DeKalb teachers endorse in school board races for first time in 20 years. And they pick same folks as business group
Interesting to note that the endorsement list released yesterday by eduKalb, a group of business and community leaders, and the one released today by the Organization of DeKalb Educators agree.
Here is the ODE release on who they endorsed and why they got into endorsements this election:
The 4,700 member Organization of DeKalb Educators, the largest local professional organization in Georgia, announced its endorsements for candidates for DeKalb County School Board Seats in districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.
This is the first time in over 20 years that ODE has made endorsements in School Board Elections. “This is a step we have taken cautiously and with some hesitation,” stated ODE President David Schutten. “However, in light of the problems and challenges the DeKalb County School System has faced over the past year, we believe it is important to make our voices heard.”
Interviews were conducted by a team of ODE members on October 8 and 9. Each candidate was asked to fill out a questionnaire with 10 questions. 12 of 15 candidates responded and were interviewed. “We focused on issues important to employees and students,” said ODE 1st Vice President Nicole Duff who lead the interview team. “The interviews also gave us an opportunity to get to know the candidates and educate them on issues important to our members.” The ODE Executive Board held a called meeting on Saturday, October 9 to make the endorsements. Candidate rankings, survey responses, and incumbent records were taken into consideration.
The endorsed candidates include
District 1 – Jim Redovian (Incumbent)
District 3 – Corey Wilson
District 5 – Dr. Kirk Nooks
District 7 – Donna Edler
District 9 – Dr. Eugene Walker (Incumbent)
“Our members and their families as well as Georgia Association of Educators’ members and their families living in DeKalb County constitute a significant voting block,” emphasized ODE 2nd Vice President Lisa Morgan. “Our outreach will be primarily to GAE members living in DeKalb County, which we estimate to be over 5,000 educators.”
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49 comments Add your comment
no mas
October 13th, 2010
12:29 pm
Eugene “I see black and white. I vote black and white” Walker?
. Really? Really???
ODE, I am disappointed.
jtaylor
October 13th, 2010
12:47 pm
David Schutten (ODE pres) was on eduKALB. Of course it’s the same thing.
DeKalb Educated
October 13th, 2010
1:23 pm
Walker is not the best person for the school board but may the best person running in District 9. Ella “coach” Smith ran for a school board position two years ago. She was invited to speak at our neighborhood civic meeting. She showed up late, interrupted people and left early. We found her to be erratic. Either Jim or Nancy would be great choices for District 1. We need a dynamic school board. The past practices of the School Board cannot continue. Civility is required. Respect for the teachers and the parents. The emails received from Zepora and Sarah C-W by parents that demonized them should no longer be a regular course of business. Those women should have never been allowed to have any voice on the school board. They should not have had access to millions of our tax dollars. They are not competent. Time to move on and choose more competent and civil board members.
EnoughAlready
October 13th, 2010
3:19 pm
Good luck with that!
Dr. Tim
October 13th, 2010
4:32 pm
Does anyone but me see an ethical conflict with public empolyees endorsing political candidates?
David Schutten
October 13th, 2010
4:36 pm
In response to jtaylor. I did not sit in on the ODE interviews nor did I participate in the scoring of candidates by the ODE interview team. The ODE endorsements were conducted independently from eduKALB. There was no attempt made to coordinate the endorsements as the ODE endorsements were made using a separate set of criteria.
Linda
October 13th, 2010
4:40 pm
One 10 minute conversation with Ella Smith would tell you why they endorsed Walker.
What's Best for Kids?
October 13th, 2010
5:14 pm
THAT’S what I’m talking about! Local community members making the big decisions!
Dekalbite
October 13th, 2010
5:46 pm
Why they endorsed Jim Redovian is a mystery to me. He backed Lewis all the way until he was indicted. Redovian had his chance to ask the tough questions and do the math, but he missed every opportunity as DCSS slid further and further into the muck and mire. Our students have paid the price. ODE is filled with administrators (we have 1 Central office employee for every 5 teachers – that’s one of Redovian and the rest of the BOE members’ legacy to our students). They really don’t want the status quo to change for themselves.
