Holmes resigns as DRS superintendent

Rattler Nation has learned that Ronald Holmes has tendered his resignation as superintendent of the FAMU Developmental Research School (DRS). Retired educational administrator and FAMU alumnus W.E. “Bill” Johnson will replace him on an interim basis.

FAMU President James H. Ammons had until June 30th to decide whether or not to renew Holmes’ three year contract. During a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month, Ammons said he wanted to evaluate DRS’ performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) before making a decision.

FCAT student scores were released to schools yesterday. The Florida Department of Education has not completed the process of calculating school-wide grades, yet. The DRS school grade dropped from a “C” in 2008 to a “D” in 2009 after Holmes’ first year.

Holmes’ appointment in 2007 was met with skepticism and anger throughout Rattler Country. Many FAMUans suspected that Trustee R.B. Holmes played a big role in getting his brother hired. There was no doubt that as one of the seven critical votes that James Ammons needed to become FAMU’s president, Holmes had the power to twist Ammons’ arm and make personal demands during the selection process.

Ronald Holmes had no experience as a principal or superintendent of any K-12 school.

Morale plummeted under Holmes’ reign at DRS. Faculty members struggled within an atmosphere of fear following a series of highly publicized scares concerning their employment. Holmes’ failure to recruit enough students to satisfy the demands of the 2009-2010 year’s budget threatened many teachers’ jobs.

On January 29, 2010, the FAMU BOT voted to use $425,802 from the FAMU DRS Trust Fund to cover projected deficits at the school.

Shortly after R.B. Holmes threw his support behind Bill Jennings’ 2009 reelection bid for the BOT chairmanship, word spread on campus that there was an understanding that Holmes’ brother would not be summoned before the BOT to answer tough questions about what he had done to DRS.

After last summer’s chairmanship election, Jennings did not ask the administration to bring Ronald Holmes before the board to talk about DRS. Most other FAMU trustees followed his example by keeping their mouths shut about the school.

Student Body President Gallop Franklin ended up being the only trustee who had enough backbone to stand up to Holmes and Jennings and ask public questions about Holmes’ contract.

W.E. Johnson, Holmes’ interim replacement, received his B.S. in political science and M.S. in guidance and administration from FAMU. He served as principal of Bond Elementary from 1981 to 1989, principal of Oak Ridge Elementary from 1989 to 1997, and Leon County’s assistant superintendent for school management services from 1997 to 2003. He is C.E.O. of Educational Consultants of North Florida and recently served as interim director of Florida State University Schools.