Proposed charter school provokes debate in Clarksdale
Dr. Jimmy Wiley, a lifetime resident of Clarksdale, president of the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chapter of the NAACP and an educator for more than 40 years, argued that the public charter school program is forming two separate but equal school systems that Brown v. Board of Education found unconstitutional.
“There are problems with the charter schools. Some have been successful, but if you look at the research on the subject, you will find that it’s only 25 percent greater than some of the public schools only in Math and Science,” said Wiley. “In other respects, it is no better than the public schools. We don’t want funds being ciphered off from the public schools to the private schools because we’re headed for two systems we thought Brown v Board of Education had resolved in 1954.”
Wiley said he and others aren’t opposing for the sake of opposing, but he’s speaking on behalf of the local NAACP chapter, and they are “fighting teeth and nails” so the school won’t get authorized.
MS Today
8/16/17
