Madison County Schools Alabama

Seeking to avoid sanctions from SACS, Alabama A&M sues research institute

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Seeking to avoid punitive steps by its accrediting agency, Alabama A&M University on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Alabama A&M Research Institute.

Carrying a months-long dispute between the school and the institute to court was expected after the executive committee of the Alabama A&M board of trustees on Monday gave final approval to its attorneys.

The 47-page complaint, filed in Madison County Circuit Court by Rod Steakley, attorney for the Alabama A&M board of trustees, and Huntsville lawyer Bill Lunsford, asks for the series of revisions to the institute board over the past year to be undone and to return the institute board to the form it took after a 2001 amendment.

Plaintiffs of the suit are the board of trustees, university President Dr. Andrew Hugine, Provost Dr. Daniel Wims as interim vice president for institutional research and sponsored programs, trustee Andre Taylor as chair of the board's research and development committee and Odysseus Lanier, president pro tem of the board.

"We have tried to negotiate; we have tried to resolve this without going to court," Hugine said in a statement.

The suit names the AAMU Research Institute as the only defendant, not identifying any individuals.

"The relief we have sought relates to control of the research institute, and that's the foundation of our lawsuit," Steakley said. "It's a straightforward issue. We don't want to gain relief from individuals."

The heart of the lawsuit focuses on the series of changes on the institute board that Alabama A&M contends has wrested control of the institute away from university. That's a violation of the original agreement when the institute was created in 1999 to be a contracting arm of Alabama A&M.

The issue became more serious in January after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) issued a letter of inquiry to Alabama A&M. A subsequent letter from SACS earlier this month found the school to be in "significant noncompliance" with SACS principles . SACS said it will send a team to the campus to evaluate the school's compliance.

"(The institute's) attempt to divest control of the (institute) from the board of trustees has damaged the university by subjecting the university to an investigation by SACS and potentially jeopardizing the university's SACS accreditation," the lawsuit states.

Alabama A&M had no problem with the research institute until a series of meetings starting in July 2010 led to the lawsuit. By January 2011, the institute's board had grown from five members to 11 and tilted control away from the university.

Madison County schools share resources with students learning ...

Glenn Baeske / The Huntsville Times --- 2nd graders, from left, Alexsandra Velazquez, Hayley Gonzalez, Candy Bautisa, Horacio Hernandez, and Thomas Rodriguez, enjoy books they received at the fair. The Madison County Schools English Learner Department held its first Share Fair for immigrant/EL students, their families, and the community at Legacy Elementary showcasing services that are available for them. MADISON COUNTY, Alabama - Three months ago, Shanida Bernal and her two school-age children moved to Madison County from Panama. Tuesday night, she was at the Madison County Schools Share Fair learning about services that can help her family.

"We're looking for ways for them to fit in," said Alicia Wilson, Bernal's mother, as her daughter talked to someone with the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Office of International Programs and Services. Wilson has lived here for 12 years and encouraged her daughter and her grandchildren to move here.

The county's English Learner Department organized the evening event for the families of the 160 students classified as English language learners. Those students speak 18 different languages.

"The Share Fair is a way to connect our immigrant and English learners with the community," said Sarah Threlkeld, the lead ELL teacher for the county.

The fair, which was held at Legacy Elementary School, included activities for the children of the families that attended the event and each child received a free book to take home. The Huntsville-Madison Public Library was also there to sign up people for library cards.

"A lot of people coming to our country don't realize how public libraries work, that you can check books out for free," Threlkeld said.

The county system does not have a large percentage of ELL students - 160 out of about 20,000 students. By comparison, Huntsville has between 850 to 900 students out of about 22,500 students, according to Ann Marie Batista, the English as a Second Language coordinator for Huntsville City Schools.

Regardless of the small numbers, "anyone who walks through our doors, we're going to give them the help and support they need," Threlkeld said.

After a dinner of pizza, the children went off for drum circles and puppet shows while their parents visited tables to learn about All Kids, the state health insurance for families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, and WIC, a federally-funded health and nutrition program for women, infants and children.

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