APS will get a new board chair. Will that save the day?
The chair of the APS board has agreed to step down in the name of unity. (AJC Photo)
As expected, APS board Chair Khaatim Sherrer El agreed to give up his chairmanship Monday in the name of board unity and in an effort to appease the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which put the district on probation because of board bickering and in-fighting. No formal vote was taken to seal the deal.
El will retain his school board seat, as will Vice Chairwoman Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, who said she is also willing to step down. They will be replaced by Brenda Muhammad and Reuben McDaniel, although it’s unresolved which of the pair will be chair.
The censure of APS by SACS surprised some people, who felt that the accreditation agency overstepped its bounds in calling for more unity and less divided votes by the Atlanta board.
SACS did not intervene when a state audit suggested widespread cheating on state exams by some Atlanta schools, but acted when the board coalesced into two factions, one of which successfully unseated chair LaChandra Butler Burks last year and replaced her with El.
Some people thought the takeover was democracy in action, messy as it was. Others, including Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, saw the board’s actions as reckless and detrimental to the system.
It’s not clear that replacing El is the solution for a fractious board where there are two camps with fundamentally different views of their roles.
I also wonder if the state investigation of APS for possible CRCT cheating will wrap up before Superintendent Beverly Hall retires in a few weeks.
“OK, you win,” said El, who has been blasted by Reed, business leaders and even some board members after controversially taking the chairmanship last year. One of his strongest allies on the board, member Yolanda Johnson, said the board had no choice but to make a change, adding that “people have been bullied and coerced.”
“This is not a voluntary decision,” Johnson said.
In their place, members Brenda Muhammad and Reuben McDaniel will assume leadership, although it remains up to other members to decide who will be chairman and vice chairman. Both talked Monday about how they could complement each other’s strengths and work to rebuild trust among members. McDaniel, who took office last year, is viewed as a consensus builder. Muhammad, one of the board’s longest-serving members, previously held the chairmanship, bringing experience that appealed to some members.
A switch last year from a supermajority for key decisions — six of nine votes — led to a series of conflicts last year that ended with the board on probation. This year, the board has gathered every week since SACS penalized it and demanded that it improve its governance.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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32 comments Add your comment
Dr. John Trotter
May 23rd, 2011
9:59 pm
Will it save the day? No, but it will please Mark Elgart who apparently thinks that it is his right to determine who governs the Atlanta Board of Education. But, ole Markie is apprently just a pawn of the Chamber folks. Will someone please invite him to lunch at the Piedmont Driving Club? Maybe this will get him an invite.
P.I.
May 23rd, 2011
10:29 pm
I am not surprised by this gangsta move to force EL out of the chairman seat! I hope the Atlanta citizens are watching and preparing for the next board election while scrutinizing every vote they make going forward. Ruben just arrived and Brenda hasn’t done anything of value since she’s held office.
The good thing is that Beverly L. Hall and her gang is leaving as she was the real problem and has somehow managed to reflect all of her misdeeds back unto the board. Which is justified I guess since their failure to supervise their one and only employee has taken APS down the drain while paying her handsomely to do so. She destroyed a system that had so much potential and promise only to promote her selfish self while the committed employees are left to help rebuild the district one day at a time.
The board should be very cautious in dealing with the mayor “Kasim Reed”. All of a sudden he is so interested in the school board business and how his girl Lachandra Burks did not handle her business and the chair. He will do fine to stay across the street and handle all of the unfinished city business. While he is at it maybe he can do something about the “homeless” all of the place including the “Gateway” across the street. They are in your face daily constantly with seemingly no relief in site and buses are arriving daily with more. He has plenty to do in his current position which he bearly won and if he wanted to be a school board member he should have run for a seat. I still see the mayor and chamber (business) meddling too much for comfort and they have a big responsibility for this mess as well.
