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
Starik
September 6th, 2012
4:17 pm
Here’s the link: http://www.ostenson.com/SchoolInfo.html
It has very complete information, but doesn’t provide the most important. Ask you kid these questions: “When kids fall asleep in class, does the teacher wake them up? For high schoolers, “How many Disney or cartoon movies have you watched in class so far?” When the teacher writes a comment on your work, is his/her spelling and grammar correct? When kids leave school during the school day, does anybody care?
Dekalbite@Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
4:39 pm
I thought the issue was that students was the Hope scholarship:
http://atlanta.about.com/od/governmenteducation/a/atlanta-school-accreditation.htm
“College Acceptance
Traditionally, colleges require applicants to graduate from an accredited institution. Some out-of-state universities may not accept a non-accredited diploma, while others will require additional documentation or testing for acceptance.
HOPE scholarship
Students who graduate from a non-accredited high school have an extra requirement to qualify for the HOPE scholarship: they must score in the 85% or above on the SAT or ACT in addition to earning a 3.0 GPA.
Federal and Private Funding
Federal education dollars go to accredited school systems. Private philanthropic groups have said that the troubled school districts’ funding could be pulled, stripping the districts of millions of dollars.”
I think private schools like Duke could wave that requirement, but the Hope scholarship is tied into accreditation.
bu2
September 6th, 2012
5:15 pm
Tried the link. Yeah! Dekalb has 4 of the bottom 5 HS and 11 of the bottom 25. Atlanta contributes 7, although 4 of those are specialty schools (perhaps they’re all part of Carver). Fulton contributes 4 and Clayton 3.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
5:40 pm
Maureen, thanks for the update. So, Dr. Atkinson still intends for this to be a “secret” process. Not acceptable AT ALL.
Lynn
September 6th, 2012
5:52 pm
The state waived the accreditation requirements for Clayton students for HOPE.
Keep in mind that DeKalb could be placed on probation and still keep accreditation but that would allow for state intervention.
DSW2
September 6th, 2012
6:12 pm
Dangerous as it is for us to post here, we’d like to go on record as agreeing with Ernest. The letter from SACS was written to Dr. Atkinson. She alone is charged with responding to it. Now, think about that. What if the President of Coke was asked by the SEC to reply to them regarding the behavior of the Board of Coke?? This is bizarre. We don’t see a way for her to deal with this gracefully. In fact, we don’t think she was required to call a meeting at all regarding this letter. However, she did, possibly in order to proceed very carefully with the board’s blessing as she tries to respond to charges of their bad behavior and decisions. Which leads us to this question: Why is SACS doing this? Who encouraged them to place Atkinson in this position? Why now? After all, the complaints from citizens referenced in the letter came to Elgart at SACS going back several years. Yet no action was taken to ever put Ramona Tyson in this position. What’s up now? Think about it. Things are never as they appear in this drama. This SACS letter is bizarre. It’s vague yet broad in its wording and offers no specifics as to what kind of response is expected. On the charges that the board ‘interferes’ in the day-to-day operations, what is Dr. Atkinson to say? How about the charge that they have failed to be good stewards of the school system’s financial resources for the past five years? How about the charge that they have continually adopted budgets that fall short of actual expenses? (You may note here that she already fired CFO Marcus Turk and head of HR Jamey Wilson.) What is SACS true motivation here? Time will tell, of that we are certain. For now, we may all want to lower the temperature of our torches.
Anyone taking bets...
September 6th, 2012
7:33 pm
…that her “two senior staffers” will be March and Brantley? Since she’s closing ranks and keeping this from the public, why not get her co-conspirators at the table? They’ve been helping her spin things and manufacture information for months now and must be getting pretty good at it, since she still has a job.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
8:19 pm
@DSW2,For now, we may all want to lower the temperature of our torches.
Why? If Dr. Atkinson is really being put in a bind by SACS, as you seem to feel, then she should be willing to put everything out in the open rather than keeping everything “secret”. Responding to SACS via Executive Session only makes it appear as if all parties have something to hide and belies the “open and transparent” school district we were all promised.
LOGIC
September 6th, 2012
8:26 pm
Agree with Dunwoody Mom – enough is enough. Now is the best time to strike and show how ALL parties are culpable in the erosion of our school system. Elgart was classic on the news. These parent complaints, the long school year, and budgeting…really? I did not know that SACS was just a call center to field complaints but a legitimate accreditation agency.
