Century To Consider Hiring Attorney For Task Force Members Charged With Sunshine Law Violation
August 23, 2016
The Century Town Council has scheduled a special meeting to discuss the legal representation of four volunteer task force members charged last week with noncriminal violations of the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law.
Alfonzie Cottrell, Helen Mincy, Sylvia Godwin, and Robert Mitchell were charged by the State Attorney’s Office with having a public meeting that was not properly advertised. On July 26, a meeting was advertised to begin at 4:00 p.m. The meeting was actually held at 2:00 p.m. preventing the public from attending.
This case is set for arraignment on September 7. At that hearing, the four will have a chance to enter a plea or move forward with a trial in front of a judge, most likely in one to three weeks after the arraignment. They face a maximum penalty of a $500 fine, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins.
At 4 p.m. Friday, the town council will hold a special meeting to discuss retaining an attorney to represent the four individuals that were charged. Also at the meeting , the council will discuss the appointment of a Citizens Advisory Task Force to review two proposed grant applications.
The State Attorney’s Office investigation began after a July 27 article on NorthEscambia.com “Century Holds Meeting In Apparent Violation Of State Sunshine Law“. NorthEscambia.com arrived the previous day for the 4 p.m. meeting to find the front doors of the Century Hall locked and the parking lot empty. We later learned that the meeting had been held at 2 p.m. The town provided a public notice on Wednesday, July 27 and re-held the meeting on Thursday, July 28.
A letter from Eddins to Century Mayor Freddie McCall essentially placed blame for the law violation on the Town of Century for not providing the adequate Sunshine Law training,
Pictured top: CATF members Helen Mincy, Robert Mitchell and Sylvia Godwin during a CATF meeting on Thursday, July 28. Alfonzie Cottrell was not present at the July 28 meeting. Pictured inset and below: The Century Town Hall was locked and the parking lot empty at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July, the time of a publicly noticed town task force meeting.
Judge Weighs Third Grade Promotion Policy
August 23, 2016
A state judge is weighing a decision that could shake Florida’s education-accountability system following a marathon hearing Monday in Tallahassee.
After nearly nine hours of testimony and arguments, Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers wrapped up a hearing on state and local policies for allowing students to move to the fourth grade but did not rule on a request that would allow about a dozen students across Florida to advance.
The practical effect of Gievers’ decision, and the appeals that are almost certain to follow, could either validate or shatter the “opt out” movement led by parents who say a state standardized test should not decide whether their children are allowed to move from third grade to fourth grade.
The parents of the students involved in the case told their children to “minimally participate” in the Florida Standards Assessment for third grade by filling in their names, breaking the seals on the tests and then refusing to answer any questions.
Those parents believe state law gives them the right to tell their children not to answer questions on the test. But while the law spells out ways to advance that don’t require passing the assessment, the Florida Department of Education and school districts say that doesn’t give students the opportunity to refuse to take it.
Gievers, who seemed in an earlier hearing to sympathize with the parents, gave no clear indication of how she intended to rule on the request for an injunction.
“You’ve given me a lot to look at, and I plan to do this the right way,” she said.
But the hearing laid bare not only the legal questions at the heart of the case, but the philosophical ones: Is a report card based on a year’s worth of work a better measure of a student’s knowledge, or is an objective test the proper measure? Where is the balance between a parent’s right to control his or her child’s education and the state’s right to determine how to measure learning?
The state cast the lawsuit as one that could undo years’ worth of efforts to end social promotion and make sure that students have mastered reading before going to the fourth grade.
“This is a potential undermining of the entire assessment and accountability system,” said Rocco Testani, an attorney representing the Florida Department of Education.
Those challenging the promotion policy tried to prove that the children deserved to move on without taking the Florida Standards Assessment or one of the alternative tests offered by the state. At times, they even drew on the testimony or words of school district officials and employees.
Rebecca Dooley, who teaches one of the children, testified that the girl’s report card showed she “demonstrated ability at grade level performance for all four marking periods.”
Dooley also indicated the student shouldn’t be forced to repeat material she had already mastered.
“I do not believe it would be in her best interests academically,” Dooley told the court.
Michelle Rhea, the girl’s mother, read from an email by the vice-chairwoman of the Orange County school board that indicated the last-minute rush to put together a portfolio for Rhea’s daughter showed the district had erred.
“The ball got dropped on this one, and the district needs to learn from it and make changes going forward for it not to happen this way again,” wrote Nancy Robbinson, the vice chairwoman.
For its part, the state repeatedly showed that the parents had declined opportunities to have their children take alternative tests. The parents argued that doing so would simply expose their children to the same kind of high-stakes testing that they had tried to avoid by opting out.
