Parents expressed their concerns and demanded answers during a forum held at the Liberty County Board of Education Office Monday night. 

The forum, organized at the request of concerned parents and facilitated by LCSS Superintendent Dr. Franklin Perry, was to reassure parents of school system students that they will retain their accreditation.

The district was placed under review by AdvancED May 8 due to the problematic behavior of the board members.

"I can assure you that the state will not allow the school system to lose accreditation affecting 10,000 children due to the behavior of seven adults," Perry said addressing state law that was implemented after Clayton County lost accreditation in 2008 due to their governance team.

The forum is the first of many that Dr. Perry said he promised to hold to keep the school system stakeholders informed of the process and progress the board is taking to meet the AdvancED directives.

Perry mentioned that AdvancED has extended their Oct. 31 review deadline after realizing new people were elected to the board in the May 22 general elections. He added newly elected board members were also engaged in the process willing to begin any training directive even prior to taking their official oath in January.

He also noted that there is still a run-off election taking place in July between Jim Johns and Annette Payne to fill the void in district four after incumbent Marcia Anderson decided to retire. He said the district is working closely with AdvancED and the state board of education throughout the process. More importantly he told the parents that they should reassure their children that all their hard work and studies will not be in vain and the district will retain their accreditation.

Board members Carolyn Smith-Carter, Verdell Jones, Carol Guyett and board chair Lily Baker also attended the forum and addressed the parents. All stressed the importance of putting the children first.

Read the full report in Wednesday's Coastal Courier.