Clearing the smoke in the Smoke Rise Elementary dispute over parent-raised funds for new playground
A parent sent me this photo of a 2009 casino night and silent auction held by the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation to raise money for new playground equipment. (Special)
On Tuesday, I received a note from Smoke Rise Charter Elementary School parents in DeKalb about what they deemed an unsavory and unfair effort to convert funds raised for a playground by a parent foundation to another use. I asked DeKalb spokesman Walter Woods about it that morning and just received his reply.
So, here are both the notes.
First, the note from members of the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation:
Last night the Smoke Rise Charter Elementary School Principal and Governance Council called a special meeting and demanded that the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation, a separate fundraising entity, provide them unlimited access to nearly $45,000 in funds previously raised by parents and the community over the last 3 years for the specific purpose of replacing the current dangerous playground equipment. The Principal and Governance Council want to cancel the previously approved playground upgrade project. The administrators are wanting carte blanc use of the money that had been designated for the playground; including to pay an additional salary to a current full-time DeKalb County School System employee whose children attend the school.
In addition, last spring, SREF volunteers applied for and received a renowned KaBOOM!® $15,000 grant to match funds already raised for the playground. After previously approving the playground purchase, the Principal and Council at SRE suggest to just “walk away” from this generous grant.
Nearly every fundraising event that has occurred over the last three years was advertised specifically as going to fund a new playground for the school children and local community. The $45,000 includes funds that were collected via a website established explicitly to collect funds for a new playground and to show issues with the current playground equipment built in 1969 and 1980s.
The mission of the SREF is to continually improve the educational experience at Smoke Rise Charter School by creating sustainable business and community partnerships that provide financial and other resources. SREF was established years before the existence of the SRE Governance Council and without regards to the Council. The Counsel believes SREF is forced to do as it says.
Parents who donated for the expressed cause of building a new playground for their children are outraged that their money appears to have been donated under false pretenses.
Upon reading that note, I asked Walter Woods about the allegations, prefacing my comment with the understanding that the school could not commandeer foundation funds.
Here is what Woods sent me today:
You are correct. Smoke Rise Charter Elementary School understands it has no authority over the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation’s money. They are completely separate. The charter school’s leadership can only make requests to the foundation.
At a meeting on Monday, the school’s Governing Council presented a system for deciding priorities for requests to the foundation. Some of the requests include new technology for computer labs and professional training and materials to help teachers meet new state curriculum standards coming later this year. The school leadership believed on Monday that everyone was in agreement about the recommendation system.
Other priorities have also been discussed, including a playground and funding a school parent liaison. In terms of the playground, Smoke Rise Elementary’s building is scheduled to replaced in the next few years under SPLOST IV, and that would include $150,000 in new playgrounds, fields and equipment. A new playground was not agreed on by everyone to be the priority nor has the playground been the focus of all of the school’s fund raising in recent years.
The parent liaison position is described in the school’s charter, and has been funded over the past two years by a grant that has now expired. An employee at the school has been performing this role and committing the hours in addition to their position at the school. The school leadership asked the foundation to fund $15,000 for the extra-curricular position.
The foundation has paid $5,000 towards this position. Funding such a position is allowed under the school charter. But the school leadership can only make recommendations to the foundation, and we hope that everyone can work together to decide on priorities that are in the best interest of the students at Smoke Rise and the community.
Thanks,
Walter Woods,
Executive Director of Communications, DeKalb County School System
–from Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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198 comments Add your comment
Get Your Facts Straight
January 27th, 2012
5:49 pm
@The Few:
Speaking as one of the few people who championed this cause publicly last year, thank you for saying that. I truly think the administration at Smoke Rise and DCSS thinks there were fewer than 8 people on board with this. The reality is that there were dozens. White, Black, Pakistani, Asian and more. We are extremely diverse politically, racially, socio-economically, and professionally. What we all share is the expectation that our children deserve a quality education in a positive learning environment, and the certainty that we are not getting it.
@Dedicated Teacher: I said earlier in this blog and will say again that the good teachers at Smoke Rise are the biggest victims here. They are amazing and wonderful women and men who should not be lumped in with those who disgraced themselves by unprofessionally reading aloud a very private and VERY explosive email completely out of context without even going to the source to find out why it was written.
I hope anyone reading this doesn’t assume when you meet a teacher who works at Smoke Rise that they are involved in this… most were merely victims. A few should have been fired over it. This is a prime example of the actions of a few ruining the lives of many. I’m so, so sorry for you. For what it is worth, this community loves and values each of you!
Get Your Facts Straight
January 27th, 2012
6:02 pm
@Realistic
The comments of one or two posts may have had undercurrents of classism, but they don’t portray the sentiments of the rest. No one puts their kids in a school with > 50% free lunch and where their white child is an extreme minority if they are elitists. Elitist parents in this community never even enrolled at Smoke Rise in the first place. The complaintants varied in race and socioeconomic group. There are plenty of homes in Smoke Rise selling in the 100’s – we’re diverse! One of the sexual harrassment perps live right up the street from the school, and another nearby. We want our daughters to be safe from them too!!
I hate that someone felt unwelcome at one of our events, but the people who left were the ones who lobbied to become a Charter school… we actually solicited outsiders who care about education!
