Gainesville school board to make position known on co-valedictorian flap

GAINESVILLE - As promised, the Gainesville School Board will meet next week to take a public position on the Gainesville High School co-valedictorian controversy, but first they'll go behind closed doors to talk.

The board has announced that it will hold a called public meeting on Tuesday night at 6:00 at school board headquarters on Oak Street.

First, board members will meet in executive session at noon Friday, and that meeting is closed.

The board said officially in an e-mail it will be talking about "matters regarding student records." The need for discussion has arisen because of a controversy around the naming of two valedictorians at Gainesville High School.

Supporters of one of the students, Cody Stephens, say he should have the sole honor because his GPA is the highest. Some of those supporters, who attended a rally in Gainesville as well as this week's school board meeting, claim racial bias in the case, however, since Stephens is African-American. Should Stephens be named the sole valedictorian, he would become the first black Gainesville High student to achieve that honor.

School board officials have said that the decision to name valedictorians rests with school principal Chris Mance, who is also African-American. Mance has refused comment on the issue.

The other student involved has not been named publicly.