To salvage the gems in DCSD, decisive action needs to be taken and not by the idiots currently sitting at the helm. I hope that the reporters really sink their teeth into this story because I am thinking that we have a Constitutional case.
And, kudos to Ty for sticking to his story. The BOE and Super are trying to keep things under wraps and were just plain foolish yesterday. They are the taxpayers’ employees and need to be accountable to us.
The Deal
September 6th, 2012
8:36 pm
I have zero pity for Dr. Atkinson on the awkwardness of this situation. If she had stuck to her initial promises as superintendent, we would be in a much different situation right now. I see her incompetency as ranking right up there with the board’s. At least the board has a few bright lights; Dr. Atkinson’s cabinet is full of more friends and family from Charlotte. I haven’t see our board turn down or disapprove a good idea from her. If she could put something substantive and useful out there for them to work with, it might work out better for her. Instead, she asks them to approve firing 350 teachers because her new CFO doesn’t know how to create a budget or understand that the tax digest is in a free fall. She has had a full year, has earned plenty of money, and has plenty of information at hand. 10 months ago, we would have let her do anything she wanted, but, in those 10 months, she has squandered all of that good will by not sticking to her words and promises.
DSW2
September 6th, 2012
9:01 pm
It’s not Executive Session. It’s a committee or a panel of sorts. It’s a group of people who will work together to formulate a response. Hopefully, one of those will be the new CFO, since so many of the issues have to do with money. Hopefully, the panel will release the response to the public at the same time as submitting it to SACS. You all don’t really want to watch the entire board debate a response to this letter do you? Oh my. That would be entertaining, but futile. There are board members who probably can’t understand what is written in that letter. Actually, neither can we when it comes down to it. And further, we have to wonder why a meeting was called at all. Did the board need to vote on receiving the letter? That seems strange. It all seems strange. We are left wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.
LOGIC
September 6th, 2012
9:07 pm
@Deal – spot on. Atkinson has made over $220K+ not to mention the expense account – we should have seen more by now. Instead, we have had a calendar debacle, a band debacle, a budget debacle and “friends and family” imported from other states. We still can’t overlook that Tyson is drawing this nice, fat paycheck through the end of October I believe. Why did it take Atkinson to fire Turk? Wasn’t Tyson supposed to do all the heavy lifting? Why hasn’t SACS asked this Board why we are paying two people Superintendent salaries??? How many teachers’ jobs could we save if we looked at those comp packages.
This is all the stuff that is evident to the public eye and it is unbelievably wrong. I can only imagine what we don’t know about.
The only way to divert the people’s attention is to put CLew and Pope on trial immediately. Maybe Walker and James can strike another deal to divert attention from DCSD and put it somewhere. Isn’t that how DCSD got out of a special investigation after the first grand jury recommended it?
DIrty, dirty, dirty all the way around. Sad that our children’s education dollars and system are in the hands of these people.
LOGIC
September 6th, 2012
9:13 pm
@DSW2 – we are talking about our taxpayer dollars and our children’s education. The public has a right to know. So, the question would be – why wouldn’t DSW2 not want the transparency? The budget is posted and all the previous budgets are available. What I believe has alluded us is the famous audit from a few years ago. The allegations regarding elected officials needs to be known because they are paid by taxpayer dollars.
I personally think seeing the BOE respond is to the school system’s benefit. If we ever had any question that this is a group of unfit individuals, a public meeting showing them trying to form intelligent sentences could motivate the State to unseat them all.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
9:18 pm
I would like to know why Jeff Dickerson thinks it is not appropriate to discuss board behavior in a public forum? Really, Jeff? The board’s “mis-behavior” is on public display at every BOE meeting.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
9:21 pm
Eglart added, “It’s their choice but they are a public school system. They have an obligation to the community and I think one of the areas of our concern in governing effectively are you being honest and open with your community?”
http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/255533/3/Dekalbs-effort-at-transparency-raises-questions-about-secrecy
DSW2
September 6th, 2012
9:45 pm
FWIW, this has been a long road with SACS and DCSS. To date, SACS has only written warning letters and asked for ‘reports’ on ‘progress’. It’s been a several-years long drama that seems to be at a stalemate. We really see this letter as nothing more than a SACS CYA move. It seems they are very concerned about our finances, as they should be. But both Tyson and Atkinson should have proposed much more serious cuts to expensive programs, transportation and central office and other jobs outside the schoolhouse. And the board should have at least approved the cuts that were presented. The board continues to spend untold millions on programs, attorneys, security, buildings, transportation and other non-essentials that we simply can’t afford. No one seems able to adhere to budgets that are set, and the budgets that are set are unrealistic. We are broke, but no one wants to give up their little dish of ice cream.
