APS: On the hot seat this week over open meetings and SACS concerns
On the day before the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education faces a state hearing, the Georgia attorney general sanctioned members for open records violations and announced plans to monitor the group over the next year to assure compliance.
The extraordinary oversight agreed to by the board stems from a series of complaints from city residents and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about both the board and the administration of ex-schools chief Beverly Hall.
State investigators earlier this month released a searing report that said Hall ignored a culture of cover-ups and obstruction that blossomed during her 12-year tenure. It also detailed extensive cheating by educators on state tests.
Among the most serious of the public records violations, investigators said Hall — who left the system June 30 — and former Deputy Superintendent Kathy Augustine illegally suppressed a report by a testing expert last year that largely confirmed an AJC analysis that suggested test cheating occurred. The district withheld that report from the media and public.
Among the most serious of the open meetings violations happened in April,when Gov. Nathan Deal summoned the board, Hall and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to the Capitol for a private meeting. It came on the heels of Deal signing legislation giving him the power to remove board members if they did not make sufficient progress by midsummer toward regaining full accreditation.
The meeting was held despite objections from the AJC that the Georgia Open Meetings Act requires such meetings to be open to the public, because a quorum of the board was present. Senate Democratic whip Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, also filed a formal complaint with the attorney general.
(I do have to note that the governor’s office also did not seem inclined to open that meeting to the public.)
In other APS news:
–The board called for a special election Nov. 8 to fill the seat vacated earlier this month by former Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El who is moving to New Jersey for a job.
–District officials said 41 of the 179 educators suspected of cheating have vacated their positions. They plan to move ahead with termination proceedings against the rest.
–The 13-member state Board of Education starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday will hold a courtroom-style one-day hearing on whether to recommend their removal for running afoul of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the primary accrediting agency in Georgia. An immediate ruling is not expected. The state board has 15 days to make a recommendation to Deal, who by law makes the final decision.
–In Texas, the Board of Trustees of DeSoto Independent School District is meeting now to discuss a possible voluntary exit agreement with Kathy Augustine, a former APS deputy superintendent. Augustine spent only one day at work in her new post before the DeSoto school board placed her on leave with pay while they researched her involvement in cheating on state exams at APS.
According to the Dallas Morning News:
Board members will discuss a “voluntary exit agreement” behind closed doors during tonight’s DeSoto ISD board meeting. Augustine has been on paid leave for two weeks as fallout from a report detailing a yearlong state of Georgia investigation found she served as second-in-command in Atlanta schools during pervasive cheating. According to Monday’s board agenda, trustees will discuss with district legal counsel issues “concerning Superintendent’s employment and possible voluntary exit agreement, and duties and responsibilities of Acting Superintendent.”
UPDATE Tuesday morning: The DeSoto board took no action because only four of the board’s seven members attended the meeting. So, Augustine remains on leave, pending the board’s action.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled
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74 comments Add your comment
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
10:53 am
If the parents whose children were short-changed in this cheating scandal do not stand up and demand the heads of these APS liars and cheats then they deserve exactly what comes there way. All this crap-ola about praying and God and let by-gones be by-gones and crying does no more than foster a continued atomsphere of lying and head turning.
And mark my words…these children being pushed thru the system will find themselves behind bars. With these sorry parents weeping and wailing about poor little johnny and the APS officials lying all the way to the bank.
WATCH AND LEARN.
Go Panthers!
July 26th, 2011
10:58 am
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/state-suspends-hearing-lets-1047880.html
So, yet another back door meeting between lawyers and powers that be let the ABOE off, scott free, again? Without any presentation or justification to the public of their case, they get to go home AND keep their positions? I’m not voting for these clowns for anything ever again just for their unmitigated arrogance and lack of humility and accountability regarding this situation. How much bolder can they get? This just gets more incredulous with each new development. They better not ever ask for my vote for anything ever again. I am disgusted with them all and wouldn’t even give them my vote for dog catcher.
This is just slimy. There’s a reason they had to go to Marietta to find lawyers to take their cases. RESIGN THE NINE (minus 1)!
Really amazed
July 26th, 2011
11:09 am
Why are any of these people still employed?????