Dekalbite
October 13th, 2010
5:57 pm
Nancy Jester is smart, informed, involved in the local schools, has children in the system, and wants DCSS to provide a Return on Investment to the taxpayers in the form of higher student achievement. Go to her website and see what plans she has. Call or email her to talk to her. She’s very accessible:
http://www.nancyjester.com/
I don’t know what Jim Redovian stands for since he has no website and won’t show up at any public meetings.
Redovian voted “yes” and defended the $8,000,000 a year America’s Choice scripted learning program and the $8,000,000 a year 80 non-teaching “Instructional Coaches” who support it ($16,000,000 a year in addition to the millions we spend on the Office of School Improvement – run by Dr. Audria Berry and which has presided over a decline in student achievement). There is not a shred of proof that the $16,000,000 spent on America’s Choice and the 80 non-teaching Instructional Coaches has made one bit of difference for DCSS students. On the contrary, student scores have declined in the schools that use America’s Choice. All that money down the drain and absolutely no accountability.
Moving Fast
October 13th, 2010
8:00 pm
Right out of DeKalb. Let’s hope Distric One will work for the best candidate. Nancy seems to be a breath of fresh air. District 9 could have used some more choices. @Linda, you must know Ella Smith. She would be just as divisive as Sarah C-Wood. Any one who has seen Ella become angry, stomp her foot and walk out of the room, knows that logic is a foreign language for her. Everyone needs to go vote and return the Dekalb county school into a quality school system. It once was. It was once a competent, honest group of people getting a great education for their children. No more hiring friends and family members. We need ethics for the School Board. We need civility. We need vision on the board beyond lining their own pockets with money. We need to support the teachers who try to educate our children. We did it once and I think with a new board with values and courage, we can do it again.
Dr. John Trotter
October 13th, 2010
8:05 pm
The “endorsement” game is truly a game. Doesn’t make a whit’s worth of difference either. Just because an organization endorses someone does not mean that the members are going to therefore vote for that person. Will Mark Elgart say that ODE is an evil, sinister outside influence? Ha! First of all, you have to be of some “influence.” I suppose that Shutten is swimmingly happy the way things have been going on in DeKalb, eh? He must be happy. Endorsing the incumbents certainly sends that message, right?
Dr. John Trotter
October 13th, 2010
8:10 pm
From reading David’s previous post (which I had not read at the time of my latest post), I apparently should say that the ODE Endorsement Committee members must be swimmingly happy at how things are going on in DeKalb. Hmm. The DeKalb teachers with whom I talk are pretty put out with what is happening in the DeKalb County Schools. Sorry, David, about attributing the unusual happiness to you.
concern parent
October 13th, 2010
9:06 pm
It is this for a change in Dekalb School Board. We as parnets has sat down to long. Now it is time for our voices to be heard on Nov. 2. I encourage all of Dekalb voters to go out and vote. Our childen education is in danger all over the United States. We need to go back to the basic. We need for Parents to get more involve in their kids education and stop accepting what they give us. NO EXCUSES!!!!
Cheryl Matthews
October 13th, 2010
9:54 pm
ODE is just a farce. It has poor paid leadership who plays politics. Education should not be about politics. This endorsement is meaningless. Members are in ODE for legal protection only. Each will vote on his/her on evaluation not on David’s endorsement. What we ought to be looking for is a viable candidate to run against him so teachers can be respected and treated with dignity.
Dekalbite@Moving Fast
October 13th, 2010
10:09 pm
You may not be an Ella Smith supporter, but I hope you realize that Walker has more relatives working for DCSS than any other BOE member (per AJC School Boards special addition). It seems like almost everyone he’s related to works for DCSS.
Atlanta Media Guy
October 13th, 2010
11:34 pm
DeKalb moving fast, I couldn’t have said it better myself! Because of Walker’s past racist statements he has no business being on a school board. Plus, don’t forget it was Walker who wanted the BOE Reps allowances increased, so he could wine and dine his cronies. This was during the salary freezes of teachers, para pros and CTSS’s getting laid off and his numerous statements about how the BOE needed to RAISE OUR TAXES!
Mr Walker, no more money for you or your friends and family members who work at DCSS. You need to show some fiduciary responsibility with OUR tax dollars. This is not your money. You continue to vote for silly programs that have no return on investment for DCSS or even helps the teachers and students in the classrooms. Mr. Walker, you need to go back to the Commerce Club on your own dime!
