DeKalb ought to ensure its accreditation response is done in full public view
UPDATE at 5 p.m.: I received a call from a concerned DeKalb parent saying that the AJC misrepresented what actually was decided at last night’s meeting about how the district should respond to a warning letter from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
So, I checked with the news reporter who covered the meeting and he told me that the entire board will not meet on this issue. Instead, a team is being formed.
AJC reporter Ty Tagami said: “The process is this: a team comprising the board chair, vice chair, Atkinson, senior staffers and at least one community representative will draft a response. They’ll run that draft by the board members, but not in a public meeting. Then, they’ll send it to SACS. None of that will happen in public.”
Members of the DeKalb school board often portray themselves as populists, but ducking behind closed doors to discuss the system’s accreditation is not the way to promote community trust.
Given the deepening level of public distrust, school chief Cheryl Atkinson and the board should never waffle on transparency and open government. I would opt for opening the “process,” no matter how it is done, to the public.
I talked today to Dr. Atkinson and believe that she wants transparency and better communications. So, look for updates on this matter.
The DeKalb County school board approved a closed-door process Wednesday for responding to allegations of mismanagement.
The public will not get to see discussions about a letter last week from accrediting agency AdvancEd that accused members of the school board of overstepping their authority in some areas, such as hiring, while failing to exercise oversight over finances and other key responsibilities.
“The goal is to be as open and transparent as possible,” school board Chairman Eugene Walker said before leading the vote for a process that leaves the public outside the door.
Parent Michelle Penkava sat dumbfounded in the audience. “They just held a public meeting to say this is not going to be a public process,” she said.
Board members said they were merely acting out of respect for AdvancEd and its subsidiary, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. “I don’t think SACS wants this in the newspaper before it goes to SACS,” board member Paul Womack said.
But Mark Elgart, president and chief executive officer of AdvancEd, said in a telephone interview after the hastily called DeKalb meeting that “no such courtesy is necessary or required.” He said the process for responding was up to DeKalb.
System spokesman Jeff Dickerson defended the process, which was recommended by Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson. He said the school system effectively opened the process by holding Wednesday’s meeting in public. The board could have met in a private executive session or merely passed around drafts of their response among themselves, he said.
Georgia law allows few exceptions to the state Open Meetings Act. Officials can meet in executive session to discuss legal matters, land acquisitions and personnel matters. It’s unclear whether a letter containing allegations about mismanagement would fit any of those exclusions.
Parent Molly Bardsley said she was “frankly a little surprised that this is all going to go on behind closed doors, because part of the problem SACS is addressing is what goes on behind closed doors.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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198 comments Add your comment
Solutions
September 6th, 2012
10:51 am
When you elect your leaders based on race and not ability, this is what you get, corruption behind closed doors, imho. BeverlytheFruad got away with her crimes behind closed doors, we still do not know what she told her cronies behind the public’s back. The DeKalb board looks on school property taxes and bond issues as money on the table for the taking, and that is what they have been doing, imho. Where is the FBI, is it not their job to investigate government corruptions? Oh, the White House has told them to stand down, imho, to protect the guilty.
claytondawg
September 6th, 2012
10:54 am
While it’s nice to hear this kind of news from another system, I do get a little agitated with some folks calling this situation “another Clayton County.” Yes, I can certainly see your point. However, part of my issue here is: Why is Dekalb getting so many chances? At Clayton, it was almost a “one and done” kind of deal. I live in Clayton, but I totally support the parents in Dekalb. As someone posted above about dysfunctional school boards, he/she is absolutely correct.in that TEACHERS make the real difference, but the school boards utilize their own agenda and manage to have teachers who move a step forward while the boards move three steps back. Dekalb parents…I love your outrage; keep it up. It’s the only way to make positive changes.