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
11:13 am
Good morning, Bloggers! I just got onto this blog this morning. Good comments and good questions. Where oh where is Mark (MIA) Elgart and SACS (Surely Ain’t Committed to Standards) concerning Cobb County? Does Mark’s apparent cozy, good-ole-boy relationship with Glenn Brock prevent him from being objective with Cobb County or from equitably applying SACS’s so-called standards? Talking about arbitrary and capricious! Ha! Fifty-seven illegal meetings? Wow! Some person apparently from Cobb County wrote a comment on my personal blog — http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com — and chastised me for saying “57.” He said the number was actually “54,” and this guy was serious. But, I remember “57.” I could be wrong. Please correct me if I am wrong. But, 57 or 54…who cares? It is still scads more than Clayton County and Atlanta City, and this “illegal” meetings pretext is what “they” have gotten onto Clayton and Atlanta for. Race? Probably…but maybe simply connections more so than race. But, more than anything, it is about the almighty dollar. When SACS puts a school system on probation, SACS makes more money. The school system has to pay SACS for training and for the training materials and for each trip into the school system. Then, it seems that old Glenn Brock ends up coming to the “rescue” for the school boards in “trouble” with SACS. Check it out. I don’t think that his firm works for free!
I think that I will do an open records request on Glenn Brock’s firm. When monies are received from governments or governmental agencies or agencies which receive government monies, then the law firm is subject to the Open Meetings Law. I will keep you posted on this, OK? I bet it is millions upon millions of dollars made off of these school systems. This ought to be quite interesting. Do they hate me yet at Brock, Clay, Calhoun & Rodgers (or is this “Rogers”?)? I don’t know. I’ll meet them at the Big Chicken, and we can discuss the Leo Frank case. Cobb County has a haunted past. Don’t be fooled by the “I live in East Cobb” veneer. It’s not all glitzy Gallerias. There are many good folk in Cobb County, but some of its “leaders” may rule by “the strong arm.”
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments.
APS Dedicated Teacher Still
July 26th, 2011
11:31 am
Going back to APS is going to be difficult this year. It doesn’t matter whether the Board remains or not. Our school system has been shattered. And, we the lowly teachers have to pick up the pieces.
I’ve read Mr. Martin’s piece and all of the commments here and it still makes me shutter about the road ahead. We still have to go in the classroom with our heads held high and do the best that we can.
That is all that we can do as teachers.
The saddest thing about this whole thing is that Dr. Hall made so many appointments at the high school level that are still in place. These administrators are ruining the schools and the focus on elementary and middle schools has left these ill equipped people in place.
If the studenbts could not pass the CRCT, then what effect did this have on their ability to pass the EOCT in any subject and the GHSGT?
The state should reexamine high schools who have not made AYP; perhaps they weren’t dealing with a level playing field like other high schools. For example, Frederick Douglass High School had feeder schools that were on the list for rampant cheating. Teachers continued to complain about the lack of preparation of the children but principals Horton and Brown did not listen and blamed the teachers for the low EOCT scores. Brown posted teacher’s test scores in faculty meetings to shame them. But, he did not take in to account that the incoming 9th graders especially were ill prepared for high school work.
The new principal now thinks that the solution to the student’s inability to learn the school song that has been in existence for 40 years is to change the tune. Can you imaging someone suggesting that they change the tune to our National Anthem because it wasn’t updated for the 21st century? Right, kinda stupid. Before all of those games, people go out and sing it and the beat goes on. One year at the school and this guy wants to change over 40 years of tradition.
Douglass was targeted by the Hall administration for destruction. It did too well as a traditional high school and the teachers were defiant. Many were Douglass graduates and believed in their school. They wanted to teach there and provide the type of top quality education that their teachers provided for them.
The new principal is the last of the Hall appointees. Changing the tune of the school song would be the last of the traditions of the once proud Astros to fall. Once the faculty consisted of more than 50 dedicated Douglass graduates; now there are 6 remaining…
The Hall administration was a nightmare and eventually someone is going to look beneath the covers and see that the high schools deserve a second look but, that would be too unsettling for the city of Atlanta.
As for the APS Board; they have received a reprieve but it is totally unfair for the district representing Douglass to be without a representative on that Board. El resigned remember.
Yes, I know that there is a member on the Board who graduated from Douglass and a couple of Atlanta City council members too, but the people don’t have a champion (or do they?)