Racism and classism are non issues, and getting us off topic.
shawn
January 28th, 2012
10:12 am
Before anyone says,” this person is a plant,”or a (mole) I am not( just a parent. I think its a two sided story we have only heard one side. What ever happened when parents work with the school instead of causing an uproar a divide in the community. I
Vista Belle
January 28th, 2012
11:10 am
@shawn, have you read the 150+ comments prior to yours? This has always been about working with the school to give the students the best environment and education possible. If you carefully follow the story in this blog and the news reports, you’ll clearly see that the opposite happened: certain people chose not to work with these parents. The people who created the divide are those who closed their Council meetings, unethically read aloud emails to the teachers during a meeting, tried to reallocate earmarked funds, told the Foundation members that they are no longer welcome to meet at the school after hours, decided to double-pay an employee to serve as parent liaison rather than post and interview for the position. Shall I continue?
If you feel that only one side has been stated here, you are partially correct. The Council members have been instructed by their fearsome leader to keep quiet. Sounds suspicious to me. That is because they can’t deny the fact that the other fearsome leader, Aaron Moore, really did agree to the playground construction. And the list of other allegations is long….. In other words, they have no rational defense except in the form of lies and cover-ups that have plagued the school, and as a result, CAUSED A DIVIDE.
Just built the playground
January 28th, 2012
1:49 pm
I am a teacher (not at Smoke Rise) so maybe I’m a little biased here, but what has happened to your priorities? What about the elementary children who need a playground? You have the money; there appears to be a great need for the kids. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. If SPLOST gets allocated for the schools future needs, fine. Use a few common sense planning skills and establish a way to construct the playground that will fit in with the larger construction program coming on line down the road. But quit all of this sensless bickering and BUILD THE PLAYGROUND NOW! If you don’t, think of the damage you will continue to do by delaying it: denying children the exercise and enjoyment they should be getting for TWO OR THREE YEARS OR MORE! That may not seem a lot to adults but for the kids it is a big chunk of their lifetime. Build it now. It is the only way to possibly heal this mess, you can be proud of your work, and your children will love you for it. All the other stuff is just confusing the issue and getting in the way of doing something very positive for the children.
Karen Weitzel
January 28th, 2012
5:28 pm
Thank you to everyone who has posted and made suggestions about the controversy at Smoke Rise. I wanted to provide a bit of an update and answer some questions
The Principal and the Charter Governance Council has made no attempt to change their minds, contact the SREF board, or work towards some sort of compromise. They continue to insist that is within their power to decide how the money raised by the foundation is spent and to remind people of the importance of the organizational chart they presented this week. They have revoked our permission to use the building during after school hours to hold our regular quarterly meeting in violation of the school policy on use of a building by a group that supports the school. https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/ePolicy/policy.aspx?PC=KG-R(1)&Sch=4054&S=4054&RevNo=1.12&C=K&Z=R
They continue to hold closed secret meetings and take binding votes during these meetings. Their next meeting is Jan 31 but the time and place is unavailable.
The SREF exists to support the school. Our mission is to bring the community and school together. We are exactly what Dr. Atkinson addresses in the 5 Guiding Principles of her Excellence in Education. We want to support the school and we don’t want to interfere in the job of educating the students. Providing a free replacement playground for one that is currently condemned seemed a no brain-er. Over the years we have made other donations of both items and money including a cash donation of $5000 on Jan 5, 2012. Last year we donated $7500 to the Smoke Rise PTA. In 2010 we donated $12,500 to the PTA. The SREF has never made any demands or attached any strings to our gifts. This year the Charter Council and the principal decided that since we had been so easy to work with in the past that they could start being loose and liberal with laws, policies and rules. I was informed as SREF President that if I couldn’t convince the SREF board of the merits of their actions I needed new board members. When even my new board members would not go along fully with their demands they informed us that our bylaws were immaterial and destructive to the school. I have been shouted at by Council members, accused of creating an atmosphere of “us vs them” and of acting like a little child. All because I expected the Principal and Charter Council to follow the rules. It was never enough for the Charter Council. Any attempt by the SREF to explain our position has been ignored.
As many readers have noticed this is not the first controversy that has happened at Smoke Rise. Last year was one of the worst. Many other posters have explained why they have left, but I have not left. My child is a 3rd grader and I feel she deserves a decent education in my local tax payer funded school. She stayed when many of her friends left. I stayed on volunteering my time to the school, PTA, and SREF when almost all the other volunteers left. All I asked for in return was that the Principal and Charter Council operate honestly and ethically. They have repeatedly demonstrated they are not capable of that. That is why I went to the press. I will not be bullied any more then I would allow my daughter to be bullied if she had a playground to play on. I am not afraid of the haters and I am not afraid to sign my name to this update. Karen Weitzel
fact checker
January 28th, 2012
6:12 pm
go karen! well said!
Just built the playground
January 28th, 2012
9:17 pm
Where is the administration???? Why are the needs of the students ignored???? JUST GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND GO BUILD THEIR PLAYGROUND. What on earth is the point of delaying that. What arguement is there that it isn’t a good idea? This sure seems to be a power play about bruised egos. Come on Principal and Charter Counsel, grow up and get over it. Sit down with these parents and show some consideration for the children in your care. BUILD THE PLAYGROUND. Work out your differences afterwards and they can help you with your other resource needs. Don’t be arrogant and stupid. It diminishes you and it hurts the kids. The need is obvious and pressing. The money is there. BUILD THE PLAYGROUND. Please.