Maude
September 6th, 2012
10:55 am
It would seem that open meeting laws only pertain to some not all. The mess with this and other government offices is that no honest person will run for these jobs!! People are voted for and hired based on their race rather than their qualifications. Also most people really just do not care what is going on with the government and how their tax dollars are spent.
red herring
September 6th, 2012
10:55 am
we have too much administration in our county schools and we all know what idle minds will do. now it comes down to having open meetings and the taxpayers indeed have right and should demand to have access to meetings held by the taxpayers employees, in the buildings, with the utilities, etc. that their taxes pay for. in no way should this be acceptable. County school superintendents and school administrations are vastly overpaid and overstaffed—research old ajc articles for proof of this.
Teacher Reader
September 6th, 2012
10:55 am
I am not sure what can be done to help turn this ship around. Why hasn’t SACS acted sooner? How are they involved in the corruption?
As a tax payer, I don’t care about my home value, as I’m already underwater by 1/3 easily. I care more about getting the children of DeKalb a good education. I want my tax dollars to be spent wisely. I want the corruption to stop.
The Deal
September 6th, 2012
10:55 am
At this point, I don’t care if there is reconsideration and they end up discussing it in the middle of a town square. The fact that Dr. Atkinson requested that it be closed speaks volumes. The fact that the board did not stand up to her and do the right thing speaks volumes.
For you Pollyannas out there, the new board members are not going to change anything. The vote will remain 5-4, so there’s no need in holding out hopes for that. In defending the suggestion to be in closed session, SACS showed that this letter was simply bark and no bite. It’s a political move for show. Everyone knows there’s been enough issues to yank accreditation, and they haven’t.
At this point, there is literally no hope for this school system. As wonderful as the parents, kids, and teachers are, we do not have a strong enough influence to change anything fundamentally. The only thing that will make a difference is a 100% clean start on the board, the superintendent, and her direct reports. There is no agency or person that has the power to do that, so we are stuck. Electing one good board member at a time will accomplish nothing for the kids who are in the system now, and what good people want to be a part of that board anyway? The failure of this administration and school board is going to turn this school system and county into a southern Detroit. Figure out a solution for your kids now because it just isn’t going to get better. It can’t get better because there is no group or person that has the authority make the big changes that we need now.
DeKalb Teacher
September 6th, 2012
11:02 am
Excellent Summary Maureen (@9:16).
Now, how are they breaking that law?
The BOE is moving forward with Committee Meetings and will not have a quorum. Therefore the meetings will not be Executive Meetings and those laws you referred to do not apply.
I think those Committee Meetings should be open to the public. I suggest emailing Dr Atkinson (the Superintendent), Dr Walker (BOE Chair), and Dr Elgart (SACS CEO) and request that these Committee Meetings be open to the public.
Disgusted in Dekalb
September 6th, 2012
11:04 am
DCSS is paying millions to law firms every year. Don’t you think they could have consulted one of these overpaid legal minds before making this hair-brained decision?
bu2
September 6th, 2012
11:05 am
I think it will make a difference having 3 bright, energetic board members who won’t just accept the way things are, instead of just having 1. There have been a lot of 6-3, 7-2, 8-1 votes with noone arguing much.
Solutions
September 6th, 2012
11:06 am
Prior to 1970 or so, Dekalb had the best school system in the State of Georgia, then the thieves were allowed to run the school system into the ground. Slowly the smart teachers were replaced with teachers of the right color, regardless of ability to teach or even understand the subject they were suppose to be teaching. No wonder the people who could afford to move out of Dekalb did, and smart people did not relocate to that county. Now the locust are moving to the perimeter, invading the Gwinette and Cobb school systems, and in 10 years I expect to see a similar decline there as occurred in Dekalb. The migration outward continues.
alm
September 6th, 2012
11:07 am
I lived near Brookhaven and that’s all anyone talked about. I still don’t understand how so many people could get so worked up over 30% of their property taxes and not get worked up when the school system mismanages the other 70%.
I’m thankful I moved.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
11:08 am
Sorry, bu2, I just don’t see that happening. Johnson is a former insider who will go along with Walker and the others. McMahan and Orson…well, we’ll see.
