Gainesville High Valedictorian candidate Cody Stephens
GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- The Gainesville School Board chairman told protesting parents Tuesday night that the board will decide by Monday or Tuesday of next week whether to side with them, and name only one valedictorian for Gainesville High School's graduation ceremonies in the spring.
Parents showed up at the meeting to protest the decision by the principal of Gainesville High School to name two valedictorians.
The two students' grade point averages are only one-hundredth of a point apart.
At the meeting Tuesday night, the mother of the top student told the school board that her son should not have to share the honor.
"There can be only one valedictorian to take the walk on graduation day, and his name is Cody Stephens," said Valerie Stephens, to loud applause from the audience.
After a series of comments from others wanting the school board to overturn the principal's decision and name Cody the sole valedictorian, the board chairman, Willie Mitchell, announced that the board will decide the issue at a special meeting on Monday or Tuesday.
Cody Stephens is Gainesville High's first African American valedictorian.
The superintendent has said that the principal followed policy in naming two valedictorians this year; it had nothing to do with race, and it just so happens that the other student is white.
Representatives of the NAACP and the National Action Network and others urged the board to name Cody the only valedictorian. One speaker said it's like a foot race, where the front-runner wins by one-hundredth of a second and then receives the prize without question.
Marcus Coleman of the National Action Network assured the board that protestors from across the country would descend on the school board offices to demonstrate, if the board upholds the principal's decision.
People from "surrounding cities, surrounding states [will] embark on Gainesville with protests, boycotts.... I promise you this, there will be more Black, White, Hispanic, Asian -- plenty of people are ready to protest against this city. Plenty of people are ready to protest against this city. The trigger has not been pulled because, Intelligent People, you have the chance to do the correct thing."
Valerie Stephens is not speaking about race, and she is also not trying to analyze the school's complex formula for deciding who deserves to be valedictorian.
"All I know is that Cody Stephens has the highest GPA at 4.7538, and that's all I need to know," she said. "The principal, Chris Mance, should be fired. He should be removed from his position because he cannot make the correct decision. It's simple math. Cody has the highest GPA, it's crystal clear... This is affecting every student. They're saying, 'If I work hard, I would not be rewarded.'"
Cody plans on attending Emory University in the fall; he earned a full, four-year scholarship.
Those supporting the other student, who has not been named, did not speak Tuesday night on what they think about him being co-valedictorian.
The principal, Chris Mance, also did not address the board at Tuesday night's meeting.