OKLAHOMA CITY -
The public is now
getting a better picture of the impact an alleged grade-tampering scandal has
had on a metro high school.
Officials with Oklahoma City Public Schools say
nearly the entire senior class of Douglass Mid-High is not on track to graduate
in the spring of 2013.
The drama has been
unfolding for at least two years. Former principal Brian Staples is accused
of inflating students' grades in an attempt to make the school look better.
Now, the district is faced with a harsh reality and some angry taxpayers.
School district
leaders faced the cameras Thursday, but it was not your usual press conference.
"They've been
knowing about [the allegations] since 2008," yelled concerned taxpayer Raynetta
Shabbaz, as she temporarily hijacked a press conference at Oklahoma City Public
Schools' district headquarters Thursday.
"Don't let [the district] lie to [you
all]," Shabbaz told members of the news media in front of school officials.
11/29/2012 Related Story: Majority Of Douglass High School Students May Not Graduate
After learning 81
percent of Douglass' senior class may not graduate, Shabbaz, who lives near the
school, says the district has failed the students by not stepping in sooner to
fix major problems.
District officials
rejectd the charge saying they stepped in as soon as they learned of allegations
against Staples.
"When you trust an individual
to do a job, you expect them to do that," Linda Ware Toure, district director
of secondary school and reform said.
Staples resigned
amid the scandal nearly two years after a group of teachers sued the district.
Those teachers say they were fired for refusing to give students better grades
than those students deserved. Now, the district has just six months to make up for
years of missed opportunity for 87 of the senior class' 107 students.
"The buck stops here,"
superintendent Karl Springer said after News 9 asked who should take the
ultimate responsibility. "The buck stops with the schools' superintendent."
School officials
say they do not anticipate this situation ever occurring again. However,
citizen watchdogs who scrutinize the district say not so fast.
"It's not only
happening at Douglass," Shabbaz said. "It's happening at U.S. Grant. It's
happening at Capitol Hill."
The district
denies the allegations against other schools. Students at Douglass must now
take evening and Saturday classes in order to have a hope of graduating on
time.
Janet
Barresi, state superintendent of public instruction, sent a letter home to
parents informing them of the situation with seniors this year and next year.
Barresi plans to meet with parents in about a week to hear their concerns and
work out a plan of action.
School district leaders faced the cameras Thursday, but it was not your usual press conference.