Solutions
September 6th, 2012
11:09 am
I suggest the ajc ask Dr Elgart (SACS CEO) for a copy of the letter sent to the Dekalb School Board.
northern neighbor
September 6th, 2012
11:13 am
There are two solutions to this problem in DeKalb. The first is the best and most American solution. The second is desperation. Maybe these are desperate times. Fortunately they are not desperate in my county.
1. Elect new school board members. When was the last time any of you who are complaining presented yourself as a candidate for school board? When was the last time you recommended and urged a qualified friend to run for school board? When was the last time you campaigned for a qualified candidate for school board?
2. Pass the Charter School School amendment and try to start your own school. Just remember if you do this, your local school board still has the power to levy property taxes and your state tax dollars will still go to the local school system.
LOGIC
September 6th, 2012
11:13 am
I share the disgust with every parent and taxpayer, but we need to ensure that we are keeping the absolute need to of good public education at the forefront of any actions or steps we support. An illiterate society is a breeding ground implosion and we as a country get closer by the day.
We need to go after DCSD and hold them accountable and not punish the children. This is no longer about property values, but daily existence in society and without viable schools, we may not be able to recover. No one has mentioned Ellis and his absence. Where is he? These are our DeKalb tax dollars and DCSD takes 70%+ of our tax money.
THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION. We are hamstrung by the fact that none of the review/accreditation agencies did what they were supposed to do and we are paying more taxes.
Which law firm will represent the taxpayer here against Ellis, the Board, the Super, SACS, the Governor, Barge and everyone else who kept saying everything was ok??? Who can get a petition going???
Disgusted in Dekalb
September 6th, 2012
11:15 am
The dekalbschoolwatch site has a link that allows you to download the SACS letter.
RCB
September 6th, 2012
11:19 am
My husband lost his job 3 weeks ago, but I’m beginning to see the silver lining. We now may be able to move from Dekalb. We don’t even want to focus his search on the Atlanta area. Fulton, Dekalb and Clayton will not improve in my lifetime. It took 4 decades to run Dekalb into the ground and I think it will be longer to “fix” it–if ever. What has happened to Atlanta?????
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
11:25 am
Link to the letter from SACS to DCSD:
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/waga/documents/DeKalbSchoolsLetter.pdf
Admin1
September 6th, 2012
11:31 am
The new cities in Dekalb should form a separate school board. The remaining members of Dekalb including my family should vote for new members of the Dekalb school board. This will allow parents of Dekalb county students to repair a damaged school system.
StaD1
September 6th, 2012
11:44 am
Hiding waste, fraud and mismanagement with secret meetings—-classic for the ATL! It never changes in this city.
Roach
September 6th, 2012
11:46 am
@DeKalb Teacher–
I wasn’t at the meeting. The article says that the school board “approved a process.” That sounds like they took a vote. Do you really think that someone sprung this idea on the board at this meeting, with no preliminary discussion? Did any of the members seem surprised by the suggestion? Springing this as a surprise would have been risky. I’d bet most anything that this issue was discussed privately, with assurances given that board members would play along. THAT prior, hidden discussion of a board vote was a violation of open meetings rules.
Pride and Joy
September 6th, 2012
11:46 am
Let’s get right to the heart of the problem.
The real issue is race.
Black voters will vote for black candidates regardless of whether those candidates are honest or not. Look at Clayton County. The elected an official who was under indictment because he was black.
Because whites are a minitory in number in Clayton County, in APS and in Dekalb, black candidates on school boards will always outnumber whites on the school board and waste, fraud and abuse continues.
Also, the issue is that many black voters recognize that white tax payers pay for the schools so if money is stolen, it is “white” money and it is OK.
This is why so many parents want charter schools. Good black parents know the schools are lackluster to horrible and they want their kids out of that environment and so do white parents.
Not all black voters are racist but enough of them are to completely ignore integrity and instead vote for the darker candidates.
