Commerce Schools Superintendent Dr. James “Mac” McCoy has disputed a Dec. 11 Athens Banner-Herald article that said the school system’s security plan lacks proper approval.
“I was floored that we were mentioned in the first sentence ... It can’t be further from the truth,” McCoy said told the Commerce Board of Education (BOE) Thursday at the board’s monthly work session.
Thursday was the first night the BOE has meet since the story’s publication, and McCoy defended the security plan.
The
Banner-Herald article said Commerce was one of 32 state school districts violating state law because its plan lacked approval by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). The story was based on an Associated Press review of state data.
Not true, McCoy said.
The law only requires approval from a local management agency, he said, and Jackson County has signed off on Commerce’s safety plan.
The school system’s legal team, Harbin and Hartley, confirmed that the security plan complies with the law, McCoy said.
GEMA’s approval is required only if a school system is seeking state assistance for that security plan, McCoy said.
“We didn’t ask for money from the state,” he said.
However, Commerce had been working with GEMA on its security plan and gained the agency’s approval over the Christmas break.
Still, McCoy was irritated by the assertion that Commerce Schools were ever delinquent.
“It gripes me to no end ... We were not in violation of the law,” McCoy said.
A local television station also telephoned McCoy regarding the issue, which further drew his ire.
“I said, ‘Stop, have you read the law?’” he said, relaying the conversation to the board.
McCoy said he just wanted to set the record straight for board members.
“I feel better that y’all know the rest of the story,” McCoy told the board.