State lawyers also tried to highlight how Florida’s retention policy has improved education. Juan Copa, a deputy education commissioner who deals with the accountability system, said Florida’s ranking on national tests and its graduation rate has improved since the state began requiring the tests for advancement to the fourth grade.
Mary Jane Tappen, vice chancellor for K-12 public schools, also testified that there are questions about whether report cards are an accurate and fair measurement of whether students know everything they should.
“The concern is that those decisions are not based on the same scale and consistent from student to student across the state,” she said.
While the hearing Monday was not as emotional as an earlier round of testimony, the lawsuit remains contentious. Even Gievers’ authority to decide the case is in doubt.
Monday’s hearing moved forward despite almost all of the school districts refusing to fully participate. The districts insist that Gievers doesn’t have jurisdiction over their retention polices and have asked for their cases to be heard in their own counties and separate from the suit against the state.
That was one of a barrage of objections covering everything from whether revealing certain information about the students might violate their federal privacy rights to whether Attorney General Pam Bondi should have been formally notified about the case.
Gievers said she would rule on the venue for the case and the request for an injunction as quickly as possible. In the meantime, she swatted away the districts’ objections and pushed ahead, keeping court in session through lunch and into the evening.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Northview Splits Volleyball Matches With Pensacola High
August 23, 2016
The Northview Chiefs opened their volleyball season with a junior varsity win, while the varsity fell to the Pensacola High School Tigers Tuesday afternoon in Pensacola.
The Northview JV beat PHS two games to none 26-24, 25-23.
The Chiefs fell to the Tigers in varsity action 4-25, 8-25, 9-25.
The Northview Chiefs will host West Florida High School on Tuesday and Pensacola Christian on Thursday. Junior varsity games are at 4:30 and varsity games are at 5:30 both days.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Cheerleaders Hosting Mini-Cheer Clinic
August 23, 2016
The Northview High School cheerleader will host a Mini Cheer Clinic on Saturday, August 27 from 7:30 until 10 a.m. and Tuesday August 30 from 4:30 until 7 p.m. in the school gym. The price is $35 per girl ages 3-14. Each participant will receive a shirt and be invited to cheer with the Northview cheerleaders during the first quarter of the September 2 home game against Escambia Academy. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Beat Mobile
August 23, 2016
After blowing his last save opportunity, it was all forgotten for Alejandro Chacin when he got the call to close out the game Monday against the Mobile BayBears. Chacin, a Southern League All-Star and saves leader, retired the BayBears side to get his league-leading 25th save this season.
Pensacola’s bullpen threw four scoreless innings to lead their club to an 8-5 victory over Mobile in the opener of the five-game series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The win also gave Pensacola sole possession of second place in the South Division in the second half at 29-27, which is 4.5 games behind frontrunner Mississippi, which is 33-22. Mobile dropped a half-game behind Pensacola at 28-27.
To Pensacola manager Pat Kelly it was important to get Chacin in the game after blowing his fifth save this year. The win gave his team its 70th victory this year, which is the most for the franchise since it started in 2012.
“The best thing about closers is if they have short memories,” Kelly said, chuckling. “He’s the kind of guy — some words I can’t use — but he’s got two of them.”
The 23-year-old Chacin said the bullpen proved its worth to the team Monday by quieting the BayBears home run-happy hitters. Mobile has 98 homers on the year, which tops the Southern League, and hit two of them off of starter Tyler Mahle in the fourth and fifth innings to change a 7-1 Pensacola lead to a 7-5 Pensacola lead.
“We have a job as relievers to keep the game the same,” said Chacin, who is playing at the Double-A level for the first time. “I never mind about the save. You do your job and just help the team out.”
That’s exactly what the bullpen did Monday. Evan Mitchell relieved Mahle and threw two hitless innings with two strikeouts. Abel De Los Santos threw one scoreless inning, running his shutout innings to 16.1 to keep his ERA at 0.00. Chacin threw the last inning and got Mobile right fielder Gabriel Guerrero to fly out, Marzilli to strike out and catcher Matt Jones to ground out.
“It was pretty good,” Chacin said. “I felt really comfortable (Monday) tonight. Last time, I didn’t do the job. Tonight, I did it well.”
Kelly also recognized Mitchell for his two innings.
“The key to me was Mitchell,” Kelly said. “He shut them down. They got enough power over there that they can pop a couple and that’s what they did to get back into the game.”
Mahle retired 10 in a row and was cruising with a 7-1 lead before BayBears shortstop Dawel Lugo hit a high, deep fly ball over the left field wall in the fourth inning.