They praised every move Beverly Hall made for over 10 years and never held her accountable for anything either while knowing darn well lots of the information she touted and marketed was a joke and could not have been creditable on any given day and they just kept marching alone with her parade. The chamber should be ashamed of themselves for failing the children of the city in this manner. Mr. Sherman from the Fulton Taxpayers Association was the lone business voice trying to get some truthful answers to no avail. This is just sad that a city of this size let this one New York gangsta ruin Atlanta Public Schools slowly over a 10 year period! Criminal charges should be awaiting someone at some point in time soon after the GBI issues its report. It is time that some white collar criminals be charged for habitual violations of taxpayers and school children rather than being well compensated and allow to just move to another unsuspecting school district to repeat this same mode of operation. It’s just not right for this to go on unchecked in the USA.
David Sims
May 23rd, 2011
10:35 pm
So. The big, noisy investigation into criminal tampering in the Atlanta Public Schools hasn’t yet, after nearly two years, led to anyone’s getting busted and sentenced to prison. After all that fuss and expense and bluster. Georgia just can’t fight crime, anymore, can it? I’m glad I don’t live there any more.
amazed
May 23rd, 2011
10:43 pm
Maureen:
Who are the “5″ and who are the “4?” Which sides are Muhammad and McDaniel on?
Its amazing that anyone can support either El or the previous chairman (or continue to support Hall or the C of C for that matter).
Maureen Downey
May 23rd, 2011
10:52 pm
@Amazed, The five are Khaatim Sherrer El, Yolanda Johnson, Courtney English, Nancy Meister and Brenda Muhammad. The four are former chair LaChandra Butler Burks, Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, Reuben McDaniel, III, and Emmett Johnson.
Maureen
another comment
May 24th, 2011
12:55 am
And Courtney English is a male who miss uses his APS issued credit card for personal use on at least two occasions.
Dr NO
May 24th, 2011
7:13 am
Hmmmm….how long before more infighting?
Burroughston Broch
May 24th, 2011
7:28 am
It’s like a card game when you have 9 bad cards. No matter how you rearrange them, you still have a bad hand.
catlady
May 24th, 2011
7:58 am
Put lipstick on a pig, you still have a pig.
Dr. Proud Black Man
May 24th, 2011
8:10 am
Is there no pleasing you rethuglicans?
Timekeeper
May 24th, 2011
8:31 am
No nothing will save the day and why in the hell is Beverly Hall just now deciding to put the Kronos time system in place after she had the board approve to pay all that money for a system that hasn’t worked since she purchased it three years ago.
The board is clueless that the Kronos system like many other purchases were not operational and she is now trying to get them up and working before she leaves and it is found out how she again has wasted taxpayers money. Wonder what chamber business was paid under the table for the Kronos system. Everywhere the machine has been purchased outside of Atlanta has gotten rid of it due to malfunction.
Has anyone noticed that the new copy machines don’t work all of the system either. Where are our old xerox machines. Wonder what chamber businessman got kickbacks for this contract as well and if the IT department changes hands one more time I will scream loud! Stop the madness and get Hall out of here now!
Doris M
May 24th, 2011
8:43 am
Can APS be saved? I don’t know, does anyone? When will the results of the CRCT investigation be publicized? Will there be criminal prosecution? Why does Beverly Hall have a criminal attorney? Why is Kasim Reed so involved in the APS? Reed’s plate is overflowing with unresolved city issues. Questions, questions, questions!
Dr NO
May 24th, 2011
9:45 am
The egos, arrogance and ignorance of these board members will not allow this option to work. LOL!
Watch and Learn.
Atlanta mom
May 24th, 2011
10:00 am
Any person who does not know what AYP stands for has no business being on a school board (for 8+ years), let alone being the chair.
RJ
May 24th, 2011
10:33 am
@Timekeeper, I completely agree. The new xerox machines are useless. They don’t work more than they do. Kronos is also useless.
We need board members that are committed to our schools. Someone whose kids attend an APS school. Not board members whose kids attend Lovett. I really don’t think this will change anything.
APS parent
May 24th, 2011
10:33 am
I don’t know that Brenda Muhammad and Reuben McDaniel are going to be any step up over El and Harsch-Kinnane — it might even be a step backwards. But I guess the people who were angry when El took over for LaChandra Butler-Burks will be happy. Sort of.
