What in the world is going on in Dougherty? Spending $18,000 on a speaker? Officials lying for free lunches?
There has been a lot of attention on Atlanta schools in the wake of the CRCT cheating scandal, but the second bad actor in this drama, Dougherty County, has garnered less attention. One reason is location: Albany is far from the media center of Atlanta so there has been less press about the blatant cheating there on state exams.
But given what is now unfolding in Dougherty, it seems that close attention to this under performing and troubled school system is long overdue. In fact, this district seems a possible candidate for state takeover based on these breaking news stories.
According to the AJC, the state Department of Education has determined that the Dougherty County School District is not eligible to receive at least $10 million in federal funds because of concerns that the district has inflated the number of students who qualify for federal meal assistance. The agency also said the district has not properly overseen federal grant programs.
An incredible element of this story, reported by the Albany Herald, is that one of the questionable uses of federal money was the $18,000 paid to a motivational speaker for three appearances. That is $6,000 per appearance, an unbelievable expense for any school system in these hard budget times. Such extravagant expenditures undermine the arguments from schools that they need more money to function.
Two weeks ago, The Albany Herald obtained an email dated June 26 from GADOE Title Programs Division Director Margo DeLaune to DCSS Superintendent Joshua Murfree in which she wrote that “additional information and/or supporting documentation is needed for the items listed below that were paid with Title I, Part A monies.”
The 34 items in question ranged from $22 for emergency and registration cards to $91,000 for consulting fees paid to Darrell Sabbs and Associates.
All total, the state was seeking supporting documentation of more than $142,000 in Title I expenditures and gave the system until July 13 to respond to the request.
Delaune confirmed Tuesday she had received some documentation from the local system, but said she didn’t know at the time if it was all of the information requested by her office.
In addition to the Sabbs contract, the state was also seeing information on an $18,000 check cut to motivational speaker Joseph Washington for three appearances before students at Dougherty, Monroe and Albany high schools. “A motivational speaker is not an allowable Title I, Part A expense,” LeLaune wrote. “In addition, the cost of $6,000 per day appears not to follow the reasonable and necessary component of an allowable Title I, Part A expenditure.
“Please provide follow-up documentation to support the necessity of the cost and how this meets the compliance of academic interventions for Title I, Part A expenditures.”
The AJC further reports on the state DOE decision this week to withhold funds:
The department’s move is an extraordinary step, one no one at the department can recall being taken before. If a district is found to use federal funds in inappropriate ways, the state is responsible for paying the money back. “Our teams have been down there and worked with them and worked with them and worked with them,” Georgia Schools Superintendent John Barge said. “They’re not where they need to be.”
The district, which includes the southwestern Georgia town of Albany, has had its share of troubles in recent years. Investigations found that it and the Atlanta Public Schools system were major hubs for standardized test cheating in 2009.
The cheating investigation in Dougherty County also uncovered evidence that a principal in the district and her husband had falsely claimed that they were eligible for a free lunch program reserved for the poor. The couple was indicted, and similar charges were filed against Dougherty County School Board Member Velvet Riggins based on a tip to police, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported.
The governor removed Riggins from office earlier this month, according to the Albany Herald.
Losing $10 million for this school year would be a big blow for the district, whose operating budget is listed on its website as $114.8 million. The district could still receive the money if it complies with federal documentation requirements and clears up questions about the number of students who are eligible for federal meal assistance.
Hearing about possible misuse of the federal meal assistance program in Dougherty, the Georgia Department of Education attempted to investigate it in late May, state documents show. Department officials, however, were denied access to program records when they visited the district, according to a letter the department wrote to Dougherty Schools Superintendent Joshua Murfree Jr.
The state warned Dougherty in that letter that it could place a hold on all federal funds that are distributed to districts based on the number of students who qualify for federal meal assistance.
In addition to questions about how many Dougherty students actually qualify for federal meal assistance, state officials also had concerns about the district’s oversight of other federal grant programs.
Dougherty receives money from the federal School Improvement Grant program, from a program created to assist homeless students and from the Race to the Top program.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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103 comments Add your comment
skipper
July 20th, 2012
11:16 am
Maureen,
I remember you wrote about this system some time back. All I can say is that the right to vote does not mean the ability to do so. This is a corrupt, underperforming area and if one says anything, the race card comes out for sure! However, from the board down there is so much incompetence and a fear of breaking the politically-correct conversation (a la Dekalb) that the cluster down in Albany will not get better. And yes (sorry) demographics ARE a contributor. Past injustices, bad as they were, have given way to something dog-gone near as bad. Sheer stupidity, lack of knowledge, and worse cronyism than old-time Chicago. folks will hate me back on this blog, but look at it! It is what it is…………………
catlady
July 20th, 2012
11:19 am
To whom in the system was that “motivational” speaker related?
And how, exactly, could the school system deny examination of its materials to the state government officials?
You are right, this system should go down. The state could not make a bigger mess of this than those folks in Albany.
Aquagirl
July 20th, 2012
11:24 am
Please tell me someone can go to jail for this.
elephant in the room
July 20th, 2012
11:41 am
Be careful folks – if you say too much about Albany, you will be branded racist !
BehindEnemyLines
July 20th, 2012
11:44 am
Would be interesting to discover what other systems have paid the same speaker.
Dunwoody Mom
July 20th, 2012
11:46 am
I read the article about Dougherty County last night. If this ever was a school system that needs state intervention this is it. Governor Deal has removed one School Board Member, but it appears that a whole new administration and BOE is needed.
