Changes In The Mobile School List?

The head of Mobile County schools said he may remove some of the schools from the list of facilities he's proposed closing or combining.
Superintendent Dr. Roy Nichols had said he was looking at possibly closing Hillsdale Middle, and Fonvielle and Woodcock Elementary Schools, and consolidating Old Shell Road, Dunbar, Chickasaw and Clark Magnet Schools.
More than 150 people attended a public hearing Wednesday night on whether or not Fonveille should be closed.
Some spoke about why Fonvielle shouldn't be shut down and students sent to other schools.
Willie Huff said, "My son tested into the 97th percentile on the S.A.T. He came through this school."
LaTonya Hayes said, "Some parents stay farther from this school than others. So, we're not really worried about the mileage: its the gas, and how we're going to get to work."
Others said they know the school needs repairs, but Jimmie Gardner, President of the Mobile Branch of the NAACP, said, "The problem with the condition of the school has been because of the failure of our school board system in neglecting to fulfill the needs of this school."
Another speaker said, "They (school board members) built new schools in other communities. Throughout America, they label where we live as the inner city. And they do nothing for us."
Superintendent Roy Nichols did offer some reasons for hope about the schools he's named.
Nichols said, "I may well remove some schools from the list."
He didn't say which ones, but said a lot depends on logical arguments he hears at the public hearings and, according to Nichols, "what happens with the President's stimulus package. We'll find out about that next week and the week after that."
Dr. Nichols is scheduled to meet with the state superintendent Monday in Montgomery to get a better idea how much stimulus money Mobile may be getting.
The school board is expected to vote on the closings and changes at its meeting April 24.