The results of the 2002 Academic Status Report are in and Butler County Schools are in the clear, however, Georgiana High School remains under academic caution.

The results were released June 27 after standardized test scores and exit exam scores for the 2001-2002 academic year were calculated. According to Butler County Assistant Superintendent Allin Whittle, all Butler County Schools are currently academically clear except Georgiana High School, which lacks very little being clear.

"There is just a little bit that would make us clear at Georgiana High," Whittle said. "A few students needed to do a little better on the SAT. They did do a lot better than they had been doing."

Whittle said he feels that remediation of teachers and school administrators helped the schools become academically clear and that the students all did very well this year.

"I think that we've made some great improvements over the years," he said. "All of our teachers, principals and students did a really great job to help achieve the clear status."

The assistant superintendent said he feels the status of Butler County Schools will continue to improve and that all schools will most likely be clear after next year.

"I think we'll all be clear next year and that we'll be clear from now on," he said. "With the new teacher replacement system, the teachers are now experienced and I think we'll be clear from now on."

Gov. Don Siegelman announced that the entire Alabama school system did well this year and that this is the lowest number of schools on academic alert that Alabama has seen in four years.

"This is a great announcement for Alabama's public school system," he said. "This is proof positive that n despite the lack of funding n our schools, our teachers and our students are performing with what they have. This shows that Alabama's public school system deserves more funding."

In 1998, nine percent of schools and six percent of school systems were on "Alert" status. In 1999, those figures improved to seven percent of schools and four percent of school systems. In 2000, the figures continued to decline with five percent of schools and three percent of school systems on "Alert" status. Last year, the most recent year complete figures are available, only five percent of schools and two percent of school systems were on "Alert" status.