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June 3, 2008


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NEWS

Carroll Academy May Close Because of Federal/State Grant Elimination

By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com

HUNTINGDON – Carroll Academy is in danger of closing after the state of Tennessee Department of Children’s Service announced it would no longer provide the $858,512 annual grant. Larry Logan, judge of the Carroll County General Sessions and Juvenile Court received a letter May 23 informing him the grant would be eliminated July 1 as part of an overall reduction in the state budget.

“It is our sincere regret that I have to inform you today the Department of Children’s Services will not be renewing our juvenile court and community intervention grant programs when the current grant period expires on June 30, 2008,” wrote Steven C. Hornsby, deputy commissioner for Juvenile Justice. He noted the federal government is cutting the DCS’s budget by as much as $73 million, which is resulting in significant shortfall in state revenues and reductions in staff and budgets across the state.

The school, serving 101 students in grades 6-12, educates high-risk students, who have been removed from traditional schools in five counties and placed in Carroll Academy by court-order. It opened in September 1994 in an 8,000 square-foot portion of the Carroll County Office Complex on High Street, Huntingdon. It is a state custody prevention intervention program for at-risk juveniles as a cost-effective measure to reduce the extremely high rate of juvenile court commitments in the counties of Carroll, Henderson, Henry, Weakley and Benton. Students attend year-round and enjoy a low student/teacher ratio. Students receive counseling, individual attention, and return each evening to their families or guardians. Many students have excelled at Carroll Academy. Several have received college scholarships and graduated from college.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” said Logan concerning the elimination of the grant, which is necessary to keep the school open. He said the school actually saves the state millions of dollars by keeping these at-risk students out of state custody. If the school closes, many of the students will not be allowed back in traditional schools because they previously violated the “zero-tolerance” provisions. He noted that some 14-year-old students may not be allowed back in school. “Where do they go,” questioned Logan. He worries that the closure of the school will cause some of the students to enter reform school or some other state custody program, which is less beneficial for the child and a lot more expensive for the state.

Randy Hatch, senior administrator for Carroll Academy said the closure will actually cost the state $2 to $4 million instead of saving the $858,512. “If they (the state) do not have the money for this (Carroll Academy), where will they get the money (to place these children in state custody)?

The student census last week was 101 students and 23 staff and faculty members, all of whom will be displaced. Of the 101 students, 61 are from Carroll County, said Hatch. Each student is enrolled a minimum of six months. The school serves 250 at-risk court ordered juveniles annually, of which well over one-half would have to be categorized at an extremely high risk level to be placed in state custody, said Hatch. He estimated 15 of the students who reside in Carroll County will be remanded to state custody once the school closes. The state will serve as their guardian, said Hatch. The state will educate, feed, cloth, and provide medical treatment in one of several state-run children’s facilities. “They (the state) have indicated they do not have enough beds now,” said Hatch, who questioned where these students would be placed.

Approximately 10-12 of Carroll Academy’s students violated the zero-tolerance provisions at their previous school. They will not be permitted to return to that school and the private schools will not accept students who have violated zero-tolerance rules in public schools. That leaves only home schooling for those students, said Hatch.

Kenny McBride, mayor of Carroll County, called the situation a “sad state of affairs.” The county, through the Carroll County Juvenile Court, administers the state grant. He said he has talked with State Representative Mark Maddox, State Senator Lowe Finney and Representative Willie Borchert about the situation. He is hoping to get an appointment with Governor Phil Bredesen to plead the case for Carroll Academy. Brad Hurley, president of Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, met with other state officials last Friday in hopes of retaining the grant.

“Carroll Academy has had a positive impact on reducing truancy and school dropout rates in Carroll County as well as the other four counties it serves,” said Hatch. He estimates that the county will likely commit 2.5 juveniles per month to state custody or 30 annually at a total cost to the state of $1,770,000. These figures do not include the other four counties, noted Hatch.

Prior to the opening of Carroll Academy, Carroll County Juvenile Court committed 80 juveniles to state custody in the 1992-1993 and 1993-94 fiscal years.

Since 1994, Carroll Academy has served over 3,000 juveniles, many of whom would have been committed to DCS state custody. Carroll Academy has a 96 percent daily average attendance rate with zero dropouts. The school averages six to 12 high school graduates each year with a 90 percent GED passing rate, making it one of the most successful GED programs in the state. The school averages 42 Child and Family Team meetings per month, which equates to 504 per year or 7,056 since Carroll Academy opened. The school also fields sports teams and is a member of the TSSAA. The Carroll Academy Jaguar teams have received special recognition with the TSSAA’s “Doing What’s Right Good Sportsmanship Award” each and every year since joining the TSSAA. Fewer than 20 percent of the TSSAA member schools have received this award continuously over the same period as Carroll Academy. Carroll Academy plays its basketball games in a 16,200 square foot gymnasium adjacent to the Carroll County Office Complex. The gymnasium is complete with a hardwood floor that was the floor at The Pyramid in Memphis, where the Memphis Grizzlies played. When the floor was replaced in Memphis, Carroll Academy bought the old floor at a fraction of its cost.

Following the announcement the school might close, Hatch said the students have expressed their concern for their own future. Hatch said the closing of the school will have a dramatic impact on the community and staff through job losses.

Former student Summer Hill said Carroll Academy helped her realign her priorities in life. “It is a very good place…very beneficial.” She is the assistant manager of the Rent A Center in Paris and lacks one year of school at the West Tennessee Business College. When she heard of the possible closure of Carroll County she said she was speechless and could only think, “Why?”

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June 3, 2008