The ongoing struggle to keep the Early College Program reached a boiling point during Thursday night’s Selma City School Board meeting.

Both members of the Selma City School Board and representatives of Wallace Community College-Selma discussed when communication began about the current bill presented for the program.

Wallace dean of students Donitha Griffin said there were meetings months ago to discuss the state of the program.

“There has been ongoing dialogue with the Selma City Schools officials since 2011,” she said. “During that time I met with Dr. Jefferson to tell him there may be a chance the Selma City School System may have to pay for the summer and spring. The official letter was actually sent Dec. 14.”

Last year, Griffin said the program was in a similar position before grants were secured. This year, because of funding cuts, they were not as fortunate.

Griffin also wanted to clear up the misconception that the college would terminate the program. Early College, she said, is governed by the Selma City Schools.

“We strongly believe in the Early College Program,” she said. “That’s why we have continued partnership in this program and look forward to a continued partnership. We believe strongly that our students benefit.”

From 2007 to the present, Griffin said Wallace provided $458,669 in grants. This does not include the in-kind services of  classroom space, computers, labs and tutorial services.

Board member Holland Powell argued according to figures from the state there was more than $668,000 in grants for the program.

“It doesn’t seem like a really definitive number involved here,” he said. “I think the number of hours are correct from our staff. I come up with a total payment per semester hour of $154.12 per hour. However, your going rate is $126, so you can pay $82,051 more.”

Powell also argued board members were not informed of the bill until recently.

Griffin said she was surprised by this lack of communication.

“I cannot believe there has never been a discussion about how you would come up with some funding,” she said. “It just surprises me that this is a shock. What really surprises me is that the Selma City School Board has never come to say ‘we understand that this is our program and we want to partner with you.”

The program, Powell said, benefits both parties and should be continued. He said had the board been notified, they could have sought grants and avoided these problems.

“I believe your program has outstanding value and I think the Selma City Schools should partner with Wallace,” he said. “Nothing but good can come out of this program, however, we were presented with a bill of this size out of the blue. This board has never been informed of that. You might have had conversations in September, but we weren’t aware of that.”

Wallace, Griffin said, has been unfairly criticized throughout the entire process. She said she feels both parties benefit from the program and should work together.

“Wallace has been under scrutiny for being a part of this program,” she said. “I think we have worked hard and we have benefited as well. But I think the Selma City Schools have also benefited and Wallace is taking the heat for something we have worked hard to try to keep going and find funding for.

“I think we have bent over backward to make sure the needs of the students were met in that program. At this time, we no loner have funding. Now we are asking the Selma City School System if they can come up with anything to help with this program.”

The requested funding for summer and fall of 2011 is $155,693.

Those hit hardest by the changes are the students who were set to graduate in May. The 14 students were not able to register and would have to pay for the final classes themselves at $126 per credit hour.

Griffin said the college is keeping registration open in case funding is available.

School board president Henry Hicks said he hopes the two parties can find a solution so these students can stay on track.

“My concern is where do we go from here,” he said. “Our grant writers need to come to the table and see if we can get some kind of funding. Right now we sit here bickering, but the children are the ones suffering from this. We need to find a way to keep the children in this program.”