Dekalb taxpayer
January 28th, 2012
10:59 pm
Just Build the Playground—you hit the nail on the head. It’s not about a playground; it’s about power. It would seem as though the parent group went above and beyond to avoid using their influence in ways that might make the principal feel as though his authority was being threatened (they didn’t try to influence decisions involving academics, for example). Instead, they chose a safe, non-threatening project—a much-needed playground. And they are being vilified for it. This is so very sad.
Get Your Facts Straight
January 29th, 2012
12:11 am
Thanks for the update Karen! Sorry for you guys who are hanging in there that nothing has changed. I have a feeling that all of this controversy will make them dig their heels deeper. Seems to be the M.O. from my experience. I agree with Dekalb Taxpayer that It is truly all about power. Sad.
Don’t forget that the foundation also hosted two HEROES weeks with donations from corporate sponsors like Behr and Home Depot, and spent over $5,000.00 giving the school a much-needed facelift… providing murals, a fresh coat of paint in most of the common areas, new carpets, new furniture, opened up and sealed skylights, totally stocked the teacher’s supply closet with over a thousand dollars in supplies from the School Box, pressure washed the bathrooms, and more… and most of these improvements were performed before we even applied to become a charter school. Just another demonstration of the fact that we were “gifting” things to Smoke Rise Elementary School before there ever was a Charter, and also more examples of how we tried to help without interfering in academics.
OH… and I almost forgot… we approved every item on the teacher and staff wish lists two years ago(including teachers, the secretary, counselor, nurse, and custodial staff) with no dollar amount cap on requests! (Technically the nurse did not receive her refrigerator, but that was because the principal vetoed it.)
It would be very ironic if you had to now use foundation funds to pay for a meeting room somewhere for board meetings because DCSS won’t allow you to use theirs. Maybe one of the churches in the area will give you free space to meet. Are you going to announce the location or keep it a secret like the Charter Council is? I wonder if any other Charter Schools in DeKalb have closed meetings? I wonder if any other Charter Schools in the country have closed meetings?
Get Your Facts Straight
January 29th, 2012
1:19 am
@Karen: OK, so i just read all of the documentation on the foundation’s website. Two things stood out… The first is that there are signatures of at least three charter council members on the KaBOOM petition, including that of the Chairman. The second is that the principal sent you an email that specifically said that he was at first concerned that the SPLOST rebuild would jeopordize the new equipment, but that he had assurance that it would be put back in place after the build, and thus he was willing to sign off… This proves that he had already considered the impact of SPLOST before agreeing to the new playground.
I was told last week by a charter council member that he only approved the playground BEFORE he knew about SPLOST and that he changed his mind after the SPLOST vote. She said the fact that he verbally re-confirmed his support to you and another foundation member in his office one week before the Council ambush did not count because there was no proof of this conversation. She also said that if the foundation has proof that he confirmed his support of the playground after the SPLOST vote she would personally call him a liar. I guess technically this is only proof that he HAD considered the implications of the SPLOST build before giving his blessing, but the date he considered it was before the actual vote. That’s a very minor technicality…
@get your Facts Straight
January 29th, 2012
12:01 pm
Looking on the foundation website, here is the email from the principal:
“From: AARON W. MOORE
Date: Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 8:58 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Let’s Play Construction Grant Update $15,000
To: dishatlanta@gmail.com
I am supportive of the new playground equipment; however, on the LOA form,
the grantee will have sign and sent to Kaboom, by July 11th. I will sign
the copy as the grantee and send it to the address listed on the form. My
first concern was that If the SPLOST III referendum is passed in
November and construction starts, we would have to destroy the equipment.
I was assured by the plant services department that the new playground
equipment could be moved.
Aaron Moore, Principal
Smoke Rise Elementary Charter School
1991 Silver Hill Road
Stone Mountain, Georgia 30087-1699
Phone: (678) 874-3602
Fax: (678) 874-3610
http://schools.dekalb.k12.ga.us/smokerise/
Where is the email from Plant services assuring him it can be moved? Requesting that email should be pretty easy via the Open Records act.
The Foundation made their emails public. DeKalb has no choice. They must make their emails available to the public and new media as well. What emails passed through the DeKalb County FirstClass server regarding this? Any of those emails are a part of the public record.
Get Your Facts Straight
January 29th, 2012
1:40 pm
What is the process for requesting emails via the Open Records Act?
@Get Your Facts Straight
January 29th, 2012
8:18 pm
Sandy Spruill filed an Open Records request to get the 2004 Ernst and Young DeKalb Schools Compensation audit information. Contact her at reparteeforfun@gmail.com to ask the process for filing an Open Records request.
Another person that can help you is Jim Walls at Atlanta Unfiltered. I believe you can reach him at editor@atlantaunfiltered.com. Or Sandy Spruill can also tell you how to reach him. He helped her file the Open Records request regarding the Ernst and Young audit.
It would be interesting to see the emails on the DCSS FirstClass server (also called CommunityNet) regarding this issue. All emails of public officials are “public”. Any email that came from the principal to the Council members or the Plant Services Department or to his supervisor Horace Dunson regarding the use of Foundation money would be interesting IMO.