APS Dedicated Teacher Still
July 26th, 2011
11:35 am
Forgive me, students…
sirwinston19
July 26th, 2011
12:05 pm
This whole thing with SAC and the cheating that has surface and many turns in it. Dr. Davis should stop the wheel from turning and see where this whole thing started. Like someone said, this whole thing is complicated to a point where no one knows if there is any truth or has this small thing has been exaggerated to make us all thing that we have a “mob-style” operations in our school system. I just think this is negligence and it coldl have halted if those in key positions have been open and aggressive to seek if this was actually happening rater, sitting back thinking it was not! This but not at all consider ridiculously and the adbantageous is to put money in the hands of others to run APS. The state of Georgia has been put into an embarrassing situation and to give other the impression that we are not going to have this type of things; we start firing and letting these Educators go…but that is the wrong things to do! You are not solving anyting by firing and getting educator to resigned because it place a burden on the children and the system; remember, 32 or more children are placed in one class room with one teacher and if anyone thinks that a teacher can teach effectively all of those children with some of them have special needs; you are wrong. We all may be hurt, dissatisified with what has happen, but none of us lift one finger to help these teachers and children. At a minimum, you fine all of those involved who said they cheated one week pay and send them right back into those class room to teach those children; I am sure some of them had a good rapport with those kids. You don’t take out grievous jester toard Educator who was doing what they were told; and to get that understanding, you find out who told them to cheat! If you don’t do this, then you are no better than those who said they cheated. I do think that this is the legitimate thing to do since you are going to pay those who you put on administrative leave anyway. It is better putting them back in the classroom to earn that pay, if not, then its free pay the get. Dr Davis, you can be persistent on finding the facts as to who told them to cheat, but also be persistent in making those educator accountable by making them continue to work!
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
12:10 pm
This is a GREAT example of ATL politics at its best!!
WATCH AND LEARN!!
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
12:33 pm
So…let me get this straight…the Atlanta Board of Education was put on probation by that phony SACS group because of “in-fighting” among the board members? Hmm. I guess Mark Elgart, as I have observed and stated on many occasions, has a problem with democracy. I presume that he likes oligarchies and plutocracies. But, stay with me for a moment, OK?
So, Mark Elgart wants school board members to sit around, holding hands and singing “Kum Ba Ya,” right? Of courses this naiveté does not work on the Alpharetta City School where ole Markie lives. Nor does it work at the Georgia State Capitol where the General Assembly meets. Nor does this concept work in our U. S. Capitol building. But, Mark Elgart wants school boards — or, is this just a pretext for intervention with some school boards? — to sing nursery rhymes together?
Hey Mark, what about ole Cobb County where Glenn Brock and Chuck Clay hail from? I guess it’s O. K. for this school board to look and act like the Balkans. Ha! This is perhaps the most balkanized school board in Georgia! They fight continuously over school calendars. That’s like having fist fights over whether to use Dixie Cups at the PTA meetings. How silly! But, nevertheless, the Cobb County Board of Education is fractured and divided like the Hatfields and the McCoys. If you look up “school board in-fighting” on Wikipedia, you might find a photo of the Cobb County School Board!
Hypocrites! They are all Hypocrites! Ha! Haven’t I been writing for years that the three Biggest Educational Hypocrites in Georgia were Beverly Hall, Crawford Lewis, and Mark Elgart? Two down. One to go. Mark Elgart is pretentious and phony. Someone mentioned earlier about me being full of bluster! Ha! At least I don’t make pretentions of being “holier than thou.” I am your Beloved Bast_rd of Public Education. I call bull sh_t “bull sh_t” when I see it. SACS is pure “bull sh_t.”
Dr. John Trotter
July 26th, 2011
12:41 pm
By the way, why do school boards put up with the SACS hypocrisy? The Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC) has been around since 1903. It is led by the venerable Dr. Carvin L. Brown. He has gravitas. Elgart? Phony as a three dollar bill, in my opinion. GAC qualifies for the HOPE Scholarship as well. GAC is headquartered out of Athens, Georgia. SACS, under the dubious “leadership” of Mark Elgart, has worn out its welcome here in Georgia.
Jack
July 26th, 2011
12:44 pm
Everyone was trying to protect Hall.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
12:59 pm
Oh yeah…SACS is to blame.
Go Panthers!
July 26th, 2011
1:18 pm
@APS Dedicated Teacher Still:
Prayers are with you for this school year and beyond. There are those of us who will always remember the legacy & impact of the old “Doug.” As I stated in a previous post, I did see a statistic somewhere in my research for my Masters that stated that Doug is THE public school, nationwide, that has graduated THE MOST legitimately-verifiable African-American millionaires in this country’s history. I wish I could find it to post here. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to do so.
It’s up to those alums to bring back that tradition of excellence, and with their resources and talents, this is a possibility. It’s some of the other schools that have been eternally decimated that I am concerned about. Hall did indeed erase a great deal of what worked. In the coming years, just as you’ve stated, it will be easy to compare the stats of the changed high schools with their earlier incarnations and, on some level, empirically prove this fact. The unprovable and intangible fact is that a number of storied traditions that allowed a great many at-risk students to have so much pride in their APS school that they were positively peer-pressured into success were never understood by Hall and her staff to begin with, and when one doesn’t understand the value of a thing, they just throw it away to hide their own ignorance. As citizens and alums, we can make sure that these schools and their stories endure for future generations by keeping a lot of their traditions alive anyway.
