Malcolm Thomas, Superintendent of the Escambia County School District, pre-filed for re-election on Monday, January 30. In his press releas, Thomas expressed his desire to continue the work that he began during his first term in office.
“While we celebrate our milestones, we have not reached our destination,” said Thomas in the release. “We must continue the journey to excellence.â€
Strangely, he claims to have, under his leadership, better student achievement and discipline, as well as greater transparency–even though the statistics show the opposite, particularly with minority students -whose graduation rate is below 60 percent according to AYP measurement. When we did the story on Warrington Middle School (Independent News, “Tarnished Turnaround,†April 7), we found that the School District had unreported its incidents of violence during the 2009-2010 school year. Tate High School failed to properly report a sexual battery and instead investigated it themselves–suspending both the victim and perpetrator.
Additional information about the district’s accomplishments during Thomas’ first term and his plans for the next four years are on his web site located at www.malcolmthomas2012.com.
It looks like he and our paper will have a difference of opinion on what he has accomplished.