With these latest endorsements and the silly search going on for Superintendent, I honestly think they already know who the next Super is going to be. DCSS’ Vision 2020 plans are about to go into full swing and they are about to embark on consolidation and redistricting. What I find amazing is that the new Super is going to come in and oversee all these changes, but that person will not be involved in the planning or the process. Is this smart?
d
October 13th, 2010
11:36 pm
Dear John (Trotter)
With all due respect to our being “swimmingly happy,” please note that ODE has endorsed 3 out of 5 non-incumbents. With Dr. Walker, there really is no good competition in district 9. I watched Ms. Smith repeat herself over and over and over again at the candidate forum last night at Southwest DeKalb High School – very much like Ms. Coplin-Wood. I am not getting into Redovian’s endorsement because my personal opinion is that either Mr. Redovian or Ms. Jester will be just fine in that position – there is a lot more to the decision than the fact that he is an incumbent.
Atlanta Media Guy
October 13th, 2010
11:45 pm
I talked with Nancy Jester for two hours the other day. What a refreshing, knowledgeable, person to have on the board. She is an actuary, which our BOE is in desperate need of. Her answers are insightful and very thorough. It was a no brainer when comparing her answers on the edukalb website with Redovians. She will most definitely have the teachers back, as well as our students. No ego either, she just is tired of the same things that most DeKalb taxpayers are and she wants to make a difference. My wife and I will be voting for Ms. Jester. We’re tired of the business as usual incumbents of the BOE. Things must change! The DCSS staff is tired, old and is doing very shoddy work lately. Marcus Turks +$50k vendor list is just one example, as well as Robert Moseley’s presentation about the supplemental funds for Gateway is another. When Moseley said that he prepared the agenda item the way the former administration wanted, McChesney actually told him that business will not be done like that again at DCSS! We must remind these staff members that Crawford Lewis is no longer their boss and they need to start looking for work somewhere else. I hope the new Super cleans the Palace out of all the deadwood!
Cindy
October 14th, 2010
9:28 am
“Our members and their families as well as Georgia Association of Educators’ members and their families living in DeKalb County constitute a significant voting block,” emphasized ODE 2nd Vice President Lisa Morgan.
Please tell me “voting block” is an AJC error and not an error from the Organization of DeKalb Educators.
Maureen Downey
October 14th, 2010
9:53 am
@Cindy, Nope, not our error. Came that way in the release. I am torn about changing written releases and statements, and typically do not. But I will change if requested.
Maureen
voting block
October 14th, 2010
11:07 am
That’s just about right. The organization “representing” DeKalb’s teachers is fundamentally bankrupt in spelling and grammar. Wow. I’ll keep THAT in mind as I consider the merit of their “endorements”.
voting block
October 14th, 2010
11:07 am
I mean “endrosements”.
d
October 14th, 2010
11:39 am
According to Mirriam-Webster, “Block” is a synonym for “Bloc.”
“a : a quantity, number, or section of things dealt with as a unit
b : bloc”
Dekalbite
October 14th, 2010
1:20 pm
David Schutten is the president of ODE. He is also on the board of eduKALB so it’s not surprising that ODE went lockstep with eduKABLB.
d
October 14th, 2010
1:38 pm
Mr. Schutten was not part of the interviews. The decisions were made by the whole executive board as stated in the press release.
pmuckle
October 14th, 2010
1:52 pm
Just as long J Cunningham does not win… I’m good with that! No more lies J Cuuningham enough is enough.
pmuckle
October 14th, 2010
1:53 pm
CUNNINGHAM MUST GO! DEKALB COUNTY HAS HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR LIES AND YOUR NASTY PIZZA!
pmuckle
October 14th, 2010
1:55 pm
TOO MUCH COLOR IT IS TIME TO LIGHTING UP THE BOARD!
Maureen Downey
October 14th, 2010
1:59 pm
@pmucke, If the issue is “lighting,” maybe the solution is 100-watt light bulbs.
