ALBANY, GA (WALB) -
DCSS members are in Atlanta today for a meeting with the State Board of Education.
Chairman James Bush, David Maschke, Darrel Ealum, Carol Tharin and newly elected Lane Price and Robert Youngblood were sworn in at the start of today's meeting.
School board attorney Tommy Coleman and CFO Ken Dyer are also attending. Superintendent Dr. Joshua Murfree was not given an invitation, but he's also in attendance.
Eight people with the Audit Committee of the State Board of Education are addressing the board about questionable spending of federal money.
Larry Winter, the Chairman of the committee, began by calling this an unusual meeting, and that the committee views the situation in Dougherty County to be extremely serious.
Winter says the purpose of this meeting is to make sure proper communication is in place between the board and the administration.
Board members recently received a letter requesting they attend a meeting on Monday with the Audit Committee of the State Board of Education to discuss the implementation of federal programs.
"I have an inkling as to what they're going to tell us, but I don't know exactly what they are going to say. But I do know they are going to talk about the fact that we have just not been informed, the board. We learn from the media, about what is going on, especially in the Title I office. That's going to be probably the crunch of that discussion. The finances in that office," said DCSS Chairman Rev. James Bush.
"The fact that we were placed on a high risk status, I think they may feel that we don't understand the egregious nature of that type of a classification. I think it's going to be good for all of us to go up and find out just how serious this is," said school board member Darrel Ealum.
"There's a lot to be ironed out and I'm sure that will be thoroughly discussed and hopefully the board will be able to fill this interim position in the relatively near future and we can make the appropriate changes and move forward," said board attorney Tommy Coleman.
Murfree and the board agreed to end his contract six months early. His last day is December 18th, and board members plan to have an interim in place by then. And who will fill the interim position is anyone's guess. Chairman James Bush says the board wants someone from outside this region.
Copyright 2012 WALB. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