Bob White
July 20th, 2012
11:57 am
The school board is only the tip of the iceberg. If you do a little more investigation on other Dougherty government entities there is no telling what will be found!
NW GA Math/Science Teacher
July 20th, 2012
11:59 am
While Dougherty’s misuse seems extreme, there are more systemic abuses going on all over. Many of you would probably be quite interested to see what your own districts spend on “consultants”. There’s a similar article in the Chattanooga paper today: http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jul/20/27500-consultant-fee-raises-concerns-on/?local
Current HS Teacher
July 20th, 2012
12:05 pm
Red flags should be recognized when public institutions are challenged on the spending of public funds and any sort of obstacle is placed in the way of open investigation.
The state has watchdog agencies in place to monitor activites that are not in line with the normal operations of a public organization. School systems are not exempted from this scrutiny. Auditors from the state of Georgia are in most school systems’ BOE offices on a weekly basis.
When the public employees, whatever their status or position level, impede an investigation, the simple fact is that something wrong is being discovered and the guilty are trying to hide their tracks.
Due process assumes that someone is innocent until proven guilty, but the public employees are also under burden to not hinder an investigation. At any time, when the least bit of obstruction turns up, there is a reason for the obstruction. Guilty people will attempt to hide their guilty acts.
School systems are large local organizations with large budgets and many opportunities are available for suspicious financial transactions.
School systems are often receiving funds from multiple government agencies, with those funds specifcally targeted. Questions arise routinely about whether money was spent in the intended manner. It is normal to have to explain something, and many times the school system’s explanation is accepted. When an explanation is not forthcoming, or resisted then the auditors will see this as a probable case of mispent funds and investigate as such.
The questions raised in the story lead to the assumption that they are symptons of something much bigger.
DettafromATL
July 20th, 2012
12:05 pm
As an African American I’m concerned with the misappropriations of funds that should be used to feed needy children not greedy school administrators. If the school system refuses to comply with the GADOE request to view records or produce documentations then funds to the school district should be withheld until the district complies with the request.
As for race–our children’s education is more important than the race card.
The Deacon
July 20th, 2012
12:17 pm
In private industry, we are required to verify income. The client signs a tax form authorizing our company to check the client’s tax filings. Two things occur, if the client has NOT filed their returns or is delinquent in their taxes they do are not allowed to proceed. The other is their income is verified and we proceed. Why can’t all school systems require parents who apply for federal meal assistance for their children be required to sign a 4506-T tax form for verification purposes? Solution!
Maureen,
Did the principal in Dougherty County who falsified her application get fired? Or was that federal crime not enough to get rid of her?
The Deacon
Hillbilly D
July 20th, 2012
12:19 pm
Motivational speaking has got to be one of the best rackets in the world. $18K for a pep talk; nice gig if you can get it, I guess. Of course, if folks want to pay for a motivational speaker for themselves, that’s their business but it seems like a waste of tax money, especially in a time when some educators say they need more money.
Tonya C.
July 20th, 2012
12:30 pm
The Deacon:
A tax return is not the most up-to-date financial document for many. In addition, not everyone is required to file one. Add to that undocumented aliens, and the ACLU would be knocking down the doors with a lawsuit before anyone could blink.
I’m not disagreeing with you, just giving the other side.
Hillbilly D
July 20th, 2012
12:33 pm
The Deacon
What industry are you talking about? I’m a little confused. Not trying to be a smart aleck, just curious.
HP
July 20th, 2012
12:34 pm
Hmm. Shady. My local elementary school got a high-profile motivational speaker for a parent event FOR FREE. This “speaker” was related to someone and this needs to be investigated.
MB
July 20th, 2012
12:43 pm
We will HOPE that a majority of Dougherty citizens feel the same way you do, Detta, but, as alluded to before, there is a VERY different culture in Albany. The wheels of justice have moved slowly in this case and she continued as a school board member throughout the year. SAD!
Riggins was charged December 9th. The special prosecutor (Circuit DA) reported on January 14th that he had still not received the police report from DCSS. She was indicted in April, after a delay in appearing before the grand jury, DA filed the report with the governor’s office on May 4th and she was removed from her office on July 12th.
BTW, her mother, Muarlene Edwards, a Dougherty County commissioner, is leaving that post at the end of the year because she is running for state representative.
The trials for the three are supposed to be in September, but given the pace so far..
Reality_Check
July 20th, 2012
12:48 pm
I have relatives who live in the Albany area, according to them, that school system is probably the most corrupt in the state (DeKalb is nowhere close). Governor Deal should clean house and have that system run by the state.
skipper
July 20th, 2012
12:58 pm
@Reality_Check,
I, too, have folks down there and they echo your sentiments. If this state keeps worrying about political correctness and does not just handle the dad-gum business at hand down there then we are doomed to letting the IDIOTS (and this school system has earned that moniker) run the show. What in the world does it take to realize that this cesspool of an education system needs total FORCED revamping. When the board members are dumber than a sack of rocks, the system is broken. However, they do have one good point; the people who VOTED for them haven proven to be even more ignorant!
