SACS to Cherokee legislators: Hands off school board elections and the chairmanship
The efforts of Cherokee legislators to realign the school board may be derailed by the accreditation agency that gives schools, including Cherokee, an important seal of approval.
Loss of accreditation could impede the ability of students from Cherokee to qualify for college scholarships, something that would not sit well with parents in this education-minded county.
House Bill 978 would realign the Cherokee county school board and effectively remove the elected school board chair and vice chair. Now, the school board has seven members elected county-wide who elect their chair and vice chair.
(You can read a condemnation of the legislators by Cherokee school chief here.)
I view this letter from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a rebuke of the lawmakers and a caution to leave well enough alone. We will have to see if the Cherokee delegation sees it the same way.
The letter was sent to Cherokee school board chair Mike Chapman.
February 27, 2012
Mr. Chapman,
This communication is in response to your inquiry regarding the proposed State of Georgia legislation that would restructure the voting districts and responsibilities for the Cherokee County Board of Education. There are several concerns regarding the proposed legislation. First, the election of the Board chair by registered voters in Cherokee County is highly irregular.
Normally the Board chair is elected by members of the Board. This is a normal and effective practice for a couple of reasons. The election of the chair is normally based on the individual’s experience as a board member, knowledge of the school system, ability to facilitate the work of the Board, and serve as a spokesperson for the Board, when required. Boards of Education take great care in making this decision. Such members are in the best position to select their leadership. The Board chair is the primary liaison between the Superintendent and the Board and plays a critical role in setting the context and tone for the school system.
Finally, the Board chair position is typically a one year appointment. If the community at large were to elect the Board chair it would struggle making an informed decision based on the above stated criteria. Also, such a decision would be for four years. If the decision is incorrect the school system and Board would have no recourse.
In such a case, the system could be irreparably harmed during this four year period. The school system’s ability to function could be significantly impacted including its capacity to meet accreditation requirements. I am uncertain as to the motivation behind the consideration of the proposed legislation.
However, the State of Georgia should not enact legislation that bypasses or usurps the local control of Boards of Education. There is no substitute for the impact that an effective Board of Education can have on the success of a school system.
Cherokee County Schools have enjoyed over a decade of success because of the strong and stable leadership of its governance leadership team which includes the Board of Education and Superintendent. Any legislation that would disrupt this successful track record would be unfortunate. If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.
Respectfully,
Mark A. Elgart, Ed.D., President/CEO
AdvancED
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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68 comments Add your comment
local control
February 28th, 2012
8:32 am
Kara Rose- Cherokee scores rate above national averages on EVERY measure– SAT, ACT, ITBS, AP tests, etc. Being the best in a low ranking state (48 is only by SAT scores, btw) does not mean Cherokee schools are not nationally competitive. They are.
Slip
February 28th, 2012
8:54 am
dcb,
good post. facts seem to optional in this debate, however.
Slip
February 28th, 2012
8:56 am
‘Cherokee scores rate above national averages on EVERY measure– SAT, ACT, ITBS, AP tests, etc’
So, why change anything?
Attentive Parent
February 28th, 2012
9:47 am
I do not know why dcb says they are the school’s standards, not AdvancEd’s.
My copy says AdvancEd 2011 on every page as it tells the schools what they must do or earn demerits.
No one who reads these standards would want their child at an accredited school.
They read like an insistence that the school and its personnel hold down each child to be mentally and emotionally assaulted. And defer to the leaders of the school.
So we will have veteran fine teachers being told by the 2 years in the classroom, 2 years as Assistant Principal, got an Educational Leadership degree where I was indoctrinated with utter nonsense, principals on what they MUST do in the classroom or be fired.
dcb is just trying to distract from the fact that the AdvancEd monopoly is contingent on these standards never actually reaching the public domain.
Too late. The bad behavior of your proxy supers turned the klieg lights back on AdvancEd.
So what’s with the stupid slide that “Amateurs Built the Ark and Professionals the Titanic”?
Why would the accreditors spread the recognition that we are better off with the amateurs in education?
or doesn’t anyone with a functioning brain read those AdvancEd slides?
Too busy counting all those taxpayer paid revenues?
Cherokee resident
February 28th, 2012
10:08 am
I thought the Republican party stood for smaller government, less involvement??? So, elected officials who are from the Republican party are pissed off because the School board voted against the Charter school, tell the Board members that if they don’t change their vote, they are kicked out of the Republican party. The Board members stand their ground, and in retaliation, the Republican elected officials, create a new bill which changes the way the School Board Members are elected in Cherokee County so they can get rid of the current School Board members, including the president. Yeah, no involvement what so ever!!!!!
The Deal
February 28th, 2012
11:00 am
SACS is a useless pile of garbage. I think it’s very surprising that Elgart has stuck his nose into this situation when he has sat by and let DeKalb BOE run our school system into the ground. We have BEGGED him to step in and lay down the law, and we heard nothing from him. It appears he cherry-picks his issues based on personal relationships and politics. There is no use for an organization like SACS/AdvancED when it is run in this manner.
Concerned Educator
February 28th, 2012
11:25 am
If Cherokee County Schools loses it’s accreditation, we would become another Clayton County System to the University System. Parents- Just try and get your student admitted to a competitive college if this happens.