It’s hard to believe that one of the Council members could legally vote on giving herself the $15,000 supplement. She should at least should have abstained on the vote.
Curious Smoke Rise Resident
January 29th, 2012
9:43 pm
I’m a little late in joining this discussion…But I can remember (not that long ago, actually) when the elementary school in Smoke Rise was one of the most desirable in the area…I am just wondering – How many children attend SR Charter School? And how many elementary school-age children live within Smoke Rise, and out of that total number of school-age children, how many attend SR Charter School vs. some other alternative? If anyone has this info, please reply.
@Curious Smoke Rise Resident
January 29th, 2012
10:32 pm
Here is the chart showing transfers in and out for DCSS – Smoke Rise ES – this was as of January, 2011 based on Sept., 2010 numbers:
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/planning/files/ResNonRes_20100915.pdf
The website has not been updated with the 2011-2012 numbers.
Email Dan Drake, head of the DCSS Planning Dept.
Daniel_E_Drake@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
He’s the one who came up with the 2010-2011 numbers and chart. He should have the 2011-2012 chart as well.
Smoke Rise Mom
January 29th, 2012
10:49 pm
@Curious – These charts don’t account for those who attend private school or home school. It is only those students who are in the system.
Get Your Facts Straight
January 30th, 2012
12:13 am
Thanks Curious… I forgot those were still out on the DCSS site. In 2010, according to the student directory, only 165 students at Smoke Rise actually live in the Smoke rise community. Dan’s chart shows that 141 students live in the attendance zone but attend elsewhere. I personally know another 25 who left for the 2011-12 school year outside of normal attrition. That tips the scales so that the number of students who DON’T attend in this neighborhood are now the majority. Do we really need a school for <150 students in a community that at most only has 300 elementary age students? We're following right in Avondale Estates' footsteps and despite our best efforts, can do nothing to stop it!
Get Your Facts Straight
January 30th, 2012
12:20 am
Thanks Curios – i forgot those were still on the DCSS website. According to the Student Directory in 2010-11, only 165 of the students attending SRECS actually reside in the Smoke Rise community. Dan’s chart shows 141 who live in the attendance zone and attend elsewhere. I personally know another 25 who left for the 2011-12 school year outside of normal attrition, and that officially flips the number of NON attendees to be larger than the number of attendees. We are quickly following in the steps of Avondale Estates and despite our best efforts, there’s nothing we can do about it. Do we really need a school in the middle of Smoke Rise, where there are fewer than 300 elementary-age, and less than 150 even attend the school?
Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
January 30th, 2012
5:40 am
Regarding the recent comments on attendance… I would bet money that that those numbers would be *much* greater on the in atttendance area but not attending the school if one were to canvas the attendance zone and confirm the school age children that were not attending SRCES. I know we are one of those families with 2 children that I am sure are not represented in those numbers. And I know of another family that attended there a few years ago and left after the first year and began home-schooling and I imagine their younger child (or 2?) are not in those numbers either. Am not sure if the youngest one(s) would still be in ES or not)… But, the point here is that I *know* directly from the mom that they left the school because she had the same issues with the administration at the school that has been expressed repeatedly throuhg this blog time and time again. So, if it were possible to evaluate the number of students ‘lost’ from the school over the last 5-7 yrs., I think there would be quite a few….
Current Smoke Rise Parent
January 30th, 2012
9:32 am
I want to chime in as the parent of a current Smoke Rise student. After reading the 100+ comments on this thread, one may walk away with the feeling that Smoke Rise is a “bad” school. Nothing is further from the truth. There are some awesome, caring teachers there. I will admit to feeling that the administration is somewhat benign/aloof IMO, but there is a definite culture of teaching and learning going on at the school. Specifially to the parent that is considering enrolling her child @SRECS, don’t give up because of this controversy.
As for the drama regarding the playground, I do agree that is is underhanded and shady for the administration to try to usurp the funds that were raised for that specific purpose to do “other things” with. They are dead wrong and I think we as the parents should go to the ends of the earth to keep that from happening.
Regarding those families who have left and whether or not Smoke Rise even needs a school: 1st off, where I come from if you want something and you feel it is yours, you need to fight for it. Running away and starting your own school is not the solution. There is nothing wrong with seeking out an alternative, but you have to recognize the results of leaving a space that is rightfully yours. Someone else will inevitably fill that space and you have no control over the desireablity of that back-fill, ie-what element that brings into your community. Secondly, if you think Smoke Rise does not need a school, look around at the communities in Dekalb that have lost their schools. The remaining children are left to shuttle who knows where to get an education, the community is left with an empty building and last I checked property values in those areas are NOT on the rise, but quite the opposite, they are in freefall. For the stability of the SR community as a whole there needs to be a quality school. Finally, I recall a few years ago SR was on the Dekalb school closure list, ironically this was right around the time SR applied for and was granted a charter. This caused a increase in school enrollment, enough to get the school off the list. Coincidence…I think not.
In the essence of full discosure: we reside outside of the SR community and are fortunate enough to be there via the Choice program. We are an active SRECS family, I serve on the PTA Exec board and we attend most, if not all school events. (That is specifically directed at the person that said Choice families are not active in the school.)