MB
July 20th, 2012
1:02 pm
@Maureen Here’s an idea for a new investigation for the AJC: free/reduced lunch and TItle I. If TItle I designation of a school is based on the percentage of free/reduced lunch status students AND the government limits verification of applications for free/reduced to more or less than 3%, is this not RIPE for abuse? The free lunches are not the real issue, IMO, as we all know children learn better when fed. The access to all the use-it-or-lose-it Title I funds, for which we frequently hear complaints about trips to CA, huge “learning” programs of questionable value, etc., seems to be very problematic. Here’s a first link for you – the Federal Register document on verification of eligibility which shows how situations such as Dougherty can exist. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/interim/2008verifrule.pdf
MB
July 20th, 2012
1:07 pm
My parents’ south Georgia cable system changed recently and axed the Atlanta area TV stations, so they now have seven channels with Albany news. No Savannah, no Jacksonville, no Macon, just the Albany perspective on the news. It is REALLY BAD there!
no great choice
July 20th, 2012
1:20 pm
MB
One of the Clayton County School Board members who was forced to leave her position on the Board of Ed was then elected to the State House of Representatives. I am sorry, but sometimes I think people deserve the crummy governments that they have. What a joke.
Outside Observer
July 20th, 2012
1:30 pm
Albany has always done things it’s own way. They host the girls’ high school state track and field meet every year there. Last time I was there a couple years ago, they had everyone in the stadium bow their heads and pray to Jesus Christ as someone led a stadium wide prayer. You had Muslim, Jewish, and I’m sure other faiths there. Seperation of Church and State was just a funny concept to them I suppose…
One of the most backward and poor areas I have seen in Georgia and that’s saying something.
Don H.
July 20th, 2012
1:37 pm
Dougherty has a largely black electorate (60%) that holds its elected officials to different standards than those of modern democracies. We see the same behavior, repeated endlessly, in similar communities nationwide and indeed worldwide.
And yes, the “motivational speaker” paid all that taxpayer money is African-American.
Tim
July 20th, 2012
2:02 pm
what an embarrassment. Yank their funding, destroy the district, and please please send some of these mooching losers to jail. You would have to be an idiot to want to live there but at this point you get what you deserve. Just pathetic.
skipper
July 20th, 2012
2:04 pm
Don H.,
Congrats! The elephant in the room! I realize that blacks suffered many injustices in the past, but along with rights comes responsibility. This is the kind of thing that makes racism live on….the fact that most (don’t take my word for it; do your homework) black areas like this (yeah I know, there are white areas, too, but not nearly the number) just flat cannot govern themselves. People hate it and defend their views stringently but this is a fact that nobody will discuss. All we here about is Travon, and Al and Jesse lead the pack. But neither will show up in Chicago where the killing goes on everyday, and if they came to Albany, they would say “discrimination” instead of trying to solve the problem. They holler about the terrible education system underserving blacks. But yet, these incompetents in Albany would be defended and someone else blamed if you could ever get them to show up there, where the TRUE racial problems are! Amazing….folks fight so hard (and correctly so) for rights, then let mess like this happen, and wonder why people question it!
Down in Albany
July 20th, 2012
2:08 pm
Maureen, I’m glad that you are covering this fiasco. (We now call it “Agony in Dirty County.”) There is so much corruption here that it is pathetic. The school board, for some unknown reason, hired #34 of 37 candidates as our superintendent. He has NO high school administrative experience and is incompetent. He recently told the school resource officer to not arrest any students without his prior consent. He all but threatened teachers and principals with their jobs if they cooperated with the CRCT investigators. Apparently, he has been less than cooperative with the DOE. Two administrators have been arrested and charged with falsifying free meal applications. One was a principal that makes over $90k per year! Along with the $18,000 paid for a motivational speaker, a local “consultant” was paid $91,000 (for the year) for a weekend school to help kids with reading. A grand total of 10 students, on average, attended. In recent news, the Albany police department has an officer that has wrecked 6 patrol cars and is still reeking havoc on its citizens. He was involved in a high speed chase that left 2 people dead and is still on the force! At the recent 4th of July fireworks celebration, a group of “wilding” teenagers disrupted the festivities to the point that police cleared the area and everyone missed the finale. That with 90 officers patrolling the event. And, of course, we have Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital (whose CEO makes $1.2 million per year) that is raping the local citizenry with their “world class medicine, home town commitment.” They recently bought out the local HCA hospital and thereby established a monopoly on healthcare. But, when 60% of the citizens vote strictly along racial lines, you get what you get…as long as someone is sticking it “to The man” it’s ok with them. I have one more child in school (he attends a private school here). As soon as he graduates, we are leaving this excrement filled town.
MB
July 20th, 2012
2:09 pm
@No great choice It is so sad. How about this idea? We’re all talking about bringing technology into our schools – how about technology into our voting? Voting booths are set up so that you actually have to KNOW something about a candidate to vote for them. No Rs or Ds by the names and you have to answer a couple of questions about their platform correctly to vote for them. Voting booths are still open and using a cheat sheet to vote for the people your minister or local talk show host supports gets your vote kicked out. Whatcha think?
@Outside In my hometown, a guy ran and was elected with the major promise to bring prayer back to the football games. (School board attorney keeps telling him they can’t bring that lawsuit on them, but he’s up for re-election.) Oh, he told another school board member to take it out in the parking lot and punched him. (Fist Christianity, in other words.) Another school board member has a GED. Again, it’s bad out there!
dARRIEN
July 20th, 2012
2:25 pm
Look, when you have been raised all your life on government hand outs and not having to worry about where money comes from, you don’t hesitate to pay a friend $18,000.00 to speak to three groups of kids. I hate it the Kennedy’s, JOhnson and others are not alive to see the results from their “welfare programs back in the 60’s” and what the results look like. It is not just DCSS, it is teh city of Albany as well as Dougherty County We don’t even shop Albany anymore.