That’s why I got my kids out of this mess but I still have to extract myself and my money out of it. I own residential property in APS and Dekalb. My property taxes go to APS and Dekalb and my children get zero benefits from that money. On top of my property taxes, I have to pay private school tuition and it’s financially killing me.
I need honesty in my government and there is no way I can vote in an honest school board. Racisim is alive and well in Dekalb and APS and it’s destroying our societys’ education systems.
Happy St. Pat's!
September 6th, 2012
11:51 am
Look at property values in Decatur (excellent, independent school system) vs. DeKalb County–that’s all the evidence you need.
concernedmom30329
September 6th, 2012
11:59 am
BU2,
I love your optimism, but it is misplaced. The DeKalb School Board, with the exception of Sara Copelin-Woods is full of members who have served less than 8 years, many having served only 6 or less. The reality is that every two years at least one or two board members is newly elected and yet nothing much changes.
There have been lots of good well intentioned people elected to the DeKalb School Board for the last 20 years, but nothing much changes. It isn’t as easy as you think.
The new board members may be as you described (I doubt it since I know 2 of the three) but in the end, the need to protect what they perceive is important will most likely drive their decision making. I hope i am wrong, but years of back room deals that benefit little fiefdoms while the rest of the system suffers, makes me believe I am right.
Ernest
September 6th, 2012
12:03 pm
I have to agree with DeKalb Teacher. I don’t think anyone can point to a law that has been broken yet however the intent to possibly do so with respect to how they respond to allegations of mismanagement. As I stated earlier, hopefully they will reconsider making the SACS response public once it is finalized, whether SACS sees it first or not.
Roach said,
“I’d bet most anything that this issue was discussed privately, with assurances given that board members would play along. THAT prior, hidden discussion of a board vote was a violation of open meetings rules.”
My understanding is that ALL elected officials discuss things privately with one another. As long as these discussions did not occur with at least 5 Board member present (a majority), they can legally do this. I understand this is how some get around the Open Meetings Act by having small group meetings with a few members at a time.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
12:04 pm
Does anyone know of a reason why the letter is addressed to Dr. Atkinson when it deals with Board of Education “issues”?
Fred in DeKalb
September 6th, 2012
12:14 pm
Solutions has a point! If the lawbreakers running DeKalb prior to 1970 abided by the 1954 Supreme Court decision declaring state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional, a lot of this could have been prevented. There could have been a peaceful integration of the school system however the pendulum swung just as far in correcting this mistake as it was in creating the problem in the first place. I wonder how things would have turned out if there was not such defiance by the community to allow integration to happen
There is enough blame to go around.
Fred in DeKalb
September 6th, 2012
12:20 pm
Look like Pride and Joy dusted off their hood today based on their comments. Beliefs like yours is what perpetuates the stereotypes of the South. For the record, I don’t believe all whites are like those shown in Deliverance or their children are like Honey Boo Boo. There is good and bad with all people.
There is enough blame to go around
Pluto
September 6th, 2012
12:35 pm
My family and I left Dekalb seven years ago because the writing was on the walls then. Granted no public school system is ideal but Dekalb has been so corrupt for so long that’s the only way they know how to operate and then they give you the ,”we only do it for the children” crap. Good luck Dekalb.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
12:46 pm
Dr. Atkinson have a plan with which she plans to address this letter? The letter itself offers no specific details of the complaints that SACS has received, so I’m a little concerned as to how this will be addressed by the BOE, other than “what us, we haven’t done anything wrong”.
The Deal
September 6th, 2012
1:01 pm
I agree, DM. The letter isn’t specific enough to craft a response to. Gene Walker will say, “Nuh uh. Prove it.” and that will be the end of it.
Again, the only way DeKalb Schools have a chance at this point is with a major housecleaning. I would wipe the entire board (I know we would lose Nancy, but she’s always getting outvoted anyway) and the entire central office (non-schoolhouse, non student contact). Obviously there is no governing body with the authority to do this, so DeKalb will continue to trudge along in decline until everyone who can bails on it.