Happy SPARK parent
January 30th, 2012
10:53 am
@get your facts straight – I can’t believe this is going on at your child’s school! We would be UP in ARMS if teachers were showing disney movies in school. As a matter of fact, one of our spanish teachers would show Magic School Bus episodes on Fridays and we put a stop to that real quick. the bathrooms not having soap, rampant bullying… what a terrible learning environment for a child. Where did all the children who left smokerise go? Why is that principal still there?
Flock to the Nest
January 30th, 2012
12:33 pm
“professional” posting an e-mail to a blog would be three strikes in my book.
Dunwoody Mom
January 30th, 2012
1:00 pm
re: Open Records Request. I submitted a OR Request and was given a quote of $22.00 an hour from DCSS for a total quote of $800. I’m still getting a good chuckle out of this. So, DCSS is paying someone what, $46,000 to go through emails and make copies. Can I apply for that job?
@Dunwoody Mom and Get Your Facts Straight
January 30th, 2012
5:08 pm
I’m sure of they tried to make to obtaining the records expensive.
DCSS wanted to charge Sandy Spruill $255 in copying fees for the 2004 compensation audit until Jim Walls at Atlanta Unfiltered got involved.
“School officials had told other parents that the salary audit couldn’t be located. When Spruill filed a formal request last month under the Georgia Open Records Act, officials told her they had tracked it down and she could get a copy – if she paid retrieval and copying fees of $255.95.
Spruill balked. “I don’t think I should have to pay anything to take a study off a shelf,” she said.
Officials countered that it took time to compile the information from different locations and only a few people knew how to do that.
“It’s not like something you pull off a shelf,” schools spokesman Walter Woods said.
Many citizens facing similar obstacles just give up. Spruill pushed back, researched the open records law, and school officials eventually agreed she could look at the report, without getting a paper copy, for free.
As it turned out, Spruill is doubly lucky she didn’t have to pay, because DeKalb didn’t actually find the audit she requested.”
“Woods, a former AJC colleague of mine, said interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson has instructed him to streamline the process and make sure DeKalb is “totally compliant” with the Open Records Act.
“She has heard from the community that it’s not working like it should,” he said. “We take this seriously and I have been directed to make sure this happens in a better way.”
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2011/02/07/dekalb-school-audit-found-bloated-salaries-then-what/
(AJC also ran his article in print form)
Walls and Spurill eventually got some boxes with the salaries and overpayments. I don’t think they had to pay anything.
Here is a link the Open Records law which includes fees they may charge. Theoretically, it’s not supposed to be prohibitive for citizens to get these records.
http://www.sos.ga.gov/archives/who_are_we/rims/best_practices_resources/open_records_act.htm
This is listed under Brian Kemp, Secretary of State. If they try to charge you exorbitant rates or you have questions, you may want to call his office and talk to someone there. 678.364.3700
There must have been email correspondence regarding this matter between the principal and his supervisors, the principal and his Council members and the principal and the Plant Services personnel. That is very easy correspondence for DCSS to do a sort for. It’s just a data sort on the First Class email system. Everyone has a mail box and deleted messages are still there. The principal probably still has his stored in a folder in his email mailbox.
Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
January 30th, 2012
6:10 pm
To anyone that was at the ‘fateful’ meeting regarding the Foundation funds and the playground…
I just received a ‘press release’ (apparently) from Walter Woods (pasted below) in an email… Is this press release accurate? And if not, how not?… it seems quite different from the details disclosed throughout this blog…..
Press Release:
Recently there have been stories ran in the local Media that miss-reported events that took place at a recent meeting that included members of the Smoke Rise Elementary Charter School Governance Council, PTA Executive Board, School Administration and members of the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation Board of Director’s.
The Administration of SRECS as well as the SRECS Governance Council categorically denies these reports. These reports do not indicate what truly took place at the meeting and contain several factorial inaccuracies.
Please see an official statement below by Walter Woods of Dekalb County School Systems that conveys our position.
Smoke Rise Charter Elementary School understands it has no authority over the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation’s money. They are completely separate. The charter school’s leadership can only make requests to the foundation.
At a meeting on Monday, the school’s Governing Council presented a system for deciding priorities for requests to the foundation. Some of the requests include new technology for computer labs and professional training and materials to help teachers meet new state curriculum standards coming later this year. The school leadership believed on Monday that everyone was in agreement about the recommendation system.
Other priorities have also been discussed, including a playground and funding a school parent liaison. In terms of the playground, Smoke Rise Elementary’s building is scheduled to replaced in the next few years under SPLOST IV, and that would include $150,000 in new playgrounds, fields and equipment. A new playground was not agreed on by everyone to be the priority nor has the playground been the focus of all of the school’s fund raising in recent years.
The parent liaison position is described in the school’s charter, and has been funded over the past two years by a grant that has now expired. An employee at the school has been performing this role and committing the hours in addition to their position at the school. The school leadership asked the foundation to fund $15,000 for the extra-curricular position.
The foundation has paid $5,000 towards this position. Funding such a position is allowed under the school charter. But the school leadership can only make recommendations to the foundation, and we hope that everyone can work together to decide on priorities that are in the best interest of the students at Smoke Rise and the community.
Due to the nature of these allegations and the factual inaccuracy they represent the SRECS Administration and Governance Council will be conducting an Emergency Parent Call meeting within the next 10 business days to outline for the SRECS parents what has truly taken place with factual support.