Lee
July 20th, 2012
2:26 pm
Former Get Schooled blogger, the late JimD, used to call for school systems to post their checkbook registers online so that all could see what they were spending money on. Good idea, IMHO. If they had, someone would have surely picked up on the the first payment to the motivational speaker and may have prevented payments #2 and #3.
But no, these folks in the central offices want to keep their transactions behind closed doors…
… and this is the result.
skipper
July 20th, 2012
2:28 pm
Maureem,
What is your true take….I know you are not racist, but you gotta see situations like this for what they are…………………..ever been to Albany? See for youself!
skipper
July 20th, 2012
2:29 pm
Sorry, that Maureen, not Maureem….my bad!
dudecrush
July 20th, 2012
2:29 pm
I love the way people who have never lived in, visited, and otherwise know nothing about a place can write (or copy and paste rather) such detailed drivel. The “corruption” in our school system happened YEARS ago under superintendent Sally Whatley (white), but was never mentioned or investigated (though she was “lucky” enough to retire just about the time investigations were announced). Since our current superintendent, Joshua Murfree Jr (black), was installed the blame has been placed squarely on his shoulders, despite his efforts to root out corruption, and correct a broken system. I know Republicans love a good witch hunt and absolutely deplore facts, but look at the numbers from raw Deal’s own CRCT investigation report!
http://www.gaosa.org/
The corruption you people speak of is almost non-existent in our school system now, and as far as the free lunch thing it was TWO people! That, to me, does not scream widespread corruption.
Lee
July 20th, 2012
2:34 pm
I don’t know if this is the same guy, but here is a link to Joseph Washington: http://www.josephbwashington.com/
I’ve been to company meetings where we had a motivational speaker. While some have some good messages, most are little more than snake oil salemen in three piece suits.
…. and none are what I would want my hard earned tax money to pay for….
Don H.
July 20th, 2012
2:45 pm
@dudecrush:
Mr. Murfree’s school district bio says he assumed his post in June, 2010. He’s in other words had more than enough time to make a real difference—or to go down trying.
Don H.
July 20th, 2012
2:50 pm
@dudecrush:
Mr. Murfree’s school district bio says he assumed his post in June, 2010. He’s in other words had more than enough time to make a real difference—or to go down trying.
C Jae of EAV
July 20th, 2012
2:56 pm
There is no question that Doughery County’s location within the state contributes a great deal to the fact activities in questions are going with limited fanfare in and around the gold dome all the way up state.
Equally there is little doubt that what-ever questionable pratices that are being uncovered there in large part are in play within the larger districts across the state as well.
Alas because there isn’t a big press conference moment to be had by jumping in with both feet in this situation we will likely see a limited responce if any from Gov Purdue or the GA DOE.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
July 20th, 2012
3:00 pm
“The love of money is the root of all evil.”
In Mammon, money is loved above all else. There it’s MOE: “Money Over Everything.”
But John Barge’s GDOE is not Mammon.
KUDOS to John for taking the courageous action of impounding DCBOE-designated funds.
Weekly Reader (7/20) | Leonard Presberg
July 20th, 2012
3:09 pm
[...] of educational failures, Doughtery County is the poster child. And more on DeKalb BOE’s budget woes and how hard it is to find [...]
williebkind
July 20th, 2012
3:20 pm
But Maureen this are college educated people! All you need is a college degree and the system will pay you huge bucks, retirement, healthcare, annual leave, sick leave, and a bonus. Yep those college educated minds saw how those college educated minds operated at the GSA level and said we are college graduates too. Oh by the way college educated minds have the country in 16T in debt also. If we just would spend more on college education. Especially in educatin degrees.
William Casey
July 20th, 2012
3:20 pm
This sounds very similar to the “Reconstruction State Governments,” 1865-1876. Wherever there is a political vacuum, one can rest assured that political corruption will soon flood in. I’ve long looked with jaundiced eye at outside “motivational” speakers, expensive or otherwise.
williebkind
July 20th, 2012
3:21 pm
Sorry about the typos and misspelling but I was excited.
williebkind
July 20th, 2012
3:22 pm
William Casey
July 20th, 2012
3:20 pm
We called them carpent baggers!
DettafromATL
July 20th, 2012
3:23 pm
It would be refreshing to discuss the issue of administrators and policitians misappropriating school funds and politicial misconduct without bringing up the issue of race…but, I guess in Georgiaf that would be asking too much to ask!
Fred in DeKalb
July 20th, 2012
3:37 pm
What was done was wrong, regardless of the color of the individuals involved. I won’t paint a broad brush like some here like to do and suggest that Colorado is home the place for mass murderers to go (may the souls of those hurt by the recent tragedy rest in peace). Bad people come in all races.
Thanks to dudecrush for providing some historical perspective in Albany. Many on DSW want to believe the growth in the DeKalb Central office occurred in the last 10 years. It actually began in the mid 90’s under Freeman. One superintendent attempted to restructure it along with providing greater instructional equity throughout the district (Brown). He began questioning sacred cows such as small schools that have existed for years and weren’t efficient to operate. They turned on him. Seems that some can talk a good game of change as long as it does not impact their slice of the world.
Down in Albany
July 20th, 2012
3:37 pm
Dudecrush, you are an idiot!
williebkind
July 20th, 2012
3:38 pm
DettafromATL:
Taxpayers money is for everyone running the government regardless of race, sex, etc.
williebkind
July 20th, 2012
3:41 pm
dudecrush:
How many Albany State graduates work in the system. Then google the trials and tribulations of Albany State.