The only thing propping our schools up at this point are the parents and good teachers. The BOE and administration think things are rosier than they are because we have parents shelling out more money to pay foundations that pay extra staff, we have PTAs raising money for copy paper and cleaning supplies, and we have parent volunteers filling in remaining gaps with time and money. I have personally shelled out around $300 so far this year in various fees, donations, and requests for items the school typically provided when I was in school.
If there were a clear path out of this mess, DeKalb parents would have risen up and demanded it. The problem is that there is not a clear path. We are so mired in problems across the board that we don’t know where to begin, and there is no higher authority to provide any help. There is also no bomb about to go off that is pressuring anyone to do anything. They figure we’ve survived through racketeering, cheating, lying, politics, scandals, steep student achievement decline. If those didn’t ignite the bomb, what will?
skipper
September 6th, 2012
1:01 pm
As I have said previously, the right to vote does not mean the intelligence to do so. I also said come back and look at this system in a few years. It is now, has been, and will be a cluster….period. Cuss me, etc., but look back in a few.
Ernest
September 6th, 2012
1:26 pm
Dunwoody Mom, I think Dr. Atkinson is in an awkward position. She is being asked for provide a response about allegations made against the people she reports to. She has been here for almost one year yet she is being asked about some things that occurred before she got here (financial expenses over time). How does she respond to the allegation that Board members ‘repeatedly and knowingly’ violate Board policy, especially if she believes this to be true?
Will there be an honest reply to the allegations if it must be reviewed by the Board before SACS gets this? I think she is caught between a rock and a hard place.
Roach
September 6th, 2012
1:27 pm
“Discuss things,” yes, just like a board member might discuss an issue with a parent met by chance in a supermarket. But commit a vote, that’s another matter. Just how hypothetical do you think those undisclosed discussions were?
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
1:32 pm
Ernest, I don’t disagree that Dr. Atkinson is in a tough spot here having to answer for actions of the BOE and previous administrations. However, this process, whatever it may be, needs to be very open and transparent to the public. Trying to do this “behind closed doors” is not favorable to Dr. Atkinson. I also am of the continued opinion that this was nothing more than a PR ploy by SACS to take some heat off of themselves. Parents and other stakeholders have been writing to them for years for some type of action and we’ve been met with nothing by a hand-slap to the BOE. I’m not optimistic than anything helpful to the students of DCSD will come out of this.
Parent and Employee of Dekalb
September 6th, 2012
1:43 pm
What did we expect when a Super from a failing system is allowed to influence one in trouble?? How could Dekalb County hire her with her track record?. Someone should pull her files from her last school System..???
Ernest
September 6th, 2012
1:51 pm
Dunwoody Mom, I believe her response, especially if it is truthful, will compromise her relationship with the Board, her bosses. I believe that some of our current and former Board members got too involved in the day to day operations of the school system. I also believe that the Board did not ask the right questions regarding legal fee and utilities (aside from Nancy), especially if these areas were exceeding what was budgeted for a 5 year period. How does one honestly respond to allegation like this while being transparent?
Using a college football analogy, I think the NCAA regrets giving the ‘Death Penalty’ to SMU back in the 80’s thus did not give this to Penn State. The collateral damage to innocent people was more far reaching than they expected. I see the same thing with SACS. The collateral damage caused to Clayton County was probably more than what SACS expected and I believe they want to find other options for not pulling DeKalb’s accreditation. Why should students, especially graduating seniors, be harmed because our collective Board members have challenges in meeting the standards for accreditation? I think we are in a tough position.
Pluto
September 6th, 2012
1:52 pm
I don’t really see this thing as a racial issue, hell history is replete with white, black, asian or whatever corrupt individuals delighting in screwing over someone. This time it’s gotten serious in Dekalb. It would have been sweet justice if the black politicians replacing the good old boys had been able to rise above the obvious temptations faced by public servants but they seem to be just as vulnerable as the rest. Maybe it’s time to become much more discerning of those who would steward public monies and hold them accountable. Our democracy/republic is not a passive endeavor.
gsmith
September 6th, 2012
1:53 pm
i have full faith in the board…. they are all very honest people and as sharp as they come…. you are in good hands dekalb… dekalb county schools are the envy of all other school systems in the state..
