BY STEPHEN H. COWLES/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Playback58@gmail.com

FRANKLIN—Franklin City Council voted to meet with the school board at 6:30 p.m. on either Wednesday, Nov. 28, or Thursday, Nov. 29.

All three of Franklin’s schools are on an accreditation-warning list, which means they didn’t fulfill state benchmarks for achievement in English, history, math and science. More specifically, Franklin High School and J.P. King Middle School students came up short in math, while S.P. Morton Elementary School dropped in reading.

Councilman Don Blythe asked that the meeting be held in council chambers so it could be broadcast on the city’s cable channel. In August, a similar shared meeting was held elsewhere in City Hall but not shown on TV.

Mayor Raystine Johnson-Ashburn said the space is not conducive for both boards to meet on equal footing or seating.

“We want the public to participate,” she said. “We’re waiting for the schools to answer council’s questions and then have a joint public hearing.”

Councilman Benny Burgess suggested the Workforce Development Center at Paul D. Camp Community College, which would be at little cost.

“We need to concentrate on where are and how to move the kids forward,” Burgess said.

Councilwoman Mona Murphy recommended using one of the schools, which could offer the needed room, proper seating arrangement and would be free.