GatorJohnson
July 20th, 2012
3:44 pm
Psssst: AJC, if you’re down in the Albany area do a little snooping around the Baker County schools system….
skipper
July 20th, 2012
3:50 pm
Detta,
Race IS a problem. By no means is racisom limited to one side or the other, and poverty does contribute. However, in many majority black districts where schools were finally forced to desegregate in 1970, the boards, etc. became majority black. Education and competence were given minimal attention, and as long as the majority ruled, all was well. The fact that there was blatant mistreatment previously (and there was) did not mean an unqualified person should be elected. See Warren County, Hancock County, etc. Yes, poverty is contributory, but incompetent people voted into office will NEVER solve the problem. That is NOT saying blacks are incompetant; that is saying that in these instances, there apparantly was no pre-requisite for being on a board other than being black. And yes,dudecrush, I HAVE been to “Slappeyville”. People can vehemently defend anything. But if you think that school system is happening, please feel free sell snake oil.
Good ole Boys at the Gold Dome
July 20th, 2012
3:50 pm
Since my wife and friends are from this area;I do have a little in-sight into what is the culture and background of Albany and surrounding area.First they are some very good and intelligent people in this area.Both Black and White have bad apples.Yes, the demos changed in the 90’s in this area and a large number of familes and income moved to Lee County.But do not blame this on the race issue.Look at Miller County Board of Education.See what Gov. Deal did to them because of mismanagement and total disfunctional Board.The Miller County Board is a majority White and talk and act like it is 1930’s or 40’s.Miller County is only 30 to 35 miles from Albany. Again,there are some very honest and nice people in this area,but like other areas in this state; WE ALL have our problems.Hopefully,the state will improve in education for everyone regardless of the location.
Good ole Boys at the Gold Dome
July 20th, 2012
4:09 pm
@Gator -My mistake but I thought you and your son was dead. I use to go to your store in Newton when I was kid.By the way Baker split from Mitchell county several years ago .They do have a nice High School in Newton.By the way,every county has some questionable citizens and you my friend was one of the most corrupt in Baker county.Hate to talk about the dead but you brought Gators name up.
Ralph Christian
July 20th, 2012
4:21 pm
“Governor Deal should clean house and have that system run by the state.” Say what???? The most corrupt politician in GA (and among the top twelve most corrupt in Congress ever) be given the hand in this matter????
jess
July 20th, 2012
4:21 pm
I have a friend whose sister worked in the food services area of a local high school. She was the person who took applications for free, and reduced price lunches. Soon after she got the job, a woman she knew came to sign her three children up for free lunches. The applicant asked what the maximum income was for her to get free lunches. My friends sister told her she just needed to put her actual earnings in and the school would inform her if she qualified. The applicant got very mad and asked to see her supervisor, which she arranged. Shortly afterwards her supervisor returned and informed my friends sister that she was never to question what someone put down as their income, and if they asked about the limits she was to tell them. She then explained that the system gets extra funds based on the number of free and reduced price students they have so it was to their benefit to sign up as many as possible. She quit soon after this.
Google "NEA" and "donations"
July 20th, 2012
4:33 pm
@Ralph:
You live in a majority Republican state. Democrats will never again be able to block schoolhouse doors, and teachers won’t be required to join unions.
Get over it!
Good ole Boys at the Gold Dome
July 20th, 2012
4:49 pm
@ Google “NEA”—-I’m a Republican and 60+ years old.Georgia was a Democrat state for 100 years.Did not turn Repub until 2000.Never was schoolhouse doors blocked and never were teachers required or forced to join unions.In fact a law was written in the state in the 60’s that prohibit any state public employee from joining unions.This law included state employees and Teachers.Hate to say this but I feel like the education system was run at a more efficient way when the Democrats were in charge.
Prof
July 20th, 2012
4:51 pm
@ Google. Curious blog-thread on which to brag that this is a majority Republican state!
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
July 20th, 2012
4:54 pm
When you combine gross incompetence with a larcenous heart, what you get is a government bureaucracy. There is, over time, no other outcome.
Its bad
July 20th, 2012
5:06 pm
I was an honor roll student k-12 down there except for 4th grade. My dad was concerned so he met with my teacher mrs rockmore (sp) back in 1984. He asked about me and how i was doing. Her reply was. “oh he be doin ok”. My dad told me to just get through 4th grade best i could after hearing who i was dealing with. Backwards doesnt begin to describe that poor city
bootney farnsworth
July 20th, 2012
5:11 pm
to beat the drum again….
the way this stuff happens is due to the lack of checks/balances in education. most educational entities have none at all, and the few which do are corrupted so badly as to be useless.
-the USG has none, and so at least four schools overspent last year and prices are skyrocketing.
-the local school systems have elected school boards, but they are packed with people voted in along racial and party lines.
-places like Atlanta and DCSS ….. defy polite description.
I can almost promise you the same thing happened with this as what happened with Tricoli forced Jimmy Carter & the Atlanta Center down GPC’s throat. lots of good people raised objections only to be let known pursuing them would land them in serious hot water
another comment
July 20th, 2012
5:20 pm
I once made the mistake of hiring a graduate of Albany State. He had been a TQM expert at Lockhead. Was an absolutely worthless employee. That was the last time I would ever hire an employee from a HBC in Georgia. One way we can save ourselves alot of money is to eliminate all of these raciest historicaly Black colleges. They do not provide an adequate education, just a fake sense of entitlement.
bootney farnsworth
July 20th, 2012
5:22 pm
three easy steps to fix this, but they’ll never happen:
-an approval board for things beyond a $10,000 dollar amount. the board must be a mix of educators and businessmen with no real dog in the fight to make them as objective as possible.