This is an old story with a lot of history. All we’re saying is don’t get distracted by the minutia in front of you – pay attention to the big picture. We still need to make deep, serious cuts but many on our board will not let go of friends and family jobs or expensive specialty programs their constituents treasure. But the gravy train has left the station and we are standing on the platform with empty pockets.
bootney farnsworth
September 6th, 2012
9:46 pm
as much as it deeply pains me to sorta agree with P&J, in this instance she’s correct. race plays a major role in the dysfunction called DeKalb county government/education. remember this is the same population who put Cynthia McKinney and Hank Johnson into congress.
for those of you old enough to remember, a common sight in the Maynard Terrace/I-20 area were signs exhorting people to vote the Black Slate. and Morris Finley.
there is a significant portion of the electorate who vote race over position. some do it to retain control, some do it for pride, some for ignorance, and some for the perks. but it does occur.
and until all citizens of DeKalb vote issue over pigment ….they’re screwed.
which answers the other, bigger question: can DeKalb be saved?
not without a takeover, no.
bootney farnsworth
September 6th, 2012
9:53 pm
what SACS is up to here:
1-wanting all this to go away. the less done in public, the better
2-wanting to save everyone’s face. if these discussions are public, nobody can hide.
3-wanting to keep the boat still. if they ring up DeKalb, they gotta explain themselves
4-no stirring the pot. if they ring up DeKalb, at some point the sitting members will be on the receiving end of this process. and hell has no fury like a admin wonk scorned.
5-delay til it goes away.
6-no double dipping. SACS has already reluctantly rung up GPC for many of the same issues. they have no desire to do this dance again in the same neighborhood.
SACS will do everything in its power to avoid this mess.
bootney farnsworth
September 6th, 2012
9:55 pm
do not confuse SACS with an actual regulating body. SACS does not exist to bring order and standards to southern education. it exists to keep itself in business.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
9:55 pm
@DSW…who is this “we” you keep referring to? Your last post seems to be quite condescending.
bootney farnsworth
September 6th, 2012
9:58 pm
please pay attention here:
both DCSS and SACS have had every opportunity to be transparent and open.
bot have worked hard to avoid doing so.
Deal should grow the manhood to take control over the system until DeKalb gets themselves in order
Mandella1099
September 6th, 2012
10:23 pm
Spot on Dunwoody Mom! DSW2 thinks they are the voice for everyone, hence the use of “we”
Dekalbite
September 6th, 2012
10:26 pm
Since the DSW2 blog is run by a number of DeKalb citizens, it is entirely appropriate to use the pronoun “we”. You don’t use the pronoun I when referring to more than one person.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
10:31 pm
So, the person who posted under DSW2 speaks for all of the people who run that blog now? Scary…..
DSW2
September 6th, 2012
10:35 pm
Despite all of the smoke and mirrors ‘budget cuts’ and posturing during those heated board meetings, the end result is summed up on the DCSS website:
“The total budget for the General Operations of the District for FY2012 is $774.60 million. It represents a decrease of 0.01% over the current FY2011 budget for General Operations.”
Did you catch that? ALL THAT DISCUSSION back in May, 2011 resulted in a net of 0.01% worth of cuts for FY 2012!! IF you watched all the drama, you may have thought that deep cuts were made. IF you listened to the agony of the RIFd employees at the schoolhouses, you would think that deep cuts had been made. But the net result says virtually NO cuts were made! What is going on? The same thing will be true for the recent painful rounds of ‘cuts’ and the upcoming FY 2013 budget for sure. Add to that – we now have several thousand fewer students!! Yet the expenditures seem to remain steady. Was this reduction of students accounted for in the budget projections?