Please look for additional announcements and information regarding this meeting within the next 48 hours.
Thank you in advance for your patience and attention to this matter moving forward.
Smoke Rise Elementary Charter Governance Council
Dunwoody Mom
January 30th, 2012
6:19 pm
My OR Request dealt with BOE emails – so I am sure DCSS made it as expensive as possible. The lengths DCSS goes to in attempting to keep public records secret it just astounding to me. It makes one wondering why they are really hiding.
@Dunwoody Mom
January 30th, 2012
6:47 pm
That’s pretty amazing since emails are probably the easiest records to produce. They are on the FirstClass server and the administrator has access to all email and can sort by name, date, subject, etc. FirstClass emails have the ability to do a threaded discussion so they will pickup the thread and when you sort the thread can be retrieved. DCSS pays dearly for this email system. It is very sophisticated. This is not hard to do.
@Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
January 30th, 2012
7:27 pm
“Press Release:
Recently there have been stories ran in the local Media that miss-reported events that took place at a recent meeting”
“Have been stories ran” should be “Have been stories run”. “Run” is the the correct tense. And miss-reported is not a word. Misreported is the correct spelling. Who wrote this? I do not want to be mean, but surely someone could have proof read this.
"Now A Grandmother"
January 30th, 2012
9:42 pm
Last year I was told the same thing that “Not As Innocent As They Appear” wrote. I was appalled to learn of the attacks against the principal. I also agree with Dr. Henson’s comments. For the record, I am not a school educator; simply a taxpayer in this community. I could say a lot about folks who want to run a program, a school, whatever; I have worked with them. I really don’t know what to say now that I have started to comment because there are a lot of angry people involved here. When I was a parent, our parents group worked with and supported the school, not try to run it. There appears to be such a high level of distrust here!! Plans for a new school and playground may not have been discussed with parents because it was/is in the planning stages, and yes, at the time of the fundraising the plans for the school may not have been in the works. I’m sure the administrators did not sit in some back room scheming as to how they would have parents raise funds, meanwhile scheming as to how they could take the money away. Stop bickering and work together with the principal, teachers, etc. and make this a better school academically before its rating drops even lower (500+ in the state as I recall). Oh yes, this should not have been submitted to the AJC, it’s called “airing our dirty laundry.” Exactly what was expected to be accomplished by doing this? I will not be reading this anymore so bring out your BIG guns and fire!!
RAISE THE TEST SCORES BY CONCENTRATING ON IMPROVING ACADEMICS!!!
Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
January 30th, 2012
9:53 pm
I agree… it was full of grammatical errors…. Not exactly the quality you would expect from an ‘educational’ source…. And, not exactly the kind of quality I really like educating my children…
I have no idea who actually wrote it…. I received it as a supposed ‘press release’ and I *believe* it was sent as an email to the parents by the school administration.
I really don’t know what to say without getting petty… We all can make typos from time to time, but, beyond the whole content thing, I don’t think it presents a very good face to the public when those in charge of your educational institution would publish something as poorly written as this….
@Another Ex-Smoke Rise...
January 30th, 2012
11:42 pm
“Recently there have been stories ran in the local Media that miss-reported events that took place at a recent meeting that included members of the Smoke Rise Elementary Charter School Governance Council, PTA Executive Board, School Administration and members of the Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation Board of Director’s.
The Administration of SRECS as well as the SRECS Governance Council categorically denies these reports. These reports do not indicate what truly took place at the meeting and contain several factorial inaccuracies.
Please see an official statement below by Walter Woods of Dekalb County School Systems that conveys our position.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I’m so embarrassed for you that your school administration submitted this to the public. There are at least seven grammatical errors in the first three sentences. And then in the last sentence, they wrote the wrong name of their own employer, Dekalb County School System (no ’s’ on the end). On a topic with this much media attention, you would think they’d at least have someone proof it before publishing. This is your school putting on their “best face”? Wow.
Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
January 31st, 2012
8:37 am
Well, this is just another example of why we are ‘Ex-Smoke Rise’ parents, though we still try to stay involved. We really would like to see the situation improved for the sake of the children first and for the sake of the neighborhood second. But, it is looking like a lost cause if this sort of thing can occur and the county does nothing about it.
I have been involved in and witnessed many of the events expressed in this blog and ‘Now A Grandmother’ has it wrong. These parents have tried heroically (and I cannot think of a better word) to ‘not’ air this dirty laundry. But, you can imagine the response and traction they were getting within the system when even all this does not cause some sort of action from the county (other than a spokesperson that was not even there issuing some statement). I was not there for the meeting that caused all this to come out, but, I have heard discussion involving both sides from first hand attendees and that discussion only confirmed my opinion as to who was telling the truth (and their initials were *not* WW). These parents did not want to control this school… They only wanted to help… They put a *lot* of blood, sweat, and tears into all this activity, only to have the administration treat them in this way and try to hi-jack the funds they worked so hard to collect. They were not opposed to compromise, but, they were not interested in being dictated to how they would donate their funds (not to mention the fact that some of the funds could not legally be re-allocated to other purposes without the express consent of the person/entity that donated them). As far as I know, they have only once refused any request for funds presented to them and that was the request for the SREF to fund the salary of the parent liaison (which has already discussed in this blog). And I doubt they really have the budget to fund a salary at 15k per year…. I also doubt they could get much interest from the business community in spending that kind of money on an employee of the system (i.e., there might be some concerns around ‘double-dipping’)….