-an end to racial/party block voting. sorry Detta, but its a well established fact in Georgia that blacks tend to support blacks first and foremost, and democrats then to support democrats the same way.
same probably holds true for republicans, but statistically Georgia has only been electing republicans for a short period of time.
-a genuine voice for the worker bees who see all this going on, know very well what the impact is, but have no way of expressing their concerns without getting roasted for it. be it a union or some kind of independent staff advocate, something rank n file can turn to with protection
bootney farnsworth
July 20th, 2012
5:23 pm
@ another comment
if you’ll toss aside such a huge pool of talent based on one alleged incident…
you’re either a fool or telling quite the lie.
bootney farnsworth
July 20th, 2012
5:25 pm
” raciest historicaly black colleges”… (his spelling, not mine)
sounds fun. where do I send my resume?
bootney farnsworth
July 20th, 2012
5:27 pm
@ another comment
after taking a moment to reread your post…..
with your profoundly bad grasp of reality and even worse spelling and grammar, there’s no way you’re hiring anyone above janitorial staff.
another comment
July 20th, 2012
5:33 pm
The Free lunch program and it’s tie in to the extra Title one funds is the biggest source of fraud out there. Every single application should be audited. How can you qualify for Free lunch, but have enough money for $300 hair styles, acrylic nails, designer hand bags, designer clothes, $300 nikes, air jordans, the list goes on and on. Then to beat all, their kids show up with I-pads, I-phones, and thousands of dollars worth of video equipment to do group project. But my child has to do all the written work. They don’t have a laptop or a color printer that might be helpful in doing school work.
How can 72% of the students in a Sandy Springs middle School be free lunch when the lowest apartments are $1,200 per month. The least expensive houses are $325K, most are well over $500K.
bootney farnsworth
July 20th, 2012
5:39 pm
@ Maureen
those of us who have faced this issue for some time now know its NEVER been about the lack of resources. its the abuse and misuse of said resources.
no great choice
July 20th, 2012
5:40 pm
another comment
I don’t think your info on apartment prices in Sandy Springs is correct. Spend some time around Pitts Road and look into those complexes. No way 1200 dollars.
The Deacon
July 20th, 2012
6:01 pm
I am in the residential mortgage industry.
If you want a loan the bank must verify your reported income from the IRS.
I must also pass an ANNUAL credit and criminal background check to stay employed in the industry.
Do you think elected officials should be put to the same strict guidelines?
The Deacon
Former Walton county teacher
July 20th, 2012
6:21 pm
@ jess The same thing with free and reduced lunch goes on in Walton county schools. I was told “just turn them in—everyone gets it.”
The Good Life City
July 20th, 2012
7:32 pm
As a recent transplant to Albany, I can tell you that things are every bit as bad down here as the article implies. Housing prices in DoCo are great b/c no one wants to put their kids in school here. Any attempt at reform is met with race baiting politics. Perhaps the biggest slap in the face was a few weeks ago when the proposed career academy for the school system was voted down, with the deciding vote cast by Velvet Riggins, the one facing trial for fraud. Nuke and start over.
say what?
July 20th, 2012
7:50 pm
Spending Title I funds on motivational speakers and food should be outlawed. The guy who gives out the “impossible to I’m Possible” t-shirts had annual visits to Columbia MS in DeKalb. He was to motivate kids right before the CRCT.
Now that DCSD has decided to give MORE money Title I funds directly to the principal’s look for the final nail in the coffin for DCSD. If only people would do monthly open records request on Title I fund expenditures could taxpayer money be protected. These are the same principal’s who have returned in excess of $14 million in Title I funds back to the central office, which then had to return the money to the state DOE. Some of these school principal’s now have $500K in Title I funds.
Bye Bye accreditation in DeKalb. Unless parents and the communities demand transparency and get every expenditure on a monthly basis of every Title I penny spent.
Joe Bart
July 20th, 2012
8:58 pm
Funeral Home Directors can be great motivational speakers. I hope all his upbeat engagements net more than $6000/appearance. We can only hope he doesn’t get behind in his work like Ray Marsh who was caught in 2002 with over 300 corpses rotting on the property. Got work piles up while you are taking money.
Lisa B.
July 20th, 2012
9:00 pm
The 2:08 post by “Down in Albany” summarizes exactly what is happening in the Dougherty County School System. Albany is the metro area for our region. Our workforce is dependent on the caliber of education offered by public schools. The Dougherty County School System employs some excellent teachers. Some kids get access to those excellent teachers. Too many students are getting ripped off.
Kyle
July 20th, 2012
10:17 pm
I live in Albany and all you have to do is read dudecrush’s post to see what is wrong in Albany. 75% of the population will not take their responsibility for their actions and blame it on the 25%. Please come down and visit and you will see corruption at it’s finest. 75% expects to be handed everything and the board members and commissioners think they can do whatever they want without asking. Come down and you will see why the 25% down here pray for Mitt Romney.
Fixit
July 20th, 2012
10:19 pm
@dudecrush: ummm, yes Whatley is guilty too, but Murphree has approached so many issues with a let’s white-wash approach, nothing is corrected.