For Kids
February 28th, 2012
12:29 pm
Check out the letter Cherokee Citizens for the Kids sent to the Cherokee Delegation at http://canton-ga.patch.com/articles/group-amend-or-rescind-redistricting-plan Public school supporters have been fighting the good fight for months now to no avail. Our delegation ignores us and chants “one man, one vote” and “school choice” as one body. Get involved everyone! The main thing you can do is call and email the Cherokee Delegation about the issue because if they don’t amend or rescind HB978, Cherokee County is going to enter the dark ages just like Clayton did. We’ve all been telling them this but they’ve been too arrogant so far to pay any attention.
East Cobb Parent
February 28th, 2012
1:41 pm
Lee makes some valid points. Be very cautious about supporting SACS and especially Mark Elgert. I’ve spoken to him a few times and his views surprise me. To say he is egotistical is putting things mildly. There are reasons some States have limited the power of SACS. While he slapped the wrists of Cobb County, he selected only those items that went against his personal views.
Cherokee Voter
February 28th, 2012
1:55 pm
Vincent Fort has it right. Read his take on it. This amounts to the state creating a separate school system controlled by state appointees and funded by taxpayers who have no say in the running of said state schools. It is the ultimate in taxation without representation. I don’t have a dog in this fight, nor a kid in school, but I do pay taxes and expect accountablility for the spending of that tax money. Our legislators need to back off on this one.
Karl Marx
February 28th, 2012
2:36 pm
dcb Dictator or Monopoly in this case it’s the same thing. As far as locally created standards you are stretching quit a bit saying that the standards are developed by member schools. Being the only “standard bearer” they adopt what they want which may or may not be good for everyone local school systems and may or may not be wanted by local school systems. If your local school system disagrees with a SACS policy too bad you must comply. This is just more “One Size Fits All” failed government programs.
Dekalbite
February 28th, 2012
3:12 pm
How does SACS pick and choose when it wants to get involved? Is there any rhyme or reason? For example, when 5 out of 9 DeKalb Board of Education members (a majority) voted to offer Lili Cox a contract to be the superintendent of DeKalb Schools, someone on the school board (I’m assuming one of the 4 who did not vote for her) leaked private information obtained in DCSS closed Board meetings to the AJC and to a TV station. Information was that Ms. Cox wanted a 3 year iron clad contract, what she wanted in terms of pay, etc. In the wake of such a leaky ship, Ms. Cox withdrew her name for consideration. This leak by BOE members trying to sabotage the majority vote of the other BOE members was never addressed by SACS.
And while SACS was busy accrediting DeKalb Schools, the superintendent and his second in command were being indicted on racketeering charges, a major CRCT cheating scandal was unfolding, and DeKalb’s student achievement was plunging faster and farther than any school system in metro Atlanta. Yet SACS said DCSS was doing fine. No wonder so few people in DeKalb County has any trust or respect for SACS.
Still Waiting for Truly Better Schools
February 28th, 2012
9:09 pm
We all want schools that are competitive nationally and globally but even in the best systems in Georgia, we are far from that. In Cherokee there is a battle between those who who have the vision and the courage to try a bit of something different and those who have a vested interested in the power that comes with a monopoly and the influence that comes with a half-billion dollar (tax-payer-funded) budget. The establishment, by definition, is well organized and well connected. It ignores the voters when it can and works hard to frighten voters when it can’t ignore them. We are expected to believe that the entire Cherokee legislative delegation and nearly half the school board are all ignoring the public that that elected them and pursuing some vague, unspecified political self-interest. Isn’t it easier to believe that the school system and the edu-crats are afraid of a school board that is accountable to the citizens instead of the superintendent?
Be on the look out for more dishonesty and more scare tactics.
Really amazed
February 28th, 2012
10:08 pm
To fish n chips, you said Chip Rogers sends his children to private. Don’t forget everyone, so doesn’t our own President, Obama!! He has been sending them to private even before he was the president of the USA!! Funny how he encourages everyone else to send their children to public!! They don’t even believe in the gov’t system!!! Drink, drink, drink the kool-aid is what they want us ALL to do.
Cherokee Parent
February 28th, 2012
11:10 pm
Chip Rogers stated in a meeting this evening at Cherokee Charter School that he was not going to run for the school board and that he really had no opinion one way or the other about the new plan to change the way the school board is elected. He said he was only going with the recommendation of the commission the legislators put together. When a women in the audience mentioned the controversy surrounding allegations for the commission changing their recommendation after a last minute re-vote, he said very clearly that neither he nor any of the other legislators had anything to do with the votes changing. He said no phone calls were made and there was no pressure put on anyone and the chairperson of the committee would back that up. If anyone knows that statement to be untrue (not interested in speculation, just facts), they should do the right thing and come forward.
cantweet2012
February 29th, 2012
10:41 am
This bill was passed in the Senate. The only opportunity is to write the governor to request he veto the bill and that it be placed before the Cherokee County electorate as should have been done in the first place. A suggestion to do this was made to our delegation during a town hall meeting held at the Hickory Flat Library on 2/18 and was ignored.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20112012/HB/978
OnlytheLonely
February 29th, 2012
7:47 pm
Rogers was the architect of this legislation, he financed the purported (it’s questionable that the numbers touted are actually legitimate) poll that drove the changes. And in a stunning display of cowardice, he actually did not vote (he’s listed as excused) on HB978, although was able to vote on a measure 11 minutes later.
His past history will catch up with him one of these days…
Jay
February 29th, 2012
10:48 pm
‘This bill was passed in the Senate. The only opportunity is to write the governor to request he veto the bill ‘ by cantweet
There’s another way. Remember the names of four legislators who supported the bill – Hill, Byrd, Jerguson, Rogers.