In the next inning, Mobile leadoff hitter Domingo Leyba hit his second homer for the team, launching a three-run shot into Hill-Kelly Dodge Hill that pulled Mobile back into the game, 7-5.
Mahle ended up pitching five innings and giving up six hits and striking out five in the game.
Pensacola had scored four runs in the bottom of the first on five hits. The inning started with second baseman Alex Blandino doubling, left fielder Phillip Ervin walking and right fielder Sebastian Elizalde singling to load the bases. Center fielder Brandon Dixon singled to center to drive in Blandino to tie the game, 1-1, with no outs.
After Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej popped out and BayBears third baseman forced out Ervin at home on a bouncer by catcher Chad Wallach, third baseman Taylor Sparks smacked a ground ball through the right side of the infield to score both Elizalde and Dixon for a 3-1 lead. Hudson completed the scoring when his single on a groundball into left scored Wallach to put Pensacola ahead, 4-1.
Pensacola added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Blandino led off the inning with a walk and was driven in by Elizalde for an 8-5 lead. Elizalde went 3-5 with a double, run scored and three RBIs. He now has back-to-back three-hit games and a team-leading 28 multi-hit games.
Interestingly, Blue Wahoos left fielder Ervin got on base four times on walks, a season high. He also stole his 33rd base on a pickoff attempt.
Meanwhile, Mobile BayBears starter Josh Taylor didn’t look like the same pitcher who threw a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out five. He lasted just 2.2 innings giving up seven runs, six earned on seven hits, four walks
Driver Serious After Cantonment Crash
August 22, 2016
One person was seriously injured in a single vehicle accident in Cantonment Monday morning.
The accident happened on County Road 97 near Lake Suzanne Driver when the driver of a Jeep lost control, left the roadway and rolled the vehicle upside down into a driveway. The female driver was transported by ambulance to an area hospital.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Additional information has not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Century Splash Pad Installation Underway
August 22, 2016
Work is finally underway on the installation of a splash pad in Century after months of weather related delays.
Town officials had hoped that the splash pad would be up and running by the start of summer, but they said an EF-3 tornado that struck the town in February delayed the process. Town workers were busy with tornado clean up, leaving no time to install the water and sewer lines for the splash pad.
Installation of the splash pad at Showalter Park should be completed within another two weeks, if the weather cooperates. The splash pad will have hours of operation that are yet to be announced, but will likely follow a schedule along the lines of sunrise to sunset. A motion sensor will allow children to start the water flowing during operational hours.
A $50,000 Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grant was awarded to the town last October to fund the splash pad. The competitive grant program provides state funds to develop lands for public outdoor recreational use, such as building or renovating sports facilities or playgrounds. Century was the only recipient of the grant last year in Escambia County.
Pictured: The work site as seen last week where a new splash pad is being installed in Century. Pictured bottom: An artist rendering of the new splash pad. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
August 22, 2016
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
- Interstate 10 (I-10) Widening – The inside lane of I-10 east and westbound, between Davis Highway (State Road (S.R.) 291/Exit 13) and Scenic Highway (U.S. 90/Exit 17), will be closed from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. the week of Monday, Aug. 22 as crews place barrier wall.
- I-10 / U.S. 29 Interchange – Drivers will experience the following impacts on I-10 and I-110 from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24 until 6 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 26 as crews remove overhead signage.
- The right lane ofnd, I-10 westbou near U.S. 29, will be closed.
- Traffic on I-10 westbound, between Scenic Highway (U.S. 90/Exit 17) and the U.S. 29 interchange, and I-110 northbound drivers, between Fairfield Drive (S.R. 295/Exit 4) and I-10, will be slowed by the Florida Highway Patrol in a pacing operation. Drivers should expect delays while the work is underway.
- In addition, the U.S. 29 north to I-10 eastbound ramp will be intermittently closed Sunday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Sunday, Aug. 21. The closure will continue until the end of August as crews work on the shoulder of the roadway. Traffic will be detoured north and make a U-turn at Broad Street to access I-10 eastbound.
- Southbound outside lane restricted between Berkley Drive and Barcia Drive from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 through Thursday, Sept. 3 as crews perform underground utility maintenance work.
- Creighton Road (S.R. 742) – Westbound lane restrictions near Lark Avenue from midnight, Wednesday, Aug. 24 to 6 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25 as crews replace a utility pole.
- Texar Drive (S.R. 752) Pedestrian Overpass – Access to the pedestrian bridge is closed for approximately one month. Eastbound ECAT bus stops located at the pedestrian bridge will be temporarily relocated during construction to just west of N Miller Street.
