The Jefferson County Board of Education voted Monday night to implement a restaffing plan for three high schools identified last year as among the lowest performing in the state, based on test scores. The board chose the plan over another option that would have rewarded teachers financially at Doss, Seneca and Fairdale High Schools for academic improvements.That option was opposed by the teachers union; Seneca's Noah Cooksey spoke against it at meeting."I'm afraid of it because i believe it will strain the bright collegial atmosphere we have at Seneca, even more than transferring us to other schools," Cooksey told the board. Under the restaffing plan, it's likely that less than 50 percent of teachers at the three schools will be replaced. Three other struggling high schools, Waggener, Southern and Iroquois, are undergoing state audits and will be also subject to an overhaul plan.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.