Did you all know that we ended FY 2009 with a deficit in reserves and no one from the state or CFO/super informed the board? Do you know that no SPLOST audit was performed under Tyson’s leadership, even though it’s required by law? Do you know that millions are wasted on duplicate lawyers performing duplicate tasks because our board insists on hiring the Alexander firm as well as Sutherland? Do you know that we have some schools spending $6,000 per student and others spending $14,000 and up? Do you know that our transportation and security costs are breaking us as well as the legal fees? Do you know that the budget numbers are blatantly incorrect in several areas like utilities and charter school contributions year after year in order to appear to have a balanced budget? Do you know that although deep cuts were supposedly made by the board year after year, very few actual cuts were realized when end of year actual budgets were calculated?
They want you to watch a circus [in this instance, that would be them pointlessly arguing about how to respond to SACS] while they continue to spend as they please willy-nilly behind the scenes. It’s the age old shell game. Watching them argue over a response to this letter, while riveting, would result in an incomprehensible reply and would simply distract attention from the big issue that needs the real attention – that we to spend money that we simply do not have. That scenario makes a mockery of transparency.
Dunwoody Mom
September 6th, 2012
10:40 pm
Demanding an open and transparent response to SACS is “watching a circus”? Demanding and open and transparent school district is making a “mockery” of transparency? Please just stop with the condescending crap you are spewing.
DSW2
September 6th, 2012
10:45 pm
ps. Dunwoody Mom, “We’ve” determined that you are never going to listen to anything said by us on the DSW blog. But, for that matter, the ‘we’ does refer to the fact that the DSW blog now has several moderators. And we agree on the points outlined here. [Certainly many of our contributors disagree though.] “We” are only trying to get everyone to peel their eyes away from this train wreck and focus on the bigger picture. To that end, it could be a very good idea for citizens to write their own ideas to Atkinson and the board as to how we would like to see them respond to SACS. Send in your opinions. Send them to Elgart too. Do what you can to stay a part of the process. Better yet – find some decent people in each district to run for a school board seat!
As we first said, it was dangerous for us to post here, as we are well aware of the disdain bloggers here have for us and our opinions. Oh well.
Mandella1099
September 6th, 2012
11:04 pm
“We’ve” determined that you are never going to listen to anything said by us on the DSW blog…”
HA! What a bunch of hypocrites – since “multiple moderators” seems to be the response from DSW2. I dare anyone to try and get a negative work about Nancy Jester on DSW2 (talk about a “friends and family” institution….).
Mandella1099
September 6th, 2012
11:05 pm
negative “word”
Jo
September 6th, 2012
11:15 pm
@Mandella1099
What negative “work” (or did you mean “word”) do you want to say about Nancy Jester? She seems to be the only person on the board who is asking intelligent questions and who understands that DCSS is NOT a jobs program for adults but a means for educating DeKalb’s children.
Recently Nancy outlined her position on the charter schools issue that will come up for a vote in November. Although I agree with her thoughts, others did not and they certainly had their say on DSW2.
bu2
September 6th, 2012
11:36 pm
@Mandella1099
Yes. My moderately negative comment about Saint Nancy got deleted.
I simply pointed out how she didn’t grasp the negative comments from the legislature about the board not meeting on redistricting (she thought it was fine that 3 of them presented a plan and several of the others presented a different plan with neither done with public meetings and both very strongly gerrymandered to the writers benefit), as well as not grasping why a state school board group would support non-partisan elections for school boards. Not understanding the desire for public meetings. Not grasping that differing opinions doesn’t mean the other side is evil with ulterior motives. I’m beginning to think “We” includes Saint Nancy. “We” certainly shares the hypersensitivity about criticism and lacks interest in public meetings about SACS and thought it was fine Nancy & friends did their own private redistricting map.
bu2
September 6th, 2012
11:46 pm
I’ve never seen anyone who did so little especially controversial get such a negative reaction as Nancy Jester. I’m glad she’s on the board, but I suspect she would be a cancer on a healthy school board as she doesn’t seem to play well with others. Unfortunately, I don’t see it being healthy for a long, long time. I’m hoping Orson and McMahan can play well with others and influence people while sharing Nancy’s unwillingness to accept the status quo. 11 of the bottom 25 high schools in the area is simply not acceptable. That’s a clear sign that things aren’t working.