Name One
October 14th, 2010
2:15 pm
Gene Walker was chair of the DeKalb Development Authority while running for the BOE. He received well over $20,000 in campaign contributions from the Sembler Corporation, and out of state developer who was at the time looking to purchase the school systems property at Briarcliff and North Druid Hills Rd., and who also wanted a big tax break from the county for their then struggling Town Brookhaven development. He also received large contributions from Sembler consultant/Vernon Jones advisor Angelo Fuster.
People, no one receives $20,000 in campaign contributions for a school board race, let alone $20k from out of state donors.
Only after much scrutiny on the DeKalb County School Watch blog did Walker finally resign from the Development Authority.
During his campaign, he did not disclose that he had a number of relatives working for the school system, or that he had sponsored then DCSS Supt. now indicted under the RICO ACt Crawford Lewis’ membership into the tony downtown Commerce Club.
I won’t even get into the reason why he didn’t run for the state legislature after his fourth term.
It is incredibly disappointing to see eduKALB and ODE endorse such a person. It’s sad they discounted ethics and nepotism to endorse Walker.
almh
October 14th, 2010
3:27 pm
“@pmucke, If the issue is “lighting,” maybe the solution is 100-watt light bulbs.”
They did spend $300,000 of SPLOST money on lighting for the board meetings. As long as they all look pretty on PDS24.
Dekalbite@d
October 14th, 2010
6:06 pm
“Mr. Schutten was not part of the interviews. The decisions were made by the whole executive board as stated in the press release.”
Thanks. I’m still puzzled as to why Maureen says that the DeKalb teachers picked him as the best candidate. I don’t think many of them are happy with any of the BOE members. After all, Redovian did vote to take away teachers’ Board of Education TSAs (the retirement legs that replaced their Social Security), increase their class sizes and furlough them.
DeKalb Parent
October 14th, 2010
6:54 pm
I love to see all the excitement about a campaign. Was Ella upset over the lack of race on a certain committee or was it that she was advocating for students to get the accommodations they needed to do well in there classes or was it that she disagreed with Mr. Reed who was the Assistant Principal then who felt back then that no special education student should be able to have a test read to them like the SAT or PSAT if they had a reading disability?
I would suggest that you talk to Ella Smith yourself and not take the word of a few individuals on here. When did Ella stomp her foot. I heard about her walking out of a board meeting because Doc Parker was overlooked at the end of the year for a gift like the other individuals who support the team. Doc Parker volunteers hours of time to assure the safety of our students in the DeKalb County Schools and around the community. Ella just has very high morals and she felt this was wrong. There are two sides to every story and it would appear that someone only heard one side of the story as Ella does not go out and gossip about others. I know she has much to saw about that situation being talked about. However, from her view there was some things done inappropriate and she is not going to take part in such affairs. She did leave the meeting. I think stomping her foot might be an over kill there. I am sure she just walked out. I am sure she was frustrated and upset at the situation I heard about. She also refused to be part of that board this coming year. Ella cares deeply about individuals being treated fairly and in this case she did not feel people were being treated fairly. She does not want to be a part of this board.
DeKalb Parent
October 14th, 2010
6:54 pm
I love to see all the excitement about a campaign. Was Ella upset over the lack of race on a certain committee or was it that she was advocating for students to get the accommodations they needed to do well in there classes or was it that she disagreed with Mr. Reed who was the Assistant Principal then who felt back then that no special education student should be able to have a test read to them like the SAT or PSAT if they had a reading disability?
I would suggest that you talk to Ella Smith yourself and not take the word of a few individuals on here. When did Ella stomp her foot. I heard about her walking out of a board meeting because Doc Parker was overlooked at the end of the year for a gift like the other individuals who support the team. Doc Parker volunteers hours of time to assure the safety of our students in the DeKalb County Schools and around the community. Ella just has very high morals and she felt this was wrong. There are two sides to every story and it would appear that someone only heard one side of the story as Ella does not go out and gossip about others. I know she has much to saw about that situation being talked about. However, from her view there was some things done inappropriate and she is not going to take part in such affairs. She did leave the meeting. I think stomping her foot might be an over kill there. I am sure she just walked out. I am sure she was frustrated and upset at the situation I heard about. She also refused to be part of that board this coming year. Ella cares deeply about individuals being treated fairly and in this case she did not feel people were being treated fairly. She does not want to be a part of this board.