I have sat through numerous board meetings this year and he is not sure of policy nor does he have clear standards for administrators. Nepotism is another issue and is woven all through the system administrators and directors. The board is not all corrupt nor is every teacher, but there are too manyy in important positions who are.
The state needs to step in beginning with the top administrators. Our County needs to see these clowns held accountable and students need the system to be led by individuals with a higher level of integrity than has been present in a very long time. So thankful to see corrective actions might happen after all.
Truth in Moderation
July 21st, 2012
1:18 am
@Lee
Thanks for the motivational link.
My favorite soundbite, “Take the NO and let it grow!”
That would definitely motivate a bunch of teens!
Where can I get on this list of approved speakers? How about, “Give me my fee, it will set you free!”
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
July 21st, 2012
6:42 am
(S)kipper,
Race isn’t the problem. Self, as opposed to public, service is the problem.
In my area, the largest BOE is equally divided betwen White and Black people several of whose primary interests lie in retaining their power and influence with little, if any, real regard for the academic development of the poor children enrolled in the public school system they oversee.
bootney farnsworth
July 21st, 2012
8:21 am
@ Craig
I see your point, but I disagree. Race, to the point where some people view it as the most important factor in decision making, is very much the problem.
Fred in DeKalb
July 21st, 2012
10:01 am
Jess and others, most know that there is fraud in the Free and Reduced lunch program. It is allowed by the Federal government through the USDA. By law, no more than 3% of the applications can be audited. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC attempted to have a higher standard for audits and were threatened by the Federal government that they could lose all federal funding for this program. You can read about this at,
http://educationnext.org/fraud-in-the-lunchroom/
If you want to lodge a real complaint, what don’t you question the agricultural subsidies that taxpayers continue to provide? You might find it interesting as to who receives most of those monies. Instead most of you would rather go after the family that gets an extra $360 per year (assuming $2 for lunch for 180 days) per child. Don’t get me wrong, both are wrong in this but why don’t you go after the big fish instead of the small fry?
jess
July 21st, 2012
11:27 am
Fred. The issue is not who you go after. The issue is the fact that we cannot trust our government to be good stewards of our money. The other issue is that the government, and many non-profits use the number of children recieving “lunch” benefits to justify many, many other entitlement programs. The amount of tax money spent using fraudulent stats as a justification is huge.
Alvin Hall
July 21st, 2012
12:04 pm
It sad none of these people or for the kids it’s all about them put those asses in jail white or black.
bootney farnsworth
July 21st, 2012
12:44 pm
in the filter?
really?
for that?
get a reality grip people!
Trapped
July 21st, 2012
1:38 pm
As a resident of the Albany area I can tell you the Governor needs to get involved now! He is only dragging his feet because he has no chance of carrying Dougherty County in 2014, so why waste time and resources to help. But his lack of action leaves voters like me hung out to dry.
My business is here, what is left of it anyway, but we are seriously considering a move to Dahlonega or Kennesaw. As sad as this is to say, Albany was once a very nice place to live, but no longer. And the brutal truth is, the decline has EVERYTHING to do with race.
HS Math Teacher
July 21st, 2012
1:58 pm
Aside from this mess, take a look at their EOCT scores of this district. Our educational & political leaders are giving every public school system a blanket curriculum, cutting funding (but funding the rich-ass charter school crowd with OUR taxes), giving us a raincoat and throwing us out into the piss storm. Georgia has a bad case of SAT score envy, and a very stupid approach to finding a remedy.
Proud Teacher
July 21st, 2012
2:12 pm
HS Math Teacher, you are so right. Instead of letting the real teachers teach in a decent academic atmosphere, they place the blame for student failure solely upon the teachers while the administrators reap any benefits that might befall the school. Then they threaten the teachers with private and charter schools: “Teachers, if you don’t perform well, we’ll lose our students to charter and private schools and yo will be out of a job. Play nice and make the students want to come here.” i.e., accept rude behavior, poor work performance, and give passing grades. I know there’s nothing to be done about the private schools, but there certainly needs to be a halt to the blood-letting the charter schools are doing to the real public schools.
Daughterty County Schools have been run beyond selfish and now who pays again? Governor Deal or any governor of Georgia needs to step in with a realistic approach to education and help the public school classroom teachers to salvage what we can of what the administrators – local and state – have left us to work with. We in education don’t need anymore ivory towers. There’s been too much of that already.
catlady
July 21st, 2012
5:03 pm
c jae, did Deal give up the governorship back to Purdue? (I understand it is easy to get them confused)
The Good Life City
July 21st, 2012
5:28 pm
If you need any further explanation of what is wrong, check out this link to article in the Albany Herald today:
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2012/jul/20/clergy-throw-support-behind-williams-brown/
Mandrake
July 21st, 2012
5:46 pm
I suggest that all readers take a stiff drink and visit open.georgia.gov to see what your school system does with money. Then, click on “Other Expenditure Information” and search away.
What has been printed about Dougherty is not even the tip of its iceberg. We are well beyond a “few bad apples” in Dougherty with a school system that won’t provide information under a freedom of information request to the press or even the BOE members. The school system is a great big jobs program involving unfettered, open nepotism and a web of friends taking care of friends to the detriment of the taxpayer. It will not follow basic rules and regulations including those it writes. The only hope for the system, if there is any, is a state takeover and perhaps a very large enema.
