By John Brice
Correspondent
Residents of LaFayette were afforded the opportunity to watch a live closed circuit television broadcast at the Chambers County Courthouse this past week of the hearing on the Chambers County Board of Education’s Motion for Approval of Site for the New Consolidated High School, for Approval to Build the New High School and for Authorization to Temporarily Consolidate High School Students.
Past hearings had been held a short trip away at the George W. Andrews Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Opelika, however, this final hearing was held at the Frank M. Johnson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Montgomery. Originally the hearing was set to take place over the course of three days from Jan. 17-19th, due to complicating circumstances it was extended onto a fourth day of Friday, January 20th.
Visitors were warmly welcomed to the courthouse by security officer Beth Shaver and swiftly directed to the large courtroom for viewing the broadcast. Once inside, guests took their seats in the gallery amongst their fellow citizens to watch the live feed from the courthouse in Montgomery on a large screen television placed in the center of the room.
CCSD Superintendent Casey Chambley took the stand on the first and second days of the hearing followed by Tracey Richter, Vice President of Planning Services at Hoar Program Management, LLC. Their testimonies focused primarily on the site selection process and how the data was collected in making their determination to select Valley as the location of the new consolidated high school.
Day three of the hearing saw testimony from Lee Hwang, President at Geographic Information Solutions, LLC. Hwang’s testimony centered on the technical aspects of the transportation data he had analyzed for the site selection process. Next on the stand was Benji Mitchum,
Director of Transportation for the CCSD. Mitchum’s testimony revolved primarily around foreseeing the logistical concerns associated with each of the proposed locations for the new school.
There was significant confusion surrounding Mitchum’s assertions that he was using feedback from his school bus drivers recalled directly from his own memory of those conversations without the use of any supporting documentation, he may have contradicted himself by apparently gleaning critical information from documents in his possession that had not been shared with the plaintiff’s attorneys. Mitchum did concede that students in outlying western and northern portions of Chambers County could spend over three hours per school day commuting to and from the proposed Valley site.
Jeffrey Finch, CCSD Board of Education President and member representing District 1, took the stand next to clarify the conduct and procedures employed leading up to and during their 4-2 vote in favor of the Valley location. Finch expressed his frustration with what he characterized as the problematic personality of the residents of LaFayette who he feels are preoccupied with preserving their alma mater and community identity at the expense of the greater good of Chambers County.
Identifying himself as an advocate for minority students in what he referred to as eastern Chambers, Finch declared his intent to pursue what he deems to be the best interests of a population of students in the Valley area who he believes have had their voices neglected at the expense of LaFayette’s vocal demands for fair treatment.
During the midst of Finch’s testimony the live feed from Montgomery came to an abrupt end, a message that the broadcast had ended displayed on the tv screen much to the chagrin of the audience present in the Chambers courtroom.
Witness for the United States Department of Justice, Matthew Cropper, took the stand on day four to testify regarding the analysis he had provided on the CCSD plans for the consolidated high school. During hostile cross examination from attorney Bob Meadows, who represented the district, in regards to Cropper’s assertion that a neutral site should be selected instead of Valley there were insinuations by Meadows questioning Cropper’s objectivity and whether he is merely a paid off lackey for the DOJ. Cropper held firm in his contention that although he initially supported the existing Valley High School as a consolidated location, his change of heart was genuine when he was made aware that a new school was to be constructed.
Louis T. Davidson, City Clerk for the City of LaFayette, was next up on the stand providing his testimony live from the Chambers County courthouse through a video feed that was transmitted to the federal courthouse in Montgomery. Attorney Meadows pursued more hard nosed cross examination tactics where he implied that the City of LaFayette simply did not have the money to afford to pay for the property it had offered to provide as donations to the location of a new high school.
Meadows also called into question the quality and preparedness of the LaFayette Police department, EMS services and LaFayette Fire Department by raising the issue of whether they are short staffed. Further casting doubt on the good character of the City of LaFayette, Meadows employed veiled sarcasm when asking rhetorical questions in regards to where the nearest emergency rooms or hospitals were located, facilities that are obviously not located within LaFayette’s city limits.
Finishing out the witness list was LaShae Herring, CCSD Board Member representing District 3. Herring clarified her reasoning in casting a no vote against selecting the Valley site, expressing her reservations due in part to the Desegregation Advisory Committee’s recommendation against hastily holding that vote until more research on the various sites had been considered.
At that point both parties rested their cases, prompting Judge Watkins to declare a sixty day time period for each side to file their legal briefs at the end of which time he will render his final decision and the hearing was adjourned.