DeKalb Parent
October 14th, 2010
7:40 pm
Both Walker and Redovian I don’t think many of them are happy with any of the BOE vote to take away teachers’ Board of Education TSAs (the retirement legs that replaced their Social Security), increase their class sizes and furlough them.
This was the decision made by 4-6 members of a board. It is nice to get this endorsement. However, this group also does not dictate how their members vote. Each voter makes their own decision. No group of individuals have power over how people vote.
Public school mom
October 14th, 2010
9:55 pm
Based on Walker’s own statements and his initial refusal to address the conflict of interest involving Sembler and sitting on two conflicting boards, it would have been preferable for both ODE and EduKalb to simply not endorse a candidate for this Board District.
d
October 14th, 2010
11:07 pm
Just a couple of notes about the endorsement…. Dr. Walker was the one board member who voted against Dr. Lewis’s raise. I was personally satisfied with Redovian’s reasoning for his votes – I don’t have to like them but to be honest, Redovian was the first person to suggest doing the right thing with the jobs bill money coming to DeKalb. I personally would see zero dollars if Mr. Womack has his way as would many of my fellow teachers, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. For what it’s worth, Public School Mom, Dekalbite, Name One, etc…. none of you were there for the interviews, none of you were in the room when the executive board discussed the options very thoroughly before an agreement was reached. The educators in DeKalb County must work within the conditions allowed by the board to educate the children of the county. If any group knows better what is needed in the classroom, please let them step forward and make their case. Until then, I trust their word over anyone else’s.
jtaylor
October 14th, 2010
11:26 pm
@d,
Trust ODE to do what? Protect themselves!?!! How is that helpful for the taxpayers and kids in DeKalb? I’m sure the executive board discussed “thoroughly” the options that would best protect their narrow interests. Sadly, this is not what will fix our broken system. More of the same people will get us more of the same outcome.
Cindy
October 14th, 2010
11:55 pm
to “d”
“Voting bloc” is always b-l-o-c. It is a specific term. Even a Google search of “voting block” will come back “Did you mean voting bloc?”
Private School Guy
October 15th, 2010
5:40 am
I am a member of ODE but I will not be supporting all their candidates. There is far more going on here than meets the eye. The root of the problem is placing incompetent administrators and managers in positions of power. There is no reason other than greed and incompetence that this school system is as bad as it is. Change can not come fast enough, my preferred endorsement is for a state takeover of the system.
d
October 15th, 2010
6:36 am
@Cindy I do understand what a voting bloc is, but why spend excessive time about a simple typo by an overstressed educator due to unwarranted pressures from an overbearing administration. There are much bigger problems in the DeKalb County School System than you seem to realize. Someone made a small mistake. Unless you want robots in front of your children (I think the DCSS administration would prefer that at times the way that we are expected to have everything exactly the same in every classroom) you will get a human who makes an error from time to time. Sorry for the rant, but honestly, we’ve got to focus on what’s important here.
@jtaylor, again, you weren’t there. You cannot speak about what happened in those interviews and meetings. District 1 is hardly the district that is in most need of change. That being said, both Ms. Jester and Mr. Redovian present themselves very well and I truly believe in either case, district 1 will be fine. It is very clear you are a supporter of Ms. Jester. She’s very nice and will make a good board member. Personally, looking forward to next year I’m very worried about the representatives in districts 2 and 4.
jtaylor
October 15th, 2010
7:12 am
@d,
That’s just it. District 1 and the district as a whole won’t be just fine with Redovian. While it is clear that I support Jester. It is clear that you threw your support behind Redovian. OK.
If Jester was just as good, why didn’t you recommend either of them? No, I wasn’t in the discussion. You just said that either would be a good board member. So, why did ODE go with the incumbent? Something else was going on. ODE’s interest is suspect then. It’s about protecting those within the organization and not fixing DeKalb’s school district.
Write Your Board Members
October 15th, 2010
8:12 am
Redovian is the board member who insisted that the TSA contributions be replaced for last year. I was at the meeting where the discussion and decision was held. Were you?
