Meridian school board presents budget at public hearing

Meridian is known for its contributions to the stage, but the drama surrounding its high school football program over the past few months has been one that’s kept spectators on the edge of their seats.

The story lines have included plenty of mystery, some sex appeal, a touch of sadness, a sense of loss, an alleged crime, plenty of passion and in the end a tragedy – but not the one you might think.

The moral conclusion we draw is the lesson of a society that allows its passion for sports to turn games into a priority.

To be clear, we wish newly appointed football coach John Douglass much success. A graduate of Meridian High School, Douglass turned around the Northeast Lauderdale football program last season following his success at Quitman and George County High Schools and he appears to be a fine choice to lead the Wildcats.

We have no ill will for the man he replaced, Martez Edwards, who is a victim if his side of the story is correct, albeit one who demonstrated a lapse in judgment that shouldn’t be taken lightly for one who is charged with leading young people.

To catch up the few in town who may not have been paying attention to this drama, the back story began last football season when the Wildcats posted a 4-7 season and missed the playoffs. Fans sighed and it became evident Coach Calvin Hampton’s star had dimmed despite cheers during two previous winning seasons and playoff runs.

Meridian’s decision makers hired Edwards on Jan. 28 to replace Hampton, agreeing to a $44,000 contract for the period between Feb. 11-June 30. Dismissed domestic violence charges against Edwards in September, 2014 were either determined not concerning or were missed in his application check by those decision makers.

A nude photograph of Edwards surfaced on social media in the spring and the school board placed him on paid administrative leave May 6 before terminating his contract this past Monday. Edwards acknowledged he had taken the photo of himself, which he intended to send only to a woman friend in Atlanta. He said he was victimized by someone who illegally obtained the photo from his phone and then shared it with others.

The school board was justified in dismissing Edwards if only for his lapse of judgment of taking a nude photo of himself and sharing it. Despite a privacy-of-one’s-own-home argument, we hold someone responsible for our children to a higher standard.

But again, all of this is not the tragedy.

On May 22, the Mississippi Department of Education announced that only 51 percent of Meridian Public School students passed the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program English Language Arts test.

On June 4, after a second test, it was announced Meridian’s success rate had improved to 63 percent.

That means 37 percent of Meridian’s third graders, their parents and their teachers are agonizing this summer over whether they’ll be successful on the third and final try at the test this summer. Those who don’t pass will remain in third grade another year.

Meridian’s four year graduation rate, reported in January 2019, is 73.1 percent.

Meridian’s dropout rate, reported in January 2019, is 19.5 percent.

There are many other program or facility needs in the district that could be listed here, too.

Over the last few months, the Meridian community has been consumed by its interest in the success of its football program and the drama around who will coach it. We’ve seen countless social media posts and heard the whispers and gossip blowing in the southern breezes.

The same hasn’t been true for those academic shortcomings.

Where is the community passion over what truly matters, the success of our students?

That missing concern is the tragedy.