MONTGOMERY — After two meetings of the State Board of Education were cancelled this week, Alabama’s top education official is coming to Selma to hear the opinions of concerned parents and community leaders.

Dr. Tommy Bice, State Superintendent of Education, will visit Selma Thursday, Jan. 16 to hear from community members unsatisfied with how the Selma City School board has handled the response to a state-led investigation and the implementation of a corrective action plan.

Several local groups, including Parents Against Corrupt Officials, Impact, Alabama Democratic Executive Committee and Women for Change, have already announced their plans to attend Thursday’s meeting.

“I’m hoping the citizens and the parents are going to get clarification about the content of the investigation report,” James Perkins, the Dallas County Democratic Conference chairman, said. “I’m hoping they will get clarification on what the state feels needs to be to be done or should be done through responds to those issues that were thoroughly identified in the investigation report.”

Perkins said the groups would ask Bice and members of the state board of education what they perceive to be the appropriate corrective action.

The group originally planned to travel to Montgomery Wednesday to address the State Board of Education. After they learned the meeting was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstance, they planned to attend the rescheduled meeting for Thursday. That meeting was also cancelled, this time due to a lack of a quorum.

Perkins said several parents and local organization members cleared their schedules to attend the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, but many could not make it for the meeting Thursday. In an effort to make sure everyone with opinions on the issue would be able to express their thoughts, Perkins requested Bice visit Selma to listen.

“The people need to take full advantage of this opportunity to address their concerns,” Perkins said. “I know for certain that it is always best to have local control over any aspect of your government, whether it is education or any other local government,” Perkins said. “I know that, but when the local government body refuses to listen to the people, then you really have no other choice but to go to the state and petition relief.”