Keep teaching and singing the old song. It might be the one thing that sends the new principal packing as his attitude indicates that he will never be a true Astro, no matter how long he works there.
anotherone
July 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Kira Willis- I think you’re wrong about US DOE. When I first started teaching in south GA (1982) they handed me a Science book to teach from that said, ” Perhaps one day man may land on the moon.” ( Wasn’t that in 1969?) I have ALWAYS been comforted by the fact that SOMEBODY cares that children in south GA have access to the same curriculum as children in Atlanta, New York, California,etc.
Dr NO
July 26th, 2011
1:57 pm
anotherone
July 26th, 2011
1:26 pm
Oh yeah…thats believable. Got anymore as hilarious.
catlady
July 26th, 2011
2:01 pm
Re the ATL school board getting a reprieve until November: Anyone know the old children’s song about Little Rabbit Foo Foo? That’s what today’s decision reminds me of. They (ATL BOE) have had chance after chance, but they keep picking up the field mice and bopping them on the head.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
2:41 pm
Andrew Young’s recent comments on WSBTV have the reason why:
-The ABE members still have their offices;
-Drs. Hall and Augustine are not in jail;
-APS In-house Attorneys Veleter Myzeck and Sharon Pitts have not been disbarred;
-This whole mess ever happened….
He noted that “Atlanta has its own way of handling things” (or something to that effect). Andrew Young doesn’t think the Atlanta business community really played a role……which comments coupled along with another former mayor of Atlanta Shirley Franklin…..lend weight that Atlanta does have a way of handling things…..behind the scenes and under the table.
Atlanta’s locally elected officials including the ABE and the Mayor Reed should all be booted out of office. Come on parents, it is time for those of us who have children in the system to be real parents and stand up for our children’s futures.
We need to support the teachers not in the report and take back our schools from the business mafia.
APS Parent #2
July 26th, 2011
2:44 pm
We also need to take it back from SACS.
anotherone
July 26th, 2011
3:18 pm
Dr. No, I do! However, it’s about to storm here,so….maybe later.
East Cobb Parent
July 26th, 2011
3:53 pm
@ Dr. Trotter – you are right as always in regards to Cobb County, SACS, and Glen Brock and company. I wish someone would kick SACS to the curb and be done with it. If you want a good laugh, sign up for David Banks Grapevine. He’s still pushing balanced calendar because Cherokee County uses it and has such a wonderful school system. Hmmmm I guess he missed the fact that 29% of the schools failed to make AYP (that’s another issue)
I only hope, for the sake of the children, that you are wrong in regards to the new Super in Cobb. I’ll wait for that pig to fly.
gamom
July 26th, 2011
4:19 pm
just an observation – I doubt APS is the only district that violates open meetings laws or open records requests for that matter
Angel of God
July 26th, 2011
9:00 pm
At least, Dr. Davis is trying to fix the gangster school system. The problem with the Atlanta School Sytem is the stealing of money. I saw this first hand when I was fired from an elementary school because I tried to do the right thing. I tried to get help from 3 lawyers and they all lost my case ,one made up lies on me, another took my money and told me to drop my case and the other said that he believe what the principal said about me. I fought all the way to the Georgia U.S. Courts for justice. It seems like the Lord fought this battle in his own way and his own time. All the top officials of APS had personal motives and they did not include our children. All the cheaters need to be fired just as I was fired and walked out the door.
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
July 26th, 2011
10:41 pm
@Angel of God July 26th, 2011 9:00 pm
What goes around comes around. People reap what they sow. God is revealing the demons of the world. He will bring them all down.
Everyone who has wronged you will pay for what they have done. Just sit back and you will see them get what they deserve. They will all rot in HELL!!!
APS/APS
July 27th, 2011
11:25 am
Mr. Davis states he wants to change the APS culture but I don’t see that happening with all of these Hall leftovers all over the place starting at the CLL. I will continue to operate outside of the district as i don’t trust these folks I see him walking around with on a daily basis. I will use this blog and any other means to get information to him about the corrupt culture that is still in place as Hall put folk in place 30 deep. So it is as if she is still present daily.
Sharron Pitts was here every year of Hall’s tenure and is corrupt period. Why is she still here. I guest we are waiting for Millicent Few to out her soon in the court room. You just read that Joyce McCloud had submitted application on-line to follow Augustine to Texas. The crap never ends, the two of them were going down to Texas to perpetrate the same crimes committed in Atlanta on that small unaware school district. It’s crazy that these folks are being prosecuted faster before more damage is done to other schools. These gypsies don’t stop they multiply and keep moving.