A new group filled with concerned parents are hoping to positively change the Dougherty County School Board.
Parents Requiring Excellence in our School System, known as P.R.E.S.S., joined together a year ago, to be a presence within the school system.
After seeing one of the school buildings always surrounded with crime, they began to question the safety of their children in school.
Now they are hoping for a change.
Safety comes first. That's the message from the newly formed parents group who want to improve Dougherty County Schools.
"The reason we got together was because a group of parents got tired of seeing this facility on the news, whether it be SWAT team, attempted kidnapping, drug busts, or whatever" says Josh Pollock, P.R.E.S.S. Co-chair.
Parents Requiring Excellence in our School System, known as P.R.E.S.S., is made up of concerned parents who urge people to attend board meetings and hold the school board accountable.
"We believe that some of our current school board members, are too busy putting out fires, and fighting over ethical issues, they have neither the time or inclination to protect our children," says Pollock.
Pollock's daughter attends L.I.F.E. lab, the gifted program for Dougherty County students, at Corn Avenue and South McKinley Street.
"I am thoroughly impressed with everything that goes on inside these walls, it is fantastic, the faculty here, the administration here is awesome, but you still have to get them from that parking lot to that door,"
Pollock says from August 2011 to May 2012, a full Dougherty County school year, there were 184 criminal instances within 1000 feet from the school, 37 of those during school hours.
"There has been statutory rape, gang activity, illegal possession of firearms, battery and attempted kidnapping"
He says P.R.E.S.S. has addressed these concerns at school board meetings, but nothing has been done to fix the problems. He feels like Dr. Lane Price will be the answer they have been looking for.
"Here is another plan that must be created to ensure safety and then we will act on those decisions, working together we can bring excellence back into the Dougherty County Schools," says Dr. Lane Price, School Board Candidate.
Pollock says it is time for a change, and Dr. Lane Price is the change P.R.E.S.S. has been looking for.
Pollock says there are solutions to the safety concerns P.R.E.S.S has raised in school board meetings, like having an officer on duty at the school.
He hopes something is done soon, to ensure the safety of the children in Dougherty County Schools.
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