What is the status of hiring Beverly Hall’s replacement? It seems like that is moving slow as molasses. Hall announced she was going to be retiring in June last November, and now it’s almost June and it sounds like we’re pretty much no where on hiring a replacement. It also seems like the state investigation into the CRCT scandal should be wrapping up soon. Let’s get that done, hire a new superintendent, and move forward.
Frustrated Taxpayer
May 24th, 2011
12:04 pm
I am beyond disgusted by this whole process. The state promised a speedy investigation. It has FAILED the students and taxpayers.
To those who say “Beverly Hall and her gang is now leaving,” you are delusional. The damage has been done. Many of the faculty and administrators who FAILED students and taxpayers, out of fear and coercion, remain employed by the district. They may have different roles, but they continue to do damage.
What’s the harm done? Call 10 alums from various APS high schools and ask them how they fared during their freshman year at college. More than one student has told me APS failed to prepare them for the rigor of college courses. Ask how many held on to their HOPE scholarships. Ask how many see that money hanging by a thread as they overload on summer courses or work summer jobs to make up the difference.
As for KRONOS, it was not designed for exempt employees. Installing those expensive clocks on EVERY floor of the CLL building was a complete waste of money — lots of money. Another fiscal FAILURE. What good is a time clock when you are only required to clock in OR out ONCE a day?
As for the board, each and every parent and Atlanta taxpayer should attend at least one of these Monday board meetings to see the return on your investment. After that, I dare you to ignore another name on a school board ballot.
ChillyKeepitcoming
May 24th, 2011
3:17 pm
@chillywilly Thanks for keep us inform we need more good and honest people such as yourself. Please continue to keep the public aware of whats going on the Cortell APS. We deserve to know because of our children and tax paying dollars.
Another Voice
May 24th, 2011
3:43 pm
Same 9, same interpersonal issues. Much as I think the residents should demand a recall and replace this crew, there are few in the city willing to step up and take this responsiblity.
Hmmm. seems to me that “exempt” means exempt from timekeeping. Were they having a problem with employees actually reporting for work? Sounds like it, if they had to install a time and attendance system.
Frustrated Taxpayer
May 24th, 2011
4:08 pm
@Another Voice: Here’s an APS riddle for you: If the majority of the employees in one building are “exempt” from timekeeping, why are there two (expensive) machines on each floor of said building, along with a highly paid consultant to manage what should be an HR project? Why would you pay a premium for the installation of said machine, abandon use and then tell “exempt” employees to only bother clocking in or out?
Answer: Because the business of education is BOOMING in Atlanta. You don’t need to be a Chamber member to figure out that riddle. Just make a deal with the right APS employee/alum. They are all to happy to institute “nationally recognized best practices,” whether they adequately apply to the situation or not.
Sound familiar?
chillywilly
May 24th, 2011
4:37 pm
@ Maureen – What happened to my honest to goodness comment? It disappeared.
momofboys
May 24th, 2011
4:49 pm
I read it before it disappeared. Good stuff, chillywilly. I’m ready to start seeing some heads roll!
Bobbie Fleckman
May 24th, 2011
5:16 pm
Wow. The show goes on and I can’t believe there are still people in the audience. I’m thinking… let them loose the accreditation. I pay the taxes and I know I am getting nothing for my $$. I say let them fall. Clean house. Clean slate. Move on. Or wait – give them back the accreditation because a diploma from this system has been a farce for so long, what’s the diff?
Ed Johnson
May 24th, 2011
9:38 pm
Sharing my talking to the APS board during their community input meeting Monday evening…
Namaste.
I greet you with “namaste” to help avoid saying all that could be said to you and especially to the cohort of four.
But first, Mr. El, know there is some truth in the old saying “a good deed never goes unpunished.” For what it’s worth, I see you for awakening to the fact that APS lacks “true north” honesty in top leadership and administration.
That lack of honesty goes back to when the superintendent went to the business community and to the state legislature to change the APS charter to make the board a “rubber stamp.” The board was warned of destructive consequences to come.