Santa Rosa County:
- I-10 Widening – - Alternating lane closures, between the Escambia Bay Bridge and S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22), Sunday, Aug. 21 through Thursday, Aug. 25 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews continue widening work. In addition, there will be alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange for bridge work will be alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange for bridge work.
- I-10 Resurfacing - Intermittent and alternating lane closures east and westbound between State Road 87 interchange and the Okaloosa county line from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 through Thursday, Aug. 25 as crews perform paving operations. Motorists are reminded the speed limited is reduced to 60 MPH within the lane closure.
- U.S. 98 - Intermittent and alternating lane closures and slow moving operations between Bayshore Road and the Okaloosa County line continue from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Wednesday, Aug. 31. as crews perform striping operations.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling in a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
Over 15,000 Vote Early Or By Mail So Far
August 22, 2016
After two days of early voting, 1,578 Escambia County voters had cast their ballots at one of seven available sites by the end of the day Sunday.. Another 14,257 vote by mail ballots had been returned as of Sunday, for a total of 15,835 ballots already cast in Escambia County.
Early voting is available each day through Saturday, August 27 at the following locations:
- Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Escambia County Extension Office, 3740 Stefani Road, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 N. 9th Avenue, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Bellview-Saufley, 916 W Michigan Avenue, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Early voters cast paper ballots through digital scanners and may choose any one of the seven sites.
Another option for voters is to cast a vote-by-mail ballot, which can be requested through the online form at EscambiaVotes.com, or by e-mail (votebymail@escambiavotes.com), phone (850) 595-3900, mail, or fax (850) 595-3914. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and address, and must be received no later than Wednesday, August 24. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day and may not be returned to a polling location. The Postal Service recommends voters mail ballots at least one week before the due date. Vote-by-mail participants may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.com.
The third option for voters is to cast a ballot at their precinct on Election Day, Tuesday, August 30. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Florida is a closed primary state. In a primary election, voters may only vote for candidates in their party of registration unless there is a universal primary contest, a nonpartisan contest, or other issue on the ballot. Voters are reminded to bring their photo and signature ID with them to the polls and are encouraged to visit EscambiaVotes.com for complete voting information or contact the Elections Office by phone or e-mail with any questions.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: This Is A Test
August 22, 2016
Whether it’s the kind given to students in school or the kind that can detect a disease creeping into the state, tests helped drive the week in Florida.
Tests for Zika continued to provide more troublesome headlines for state officials — and for the tourism industry that needs a flow of positive stories — in the form of a second area where the virus is believed to have been transmitted by mosquitoes. That came even as a state economist suggested the fallout from the disease was already likely to take a bite out of state revenues.
Meanwhile, a legal battle continued over whether students should be required to take a standardized test before being allowed to move from third to fourth grade. An effort to draw in the federal courts was knocked away as both sides prepared for a showdown next week.
And the University of West Florida began the process of testing the resumes of potential presidents for the institution, including one who is a familiar face to the region and to those in Tallahassee who follow state government.
“Only a test?” Hardly. This week, tests were what seemed to matter the most.
MIAMI GETS HOTTER
Generally, something being “hot” in South Florida would be a good thing — a reference to the party scene or, well, other kinds of scenery. But when Miami Beach is the second hot spot for Zika, the term becomes something more concerning for public health and the economy.
Officials confirmed Friday that a new location was identified in Miami-Dade County where Zika is originating, and five more people have tested positive for the disease. Perhaps the most worrying number for those looking at the business angle: Three of those who tested positive were tourists.
There have now been 36 confirmed cases of people getting infected in the state, with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanding a travel advisory for pregnant women to include an area in Miami Beach.
Gov. Rick Scott and state health officials had previously said local transmission of the disease was only occurring in Miami’s Wynwood community. But with the virus also now being found in part of Miami Beach, Scott announced Friday he has requested additional resources from the CDC.
“We have a safe state, and we’re going to keep it that way,” Scott said.
Among the people who recently tested positive were visitors from New York, Texas and Taiwan. Scott also held separate conference calls Friday with Miami-Dade elected officials, state university presidents and state college presidents.
The new zone in Miami Beach, where the transmissions are believed to have occurred, is between 8th Street and 28th Street, between the beach and the Intracoastal Waterway.
The announcement followed a drip-drip-drip of new Zika diagnoses throughout the week, some of them travel-related and some of them transmitted locally. Even economists trying to forecast state revenues said the virus was likely to have some impact on their work in the weeks ahead.
Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told reporters that Zika will serve as a “black swan” in a proposed, annual three-year outlook for the state budget that lawmakers are required to approve each year. Black swans are generally events that have a low likelihood of occurring but would have a large impact on the state budget if they do.
