Approximately 150 people gathered at Ebenezer Baptist Church Saturday night for yet another community meeting on Robert Lewis Middle School.

Those attending said they’d heard rumors that the school’s interim Principal Larry Hooper had been asked to resign.

Superintendent Anthony Morris would not comment on the rumors Saturday night.

Shortly after the meeting’s start, the newspaper was asked to leave.

The speaker said he didn’t feel the meeting was worthy of press.

Earlier, community member Eva Dunkley said there was some question as to whether approximately 20 RLMS students should be present. The students were not asked to leave.

“This is a community meeting and it was called by parents and the community,” Dunkley said. “We feel like things are going on in the community that should be addressed. Some people feel the children shouldn’t be present.

“If the kids are exposed to this, maybe they might behave in a certain way. I think it’s up to you if you want to send your child out.”

Between 300 and 400 RLMS students participated in a protest two weeks ago that had to be broken up by police. The students were protesting the alleged suspension of Hooper.

Morris has said he will not comment on any personnel matters.

Morris said he’d heard rumors of Saturday night’s meeting, but did not attend.

Several elected officials, including Alderman Ricky Gray and Board of Supervisors President Darryl Grennell, were at the meeting. Local businessman Michael Winn, who organized a similar meeting last week, was in attendance.

The group also included several local ministers and members of the NAACP.

The Rev. Clifton Marvel, who works as a part of the ministers mentoring program at the school, said he’d heard Hooper’s contract was not being renewed for next year.

Marvel was at Saturday night’s meeting.

“A lot of the discussion centered around Mr. Hooper and him maintaining his job with the school system,” Marvel said. “They were getting input from parents and the community so the kids won’t have the wrong understanding about how business is supposed to be conducted.”

Marvel said Saturday’s meeting was much like one held at Pilgrim Baptist Church Monday night.

The adults want to stress to the children that they need to focus on upcoming tests and their schoolwork, he said.

Hooper and others in attendance at the meeting could not be reached for comment.

Recent troubles at RLMS started two weeks ago when the district called a meeting to address the school’s failure to meet a No Child Left Behind requirement. The school must be restructured in the coming year, according to federal law.