Fred in DeKalb
July 22nd, 2012
12:10 am
Mandrake is right! People in DeKalb and especially DSW like to talk about friends and family. They obviously don’t know the history or have not been to other parts of the state where this is a part of the culture. Yes, those is Doughtery did something wrong but where do you think they got this idea they could do something like this and get away with it?
Prof
July 22nd, 2012
11:59 am
If you look at the link provided above by The Good Life City, be sure to read the blog comments following the main article. Remarkable.
dudecrush
July 22nd, 2012
2:55 pm
Enter your comments here
SmartK12Funding
July 23rd, 2012
10:53 am
Transparency and accountability are key! And Georgia is lacking on both accounts. Nice to see the State stepping up to the challenge. Hope to see more of it, and hope to see more focus on ensuring how we spend our ed dollars. Now more than ever it is vital to be efficient and effective.
SmartK12Funding
July 23rd, 2012
11:02 am
@ Trapped Your comment is telling and a quiet nod to a serious problem in Georgia: the fact that a dismal education system does not make for an attractive place to grow or start businesses. For the sake of our students and citizens, something’s gotta give. It’s our job to ensure that our youth become productive members of society whether that means university, tech school, or straight to work. But too many of our kids are not even graduating…What if we changed things and followed through on Georgia’s bold step towards accountability and transparency and moved to focus funding on student outcomes? What could happen? http://bit.ly/NZidtq
Gerry Hill
July 23rd, 2012
2:53 pm
I worked in Child Neutrition here. By law, they were not allowed to audit applications-earnings etc., unless it was the Govt.’s random picked out ones. So a lot of the blame being thrown around-is from those not educated on the rules of this game.
Child Neutrition does need overhauling. When you encourage a program (Free Lunch) for money reasons, and not need- (For each child in free lunch- the Govt pays- say $1, and a child paying say ,65,)
Children were given what none of us would call a good breakfast- fast food junk, in the classroom, to count them as eating free…and numerous other too numerous items to mention- The Morals of the situation have gone to Hell.It definately needs to be changed also when these “needy” children, get a free lunch, and pay for what they really want-and don’t need, in the other line at lunch. It needs rehauling when a Mother would send her kindergarden kid to school the first day, with no lunch, and no money-knowing the School System will not let her child go hungry- just becase the child has NOT been approved yet for free lunch.
In this county-Welfare is a big, big bunch of folks not really needy-or telling the truth. If we had enough people to investigate- instead of intake- the money might be there for our needy old folks, and other really needy groups.
Mrs. Edwards-I have known over 40 years. I am so sorry for her, in what has happened with Velvet, and Edward-but as a Mother-over 50 years, I know we are not to blame for those ADULT children.
They have a right to go either way-and the responsibility is theirs. So quit throwing the rocks there. Judge her on her own merits for the office she has, and is going to try for..
skipper
July 23rd, 2012
3:37 pm
@Craig……no offense, but you have not been to Warrenton or Sparta lately…….yes there were past injustices, and incompetance knows no color, but many negative sterotypes are SO prevelant in these areas; and they (unfortunately) appear to be well earned. Once hurdles were cleared, it did not guarantee that competance to do the job would be a consideration. Albany suffers the same problem.
skipper
July 23rd, 2012
5:02 pm
p.s.;
This, again, is awful, but nobody would move to Sparta, Warrenton, or Albany for that matter as a relocation place if they had school age kids. Call it what you will, but it is a fact………how will these places attract businesses? And yes, I have been to all these places…..two of the three numerous, numerous times!
SGaTeechur
July 23rd, 2012
10:21 pm
Stereotypes are often, very often, based in fact. Unfortunate, but true. Albany is a disaster. People are afraid to go there to shop because of the thugs. It is scary. The school system is corrupt from the ground up…I know there are a few good people in the system, but they can make no changes nor try to correct things without the race card being slammed on the table. We heard for years and years about how the state would take over if schools did not perform to a certain level. I know that was in reference to test scores, but this system needs a state takeover the worst. Divide them by sexes and put department of corrections officers in every classroom to maintain order.
Pardon My Blog
July 24th, 2012
6:51 am
I lived in Albany and attended the schools there until the mid 70’s. Up until that point Albany was a great place to live. I have gone back many times to visit friends and family and have seen the deterioration and corruption (Shirley Sherrod’s husband was part of that) first hand. Unfortunately I see alot of the same in DeKalb.
skipper
July 24th, 2012
8:18 am
Maureen,
Yes, it sorta reeks of racism, but how exactly do you overcome the thug culture, etc. of the previously mentioned places??????? The majority rules; look what they have to show for it. Folks talk about honest dialogue? Outsiders in “lilly-white” areas say “Racists” but have NO experience in such a setting. Meanwhile, cities like Albany go to the dogs….
Pardon My Blog
July 24th, 2012
10:26 am
@ Gerry Hill – Child Neutrition, really? Nutrition means “The process of nourishing or being nourished, especially the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues”. Could not find Neutrition in the dictionary and you used it twice.
Pardon My Blog
July 24th, 2012
10:32 am
@ Proud Teacher – it is spelled Dougherty County.
Hiram Abiff
July 25th, 2012
9:38 am
Dudecrush….thanks for telling the truth….how can Deal remove someone for ethics when he has ethics issues himself
doingwhatisright
July 25th, 2012
7:45 pm
I teach in Albany and your article is accurate. I’m all for the State taking over the DCSS. Please send help…the teachers hands are firmly tied behind their backs!