But the likelihood of some impact from the disease really wasn’t in much doubt.
“It’s not that I don’t think Zika will be a factor. … It’s because we don’t know exactly how it’s going to unfold at this moment in time, and when,” Baker said.
OVER TO YOU
A case about Florida’s rules on whether third-grade students are allowed to move to fourth grade was in federal court for a brief period this week, a timeframe that was essentially just long enough for a judge to knock it back to a Leon County judge.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker told attorneys he was returning the case to the state courts following a decision by parents to drop federal claims in the lawsuit. The Florida Department of Education and six school districts had argued that federal equal-rights and due-process claims in the lawsuit meant that the federal courts were the appropriate place to handle the issue.
But the parents challenging the way the state determines who is held back in third grade dropped the federal counts, and Walker decided to return the dispute to Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers. In turn, Gievers’ office again scheduled a Monday morning hearing that had been put on hold by the federal intervention.
At the center of the case is a battle over whether students can “opt out” of the Florida Standards Assessment for third grade, which is generally used to help decide whether a child can move up to the fourth grade.
Parents who filed the lawsuit believe state law gives them the right to tell their children not to answer questions on the standardized test. But while the law spells out ways to advance that don’t require passing the assessment, the Florida Department of Education and school districts say that doesn’t give students the opportunity to refuse to take it.
Both sides argued that they weren’t “forum shopping,” a legal term about looking for the most favorable court possible, despite the fact that most observers think Gievers sympathizes with the families and not the Department of Education or the districts.
“I don’t think it can be said that there’s forum shopping going on, because it’s not all clear whether one forum is preferable over the other. … What we’re trying to do is keep on the expedited track that’s been set in state court, because this is an issue of children and where they’ll be placed in this school year,” said attorney Andrea Mogensen, who represents the families.
The state and the school districts involved — Broward, Hernando, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Pasco counties — likewise denied that they were trying to delay a ruling by Gievers.
Meanwhile, the school year pushed on, even as some students continued waiting on the courts to decide whether they belong in the third grade or the fourth.
‘MY UNIVERSITY’
There’s nothing new about Florida politicians being in the running to operate state institutions of higher education. Former House Speaker and state Sen. John Thrasher is the top man at Florida State University. The University of North Florida is run by John Delaney, a former mayor of Jacksonville.
Now, outgoing state Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican and former Senate president, is looking to be the next elected official turned member of academia. The lawmaker, whose vocabulary would likely break the SAT scale, is among 19 candidates who will be invited to the next step in the interview process to become president of the University of West Florida.
Gaetz, a former Okaloosa County schools superintendent, was among 83 people who applied for the position. Also among the 19 candidates is Martha Saunders, who has been the provost and executive vice president at the Pensacola university since 2013. Saunders previously served as president at the University of Southern Mississippi and as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
After controversy about the selection of his former colleague Thrasher at Florida State, Gaetz is trying to make sure the appearances are on the up-and-up. He said he is “not a looking for a job” and has neither lobbied nor asked anyone to nominate him because it would be “unseemly.”
But he made his affection for “my university” clear, and cited his longtime association with the school, which serves about 13,000 students. Over the past 15 years, Gaetz said he has worked closely with faculty, administrators and trustees to create career technical and STEM education programs.
He said he has helped the school secure some $90 million in campus projects, improve its endowment opportunities and create an economic-development fund that has helped generate about 7,000 jobs.
“I’m not on the career path from dean to provost to president. I don’t believe I’m due any reward for past services. And I’m not interested in any other job in education,” Gaetz said.
In an interview last week, state university system Chancellor Marshall Criser III, who came to the academic world after being a corporate executive, cited several characteristics that make a successful university leader.
“They ought to be a dynamic personality who can communicate well with their stakeholders,” he said. “They need to understand how to run and operate a complex organization. And they need to be sensitive as to how an academic enterprise functions and what some of the relationships are that are embedded in academics.”
A University of West Florida presidential search committee will invite the remaining candidates to appear for face-to-face meetings on Aug. 29 and 30. The committee expects to approve a list of three finalists on Sept. 6, and the school’s Board of Trustees will select the replacement for retiring President Judy Bense on Sept. 15.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The spread of Zika continued, this time with a second hot spot being discovered in Miami-Dade County.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It wasn’t a cemetery. It was a damn dump site.”— Bob Baxter, a Gainesville resident who was at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys from 1950 to 1951, arguing against returning to the Jackson County site the remains of dozens of boys who were victims of beatings and abuse at the school.