Now, board, be warned, again. You had the chance to learn to keep leading APS away from the stupidity of “urban school reform.” Instead, you prefer to keep APS stuck in that trap, and to go back to pleasing the business community that always has wanted to control APS as a workforce production facility. The CRCT cheating scandal was your wakeup call to see the business community’s foolishness. But you pigheadedly refuse to wakeup. The greater problem isn’t student learning; the greater problem is adult learning, your learning.
You say you value trust, yet you often talk about how to hold somebody accountable and how to make somebody do something. Do you not see the contradiction?
You say you stand for “making the children globally competitive” and desire for them to outperform Finland and other countries. Sounds great, but this shows that you believe – to borrow from Ghandi – that competition learned in one department of life will not transfer to other departments of life. Your ignorance on this point contributes to sustaining many social ills, including the school-to-prison pipeline through which extraordinary numbers of “Black” male youngsters go. And you wonder why.
While you parrot the business community’s talk about competition and outperforming somebody else, the Somebody Elses are busily developing their organizations and their countries, not destroying them through competition.
Between 2002 and 2008, an incredible fifteen (15) organizations in India won the coveted, non-competitive Deming Prize! But during the same period, only one U.S. organization won the prize. This should prompt you to want to learn just how common mediocre business leadership is and how to keep it out of APS.
A division of Brakes India, where the vision is “Together Towards Excellence,” earned the Deming Prize in 2003. Tata Steel India, where the vision is “Endurance. Continuous Improvement. Growth,” earned the Deming Prize in 2008. Now, do such visions sound anything like wanting to make losers of anybody else? Of course they don’t.
Then why do you stupidly and doggedly participate in suppressing Atlanta Public Schools’ potential to become a quality learning organization?
You obviously do not believe APS can become a place of “Authentic Learning. Authentic Teaching. Everybody Involved.”
Namaste.
Ed Johnson
Advocate for Quality in Public Education
(404) 505-8176
edwjohnson@aol.com
Dr. John Trotter
May 25th, 2011
7:10 am
@ chillywilly: I always enjoy your posts. I missed seeing your latest post before it was removed. You must have stepped on too many toes. Ha! I hope that Maureen will re-post it.
a conservative voice
May 25th, 2011
9:41 am
In a word……NO
DPBM, please, please take me up on my offer……I’m down to begging now.
Joyce
May 25th, 2011
4:53 pm
Education went down the drain when boards thought they needed to hire a superintendent from outside the Atlanta City. Why go out of state? Why not hire someone locally. They have an invested interest in the APS. These people from the outside are only here to get the big buckets. Look at Hall, what did she do to better the education of children? And, it would be interesting to why, the board has had everything turned on them. You see that is what politics is all about–everyone has to have an escape goat. By turning the attention off of Hall and the cheating scandal, to the board for not agreeing on certain items brought before them. Well, you do not need a rubber stamp board in any organization, especially a school board. If so, where are the checks and balances. What happened to a good frensic audit not just the state one which is not a through one. I mean an audit to get down to the nitty gritty, And, this goes for all school systems. Maybe that is the reason we are broke now—-reckon.
Joyce
May 25th, 2011
5:01 pm
In some cases, we have superintendents who have not paid their dues in teaching or in an administration psition which would give them insight to operating a quality school,but yet; they are appointed to be the overseers of our children’s education and our tax dollars. Where did the accountability go for someone to become a superintendent. I think the Ga. Legislators need to place back into law that all superintendents and all board members will be elected. I have worked under both types of administrations (elected and appointed) and believe me the elected one is the best because he/she is more accountable to the students, parents, and citizens.
P.I.
May 26th, 2011
1:09 pm
Chilly I missed your obviously informative post cause it disappeared quick!
ChillyKeepitcoming
May 26th, 2011
2:07 pm
Chilly where are you please repost
chillywilly
May 26th, 2011
5:38 pm
@ Maureen – Please advise. Thank you.
KL
May 26th, 2011
9:20 pm
DR TROTTER AND CHILLIEWILLY ALWAYS INFORMED.