School board fills seat with former principal Franklin Jones

As a Dothan City School principal, Franklin Jones spent years sitting in the audience at school board meetings. Now, the audience will be watching him as he takes a seat at the board table and an opportunity to shape system policy.

Jones, 63, was unanimously voted in by city school board members Monday to take the place of board member Margaret Jones, who is stepping down to work for the Wiregrass Foundation on the Faine/Grandview project.

Jones, a retired 23-year veteran of the city school system, ended his career as principal of PASS Academy, the system’s school for students struggling with academic and behavioral problems. Jones said he’s happy about his opportunity to serve the city school system again.

“There’s so many new things right now, new initiatives,” he said. “This is an exciting time.”

Jones’ former school has felt the brunt of position reductions the school system has made to accommodate a funding crunch. No one has been laid off or fired, but the number of personnel at the PASS Academy has been drastically reduced by not filling the positions of some retiring or resigning personnel.

Jones said he would advocate for PASS Academy as a board member, but stopped short of saying he would resist further cuts or fight to restore support for the program.

“I’d have to talk to Dr. (Sam) Nichols about that,” he said. “I’d probably go with his recommendation at the time.”

Jones is currently the president of the local chapter of the NAACP. This group was involved in a decades-long federal desegregation lawsuit with the city schools that was recently resolved. Jones feels his involvement in the NAACP will not be a conflict of interest with his position as a board member. Jere Segrest, the school system’s attorney, agreed with Jones’ assessment.

Ed Vaughn, Alabama NAACP State Conference President, said he’s pleased with Jones’ inclusion on the city school board.

“Franklin has a great deal of experience teaching and working well with young people,” he said. “I think all of us together can make Dothan a great public school system.”

Johnson’s term expires in 2011 and he said he intends to fill the entire term. He declined to say whether he would run for a full term of his own afterward.