The superintendent and the board of the Scott County School District have submitted their resignations. The resignations are effective Feb. 28, 2014.
As a result of these resignations, the governor will not authorize a takeover of the district at this time.
Gov. Bryant retains authority to immediately declare a state of emergency in the district and authorize an immediate takeover if the resigning officials attempt to fire or retaliate against school personnel, waste school funds or take any other inappropriate action before their resignations take effect at the end of the month.
"This course of action protects the interests of students in this B-rated district who, under a declaration of emergency, would have been affected by loss of school accreditation and curtailment of extracurricular activities," Gov. Bryant said. "However, let me be perfectly clear: if the superintendent or the board take any improper or retaliatory action before the effective date of their resignations, the only option will be immediate takeover of the district."
The Scott County School District is B-rated, and the resignations allow the school district, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Education, to correct the accreditation issues the State Board of Education and the Commission on Accreditation identified last week.
Gov. Bryant will continue working with the State Board of Education and the Mississippi Department of Education to assist the District in making timely corrections to address those issues.
"I will continue working with the State Board of Education to identify solutions that are best for the students in this district, and I thank Rep. Randy Rushing, Rep. John Moore and Sen. Terry Burton for their assistance," Gov. Bryant said.