DSW2
September 6th, 2012
11:51 pm
Well, you are simply out of line bu2. FWIW, school board elections ARE non-partisan, so your point makes no sense. And FWIW, many comments end up in with literally hundreds of spam comments in the Wordpress filter. And as far as the maps go, it was Paul Womack’s map that won support in the legislature. So, obviously there were many different people working on many different maps. We tried to publish them as we discovered them, but we don’t have a paid staff. “We” are not as evil as you would have folks believe. And no, Nancy does not have time to spend blogging on DSW. But she does have a sort of blog of her own, you can ask her questions on it. She is the only school board member with that level of communication. We do get info from her newsletters that a citizen just would otherwise never know. She tries. Therefore, maybe she is as you say, a saint!
At any rate, carry on criticizing us.
concernedmom30329
September 7th, 2012
5:29 am
Bu2, The only way Orson can contribute positively if he is able to pack his overarching concerns for Fernbank at the door. I am concerned that he won’t be able too.
The way this board has operated for decades is on back room deals. Will Orson and McMahon be strong enough to forgo what their constituents want to do what is best for the system as a whole? The first big test of this might be, for example, another round of school closings. Certainly the budget will an example of this.
For those of you who live in the Druid Hills area, any chance you would consider filling papers for a recall of Gene Walker? It isn’t easy but the rewards would be large because his behavior and attitudes on the board are among the most damaging. As Chair, he is a terrible problem.
Pardon My Blog
September 7th, 2012
6:08 am
@concerned – Perhaps a petition to remove Walker and others who were not up for reelection so we can start with newer leadership and perhaps a Board that will actually have the skill set to get the job done!
Dunwoody Mom
September 7th, 2012
8:03 am
@DSW2, your obsession with all things Nancy Jester is bordering on creepy. I have to wonder if your sudden support of a closed process to the SACS report and your not-so-subtle insinuation that SACS is “out to get” Dr. Atkinson is to assure that any discussion of possible SACS issues with Mrs. Jester are not discussed in public view. Your words are hypocritical as in the past you have made many vile and vicious comments about current and past board members, but let anyone question or disagree with Mrs. Jester and you are on them quickly and with vengeance.
Has Mrs. Jester asked you or your blog to be her voice and support? I doubt it. If her actions are somehow viewed as interference by SACS, then she is more than capable of providing a succinct and compelling explanation of her actions. Most of us would agree that Mrs. Jester has only the best intentions and her goal is a quality education for all children in a fiscally sound school district.
Let Mrs. Jester be her own voice. You do not need to be and your insistence on being her voice reflects on Mrs. Jester, and it is not a good reflection.
DSW2
September 7th, 2012
8:28 am
Fine with me Dunwoody Mom. I guess DSW has been ‘told’ here at the AJC Get Schooled blog. You have successfully driven us away. Congratulations! But I will personally tell you true – this letter writing thing makes no sense. It just floors me personally that there is so much outcry over not being able to ‘watch’ the board somehow ‘hash’ out a response letter to SACS (as if that were possible in one meeting) when there are enormous issues – mostly budgetary and staffing that need serious attention immediately. What exactly is it that you expect a letter to or from SACS to accomplish? This is only one in a series of those ‘letters’ – they are just CYA drama. One more thing though – we see nowhere where we have ‘insisted’ on being the ‘voice of Nancy Jester’, but with the way you people beat up on the only halfway decent board member we have, it’s no wonder that very few people care to run for school board anymore.
Hasta lavista. We won’t be returning to these blogs. All the best to all of you.
LOGIC
September 7th, 2012
9:08 am
Let us not forget the budget meeting in June, which I attended, where Nancy, an actuary I believe, did not ask the tough budget questions and neither did Edler, a CPA. DSW2 makes great points and those are the points that SACS, the State Super and the State Audit Committees need to be reviewing to hold the administration accountable AND make that information public. It is sad that there were line items in the budget that were approved that are so out of line. Last budget I saw had raises for folks making $150K and it was not brought into question. SACS CYA letter is WEAK. The real issues need to be brought to the forefront and by SACS.
Again, where are the checks and balances here? These are taxpayer dollars and an almost $1B school system. Blame needs to be placed with each organization and an intelligent task force needs to intervene to not disrupt our children’s education. Is SACS that organization? Not from watching Elgart on the news, that is for sure. Do we know how much money they are making off DeKalb as a whole?
