Citizens at board meeting blame Parrott for CHS grade scandal
Ginger Cook and Courney Atnip sit ready to criticize Anderson County Schools and defend teachers accused of manipulating grades at the July 11 Board of Education meeting. - Ben Pounds
Courtney Atnip and Ginger Cook spoke negatively about Parrott and the school system’s handling of the incident, and they defended the teachers.
Atnip said the school system did not have policies in place to determine how to help students recover grades, and so the teachers could not have violated those policies.
She also said she planned to go to state authorities and ask them to intervene.
“I think there needs to be clear guidelines of what this credit-recovery program is about and who’s ultimately in charge of it,” Atnip said.
Even though several CHS staff members have already resigned or been fired, debate over grade recovery continued at the board meeting.
The board spent some time discussing the accusations privately, and an investigation is still ongoing.
Publicly, however, at the same meeting, Parrott gave his thoughts and a timeline of events, and said rumors about a “mass exodus” of teachers were false.
During its recent investigation, the school system found that “multiple” CHS students were on track for graduation without completing the required course work.
Some CHS graduates from the 2022-23 school year may not have finished or passed the required tests.
