbed,” she said. “It needs to be a fair race to the finish.”
Valedictorian honors still on the table for local schools
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