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
1:56 pm
I certainly don’t want to see DCSD lose its accreditation – as you say, that will affect the students, not the BOE. It’s just so frustrating as there seems to be nothing anyone can do about the crisis facing this school district. The GABOE says they are “monitoring” the situation, but have no plans to do anything. The Governor can’t do anything unless the system is put on probation. I guess I, like many parents, am just looking to someone, anyone to help out here.
Ernest
September 6th, 2012
1:58 pm
Roach, we hear about it all the time, elected officials lobbying other elected officials before a big vote. Isn’t that how we got the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ several years ago, the Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was provided funds for the Gravina Island Bridge in exchange for his vote on transportation legislation? This is an extreme example but you get my point. There is a lot of ‘horse trading’ that goes on behind the scenes to get favorable public Yes votes. I’m not saying it is right but acknowledging that it happens.
Did our Board members discuss this prior to their vote? I don’t know but it is reasonable to ask.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
September 6th, 2012
2:09 pm
The Educrats’ Mantra: “What The People don’t know can’t hurt us.”
Baby
September 6th, 2012
2:53 pm
Maureen- As you know, occasionally media outlets will file requests in court to make records/meetings public. Do you know if the AJC has discussed any such action, after you filed this piece this morning? It would be a tremendous service to the community.
Chris
September 6th, 2012
2:54 pm
Looks like Dekalb County in big trouble if they don’t get it together. And people talk about Clayton County lol. Clayton County school system looks ten times better than Dekalb.
bilbo799
September 6th, 2012
2:55 pm
Who is it that keeps on electing these folks? Oh yeah. . .
Pride and Joy
September 6th, 2012
3:27 pm
Hey, Fred in Dekalb. Racism goes both ways. If you want to deny that black voters can be racist against white voters, you’re living a lie.
Pardon My Blog
September 6th, 2012
3:45 pm
Unfortunately, we have a large faction that will vote who the “preacher man” tells them to vote for and that goes for the County, State and National elections as well. It does not mean we get honest and well qualified individuals. Then they fill their administration and create jobs for the friends and family as dictated by said “preacher man”. A prime example is Lewis, just take an indepth look at the individuals he hired over better qualified candidates. He filled the central office with individuals like Fred in DeKalb who are now scrambling to try to justify their jobs.
As I said before, it is time for the foolishness to end and the State to step in. Start the investigations into the hiring practices, misuse of funds, and the nepotism that exists. A long look at certain “relationships” between the system and certain entities might be very revealing.
This has been going on for too long and there have been a lot of good administrators and teachers that were either forced out or have left the system because there are a lot of people (white and black) who refuse to look past the color of the person’s skin to see the good that they are doing.
The Deal
September 6th, 2012
3:50 pm
Does anyone have any credible account of a student in Clayton County being harmed by the pull of their accreditation for that time period? Anecdotal accounts that I read online had a lot of worry followed by nothing actually happening. I seem to recall stories of UGA and Duke accepting students.
I think DeKalb losing its accreditation is the only slim hope we have. This group is not going to fix itself.
Starik
September 6th, 2012
3:59 pm
Googling “Metro Atlanta School Rankings” provides a wealth of information, much more than the AJC rankings provide. The situation is dire. There are some truly excellent public schools in Metro Atlanta, but you’ll be surprised what and where they are.
Good parents send their kids to schools which will prepare them for a respectable college. The problem is class, not race.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
4:01 pm
The Deal, one of my co-workers niece was a student at a Clayton County HS and was accepted to Duke, so I don’t think the lack of accreditation by SACS really hurt in the long-run for her, but not sure if if affected any other students.