Dekalbite@d
October 15th, 2010
8:14 am
I agree with jtaylor. Nancy Jester has an impeccable financial background and has a much greater stake in the system than Redovian. She would make an excellent BOE member.
The bottom line for me has been that EVERY one of these BOE members let matters get so far out of hand that the superintendent and his right hand person were indicted on racketeering, teachers have come under enormous pressure to change grades in order to increase the graduation rate, and employees of DCSS have profited from goods and services that they have sold to the school system. This BOE presided over the largest increase in non-teaching personnel while decreasing teaching personnel in the history of the school system. Class sizes have increased to an unmanageable level in many schools. Most importantly, student achievement has plummeted to the lowest level in metro Atlanta.
The Board of Education members run the school system in that they hire the superintendent and approve every single employee added to the school system. They control the money and approve all expenditures. Not one of them raised any concerns when student achievement decreased while the budget increased. They must be held responsible and accountable. The only way they can be held responsible is by the electorate NOT returning them to office or the governor removing them all. As a DeKalb citizen, I will go to the polls and do my part when I cast my vote.
Ella Smith
October 15th, 2010
8:50 pm
I did go to the ODE interviews. There were done by the executive board members except the president did not attend the interviews. They were very kind. They interviewed me for about 15 minutes or so. I got lost and went to the wrong building and they were kind enough to let me come back and interview the next day. I am very much appreciative for the opportunity to interview with these fine individuals. These ODE officers are elected by the other members of ODE and they have a right to endorse whomever they want just like the 20 members of Edukalb. This is there right and their opinion. It is only an opinion based on their special interests. I used to enter beauty contests when I was young and won some and lost some.. Sometimes the judges picked me and I won and some times they did not. It was left up to the judges opinions what they were looking for and their opinion about looks, answering questions, and what we looked like in our clothes. Could there be biases? Of course so. For instance, I do not belong to any teacher’s education group currently. I normally do. Why do I currently not belong to a teacher’s union? Because I am a candidate I feel this would be a conflict of interest. However, Dr. Walker is a lifetime member of ODE. I knew this before I went in one and I am sure the ODE Executive Board did their homework and knew this also.
It is important to realize that this endorsement is just an endorsement of a pick made by the Executive Board of ODE. I as a candidate honestly trust their decision more than I trust the process of EuDekalb right now. It would appear that they lost my picture, my questions, and who knows what else so they did not have these to put on their website when others individuals information was placed. I am puzzled by the whole process. However, maybe Moving Fast and Lynda were in charge of my file. Who knows? It looks like they would have misplaced it on purpose if they had the chance.
Regardless of the comments made regarding me with little merit: Why did the Friends of Lakeside High School visit me when I was a teacher at Lakeside? Was it because I did not get along with whomever. I do not believe this to be the case. Was it because I advocated for the education of the Special Needs Students At Lakeside High School and was not afraid to advocate to make sure they got the testing accommodations required by law. Maybe. Was it because I did not get along with the families in the community as a teacher? I do not think so.
It would be nice if individuals who spread false rumors during an election would put their name on the post. This might show some credibility in their words. But to hide behind an unknown name and to make false statements is dead wrong. I think I was teaching my students in Health about this today. I think it is called Cyber-bulling and using the internet to try to do negative campaigning.
TaxPayer
October 15th, 2010
10:02 pm
Please donot ever suggest Ernest Brown to run for a BOE seat. Still keeping up mess in the schools.
EJ
October 16th, 2010
9:57 am
Pmuckle what does pizza have to do with anything? maybe you need to go look at what Mr. Cunningham have done for our community. He have bring over $40 million dollar to south dekalb since he been on the board. I think your personal issues whether you like pizza or not is not important it about our children and who has been working in the community. The simple fact that you stated that anyone will be ok instead of looking at what they stand for show me that you are not inform on the issues around you
DeKalb Parent
October 16th, 2010
6:24 pm
When school board members are taking another school board member to court (Dr. Walker) because of the conflict of interest Dr. Walker had with Sembler and his position on the Developmental Authority, Dr. Walker speaks about making decisions due to race from his board seat and either ODE or EuKalb this it is appropriate to endorse him I question why. What is he promising them he will do if elected?