Unfortunately for the children of the school (the real victims of all this), the more active/involved parents are leaving this school and DCSS in droves as they do not have the ‘years’ it will take for this to get resolved. I wonder if (or how much) the ‘great’ CRCT score measurement for the school will be affected by this.
It is an absolute shame that this has happened and is happening. And what is more telling and shameful is that even given this fire-storm of commentary in this public forum, DCSS has not ‘scratched their head’ and wondered if there is not *some* fire behind all this ‘smoke’. In other words, why haven’t they reached out to all these parents to find out what is going on or to at least do damage control or manage the public relations issue? If there is this much emotion around this school, then, it amazes me that DCSS isn’t realizing that there must be *some* problem here.
Current Smoke Rise Parent
January 31st, 2012
11:09 am
That “Press Release” was a shame and an embarrassment! Who wrote it and who approved it? In any other professional setting they’d both be fired.
@Dekalb taxpayer
January 31st, 2012
3:54 pm
“Thank you, Maureen. I would also be interested in the principal’s background—his degree or degrees and years and type of experience prior to being given this position.”
Looking him up on the Georgia Teacher Certification website shows that he is certified only in graphics arts education from 1990 to present. He is certified in Educational Leadership from 1997 to present.
https://www.gapsc.com/Certification/Lookup/look_up.aspx
He came to SmokeRise in October, 2004 according to a website that posts reviews of schools:
http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=765&state=GA&sortBy=dd&page=3#revPagination
Grandmom has it right
January 31st, 2012
5:38 pm
Grandmom has it right. I wish that we could get the emails that the parents sent around-all of them, and then we can see who is telling the truth. Right now, we have disgruntled parents who have pulled their kids out of a public school only to start their own, making accusations about the principal and school. If they want to air dirty laundry, than lay it all out there. Put all of the emails that you sent around out, the ones that you sent to your state senator and not giving him all of the information, or the ones sent to people outside of this circle, trying to get more information/stories/dirt, whatever you want to call it.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle and as this group has proven time and time again, they don’t understand how to handle problems. Going to state senators about problems, trying to get people to interview for a job that is already filled, and wanting a playground built, despite a new school looming with a possible new footprint makes no sense.
Also, this principal cares very deeply about the children at this school. He is a very honorable man and if the parents can put negative words/information about Mr. Moore, than they should be big enough to use their real names.
This entire incident seems like a high school girls tantrum. The moms didn’t get their way and now they are going to do everything that they can think of to hurt the person who is in their way of running their public school, even though their kids don’t go there any more.
Karen Weitzel
January 31st, 2012
7:50 pm
I am not afraid to put my name out there and never have been. I am the parent of a CURRENT 3rd grade Smoke Rise student. This is not my first school or school system. I guess it is true – once you have experienced the City of Decatur school system, everything else is a joke. Over the years my kids have collectively attended 7 schools and we only moved once – but that is another story about the special needs system in GA. This is the first time I have run into this level of incompetence by a principal and his Governance Council Chairman. Their ideals may be worthwhile but their methods are suspect and at times possibly illegal. But I ‘ll tell you what – go to the school tomorrow and attend the “working meeting” of the Charter Council and see for yourself. Oh you didn’t know about the meeting they are holding Feb 1 at 4pm? Could it be because it is not on the website or posted at the location? Did you read the agenda 24 hours in advance as allowed by the Open Meetings Act? Oh wait you couldn’t have since it has not been provided. Did you email them 24 hours in advance to have permission to attend and listen? Kinda hard since you didn’t know about the meeting wasn’t it.
But the Charter Council finds these meeting productive. I bet the Dekalb School Board would also find it more productive to close all meetings and just vote on issues without the public watching but they know better and don’t. So what makes Smoke Rise so special that they get to operate this way?
PS “@grandmom has it right” It is not just mom’s who are upset. Welcome to the 21st century, Dads are involved also
Kaitsmom
February 1st, 2012
10:32 am
Karen – thanks for providing all the information and bringing this subject to light. Please keep this thread alive and post updates. I will continue to check it. I would have to believe after all of this negative publicity, someone is going to see the light and install that playground. It makes no sense to deprive the kids of the playground to wait for some new playground 3 – 4 years off.
Why in the world is Dekalb County operating schools in neighborhoods where people can not send their child? I have to admit I do not like the schools in my neighborhood and have been searching for a charter school and in all likelihood a private school to send my child to. It is very frustrating to pay taxes to support the local school but have to spend time carting your children to far away schools for whatever reason. DCSS needs to get it’s act together. I am sure Smoke Rise is just 1 example of what is happening throughout the system.
Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
February 1st, 2012
11:37 am
@Grandmom has it right: All of the emails *are* public. They were read to the teachers in a very public and inflammatory (and I would say unethical) way. And the adminstration’s response to that situation directly confirmed the reason the parents were attempting to organize and take their complaint to the county. Instead of responding as a rational leadership would by attempting to bring things together and work together (as is the *responsibility* of a leader), this administration chose to respond in a very devisive (and even combative) way. The principal has been quoted by more than one parent as declaring in an angry tone that ‘this is *my* school’ during one on one meetings regarding issues that led up to this whole thing….. I really don’t know how to respond to your post as it is so wrong and un-informed. It would take a whole column to present the events that occurred around the explosive disclosure of these parents trying to take their complaints to the county. The original email query attempted to accomplish 2 things… The first was to make sure that there was actually a valid problem here and it wasn’t just a couple of hyperactive parents that were outside of the norm . The second was to ask if, given that it *was a valid problem, the parent *known* to have complaints wanted to join together as a group to go to the county so that they would not be *perceived* as such, and because some were reluctant to carry their problems further by themselves. It also asked for specific instances where there was a failure to get response from the school administration and to exclude emotional opinion and rhetoric. Yes, they investigated possible candidates for a principal, as anyone would have, but no one was ‘interviewed’. And yes they spoke to their state senator. These parents were desparate and they *really* wanted to save (and continue to attend) their neighborhood school. And now, more and more are leaving. Sorry, but we are not going to remain in a school and system where this sort of thing is going on and there is no relief to be had through any level of the administration. Unfortunately, the effects of this are already being seen in the CRCT scores at the school and I would guess they will only get worse…. I hope (for the children’s sake) that this is not the case….
Eneogh Already!
February 1st, 2012
1:22 pm
@ another ex-smoke rise parent; you are absolutely right!
The administration needs parents that are dedicated through thick and thin, willing to agree to disagree, compromise, and push forward towards the overall goal of ANY school, EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN!!! As you are an EX-SMOKE RISE PARENT, thanks but no thanks, we do not need help from parents like you!
As I continue to read more and more of these comments it is quite evident that the “playground” construction is not the only issue but more or else the catalyst to bash the administration and highlight recent pitfalls. This is a sad state of affairs, let’s take all the rhetoric and angry emotions out of the equation and get focused on our children. What can we do now to HELP THE CHILDREN OF SMOKE RISE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! A “new” playground would be fantastic, but can we work with what we have and tackle some of academic hurdles?
The mission of Smoke Rise Elementary Foundation (SREF) is to continually improve the educational experience at Smoke Rise Elementary School by creating sustainable business and community partnerships that provide financial and other resources.
This BLOG and recent media attention is not improving the educational experience, it has loomed a dark cloud over the school, but I believe this storm shall pass and the seeds, OUR CHILDREN, THE CHILDREN OF SMOKE RISE ELEMENTARY will thrive.
Smoke Rise Mom
February 1st, 2012
2:13 pm
Now I know who’s responsible for that poorly written “press release”. It was Eneogh Already!
The unfortunate math of the situation is that after the next wave of families pull their high achievers out, it will be impossible clear that academic hurdle.
Eneogh Already!
February 1st, 2012
2:46 pm
@smoke rise mom – I will add this to the many low blows outlined on this blog. no tears my way and given all your comments you seem to have a lot of time on hands, get a job!
Smoke Rise Mom
February 1st, 2012
4:09 pm
@Eneogh – sorry it took me so long to respond, I’ve been working.
And these hands have put alot of time in volunteer hours in at SRE over the years. Not counting the time in prayer for my community & school and what is the best decision to make for my children’s education next year.
I know many families who are pulling their children out after this year and I don’t mean it as a low blow when I express concern for how this will affect the school’s academic standing.
Another Ex-Smoke Rise Parent
February 1st, 2012
4:51 pm
Sorry, but we were too quiet for too long in the interest of *not* stirring this pot… and you are exactly right…. it *was* a catalyst for all the issues that we have been trying to resolve all this time…. and for the issues that the administration had been keeping quiet while more and more families gave up and left the school…. That is a point that so many seem to be missing…. These parents went through a LOT before leaving the school… and for the ones that started their own school… Do you not think that was a very painful and agonizing decision to make? Do you not think that there was a lot of worry and anxiety for these parents to put their children in a completely unknown environment like that? Seems to me that it would have taken a *lot* to get them to leave the safety of the ‘known’ and do something like that…. and… seems to me that this speaks more to how bad things were than anything else…. I have seen parents in tears when considering what to do for their children…..
Magnolia
February 1st, 2012
5:34 pm
If we want to improve this school, Dekalb County School Board should do the right thing for this community. I’m sure he is a nice man. I’m sure he cares about the children (?). I’m sure he means well. BUT he DID NOT follow procedure when those boys sexually harassed their female classmates!! How he handled that situation was highly unprofessional at best.
He is combative when he doesn’t get his way. He makes irrational decisions such as passing up $50,000 for a playground that needs to be torn down TODAY!! It has caution tape around it!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? Where are these kids going to play, Mr Moore? Mr Moore is a perfect example of the Peter Principle. Dr. Atkinson needs to have this situation placed on her top plate.
The Kids ARE Playing
February 1st, 2012
6:02 pm
For the record, the kids ARE playing. There is tape around 2 of the playground sets but there are 2 other sets that are fine and being used daily, weather permitting. That needs to be pointed out for those reading this and imagining that there is not currently a playground available AT ALL.
Magnolia
February 1st, 2012
6:12 pm
Ok, great. And I took pictures of all the playgrounds back in the fall. They were ALL shameful. There was one that was at the far end of the grounds farthest away from school that didn’t look too bad. The others were horrible.
Old Raider
February 1st, 2012
7:28 pm
But Magnolia, he did call the police – several months later after word got around.