As far as DSW2 goes – We miss the original and intelligent blog Cere led. The posts and the comments are one-sided and usually late to the game. I was a Jester supporter until she left her home school and from what I have heard caused quite a situation with the leadership there and moved out to Dunwoody. She has disappointed me with her secret map session, her support of McChesney and her inability to work on improving the county as a whole.
If these Board members would look at DeKalb as a whole, we could get schools what they need. Equality and Equity are not the same thing. Some of the best schools have the least spend per student and folks are rigging the system to overpopulate those schools causing a crisis in county. The solution is to get each school to be a good school, get fixed budgets in the schools with principals who run that budget. That means purging Friends and Family and the Office of School Improvement. Implement a law, just like large corporations, forbidding spouses and/or family members to be employed by the same organization.
DCSD need a full purge and now is the time.
Bill & Ed's Excellent Adventure
September 7th, 2012
9:24 am
Quick…someone call Jeff Dickerson. We need to spin this better…how about we release a statement to the effect of “With today’s decision, members of the Board felt it could address concerns outlined by SACS in its letter by working on a response and action plan in smaller teams and then regrouping and announcing these steps publicly.” Yeah, that sounds good.
Meanwhile, DCSS continues down the path to loss of accreditation.
Jo
September 7th, 2012
9:26 am
Dunwoody Mom — YOU are “borderline creepy.”
Bartow County
September 7th, 2012
9:48 am
There are issues in all districts. Some are recognized more than others. It is sad that the focus is no longer on the student achievement but personal gain or agendas. Poor Bartow County has a chairman of the board that was once their Superintendent that was dismissed for misappropriation of funds. (millions). He is also on the board of SACS. (how convenient). He also works for the soil conservation that approves in our new school projects and he was recently released as headmaster of a private school. His brother is under investigation for financial reasons and porn on laptop where he taught in Bartow. We have a director whose wife taught in Bartow and is now a registered sex offender. Board members not working in harmony due to name calling, threatening text, and physical threats. Emails and text confirm. Teachers smoking weed with students. Coaches pattern grooming. And administrators sexual harassing. Letters have gone to SACS but with the local board a part of SACS Bartow will never get the help they need to sanction this out of control board. As one has described… It is one political mess.
Bartow County
September 7th, 2012
9:59 am
One more point to add… This superintendent has been caught lying to press and taxpayers. Ails and video tapes confirm. Open records request have been made in multiple ways including written and in public participation. They have complied. But NO consequence. So why should they? Please send SACS back to Bartow and any other help. 50 letters fro a huge district fro
Dekalb. We had that just for Bartow. They let the superintendent respond with a lie and say ok. We want more.
DunMoody
September 7th, 2012
10:02 am
I believe the discussion has sunk to a playground fight. That’s regrettable because all have had thought-provoking opinions. My two cents: DeKalb County Schools is in freefall, the State of Georgia constitution is a major impediment to remedying the situation with locally governed school systems, and the financial mismanagement is taking Dr. Atkinson’s focus off critical issues including the crippling math curriculum, the canned education programs hogtying teachers’ creativity and initiative, and other student-focused issues. She alone has the power and authority to make these decisions.
Frustrating, isn’t it?
The Deal
September 7th, 2012
12:13 pm
There’s no need to fight over who has done a worse job, the super or the board. They have both (all) failed miserably, miserably, miserably at their jobs. Both entities are to blame.
We are stuck between a rock and a hard place. There is no entity or person who has the authority to hit a Reboot option on this school system, and our only remotely drastic option, losing accreditation, has negative consequences for the group we are all trying to protect, our children. If the problem with DeKalb schools is ever resolved, and I am not sure it ever will be, our next job as citizens is to push our elected officials at all levels to retool the oversight of school systems so that, the next time a school system begins to fail, there is a clear line of authority for resolution and reporting.
In the meantime, try not to be too hard on Dunwoody Mom or DSW2. We are all emotional and combative about this because we have been frustrated for years about the failure of a system that affects our children, their future, the quality of the county in which we have chosen to live, our home values (presumably the largest financial investment any of us will make), and the health of our community. These are fundamental parts of life, and we have two entities, our superintendent and our board of education, with all of those in their control completely failing on the job.
Bill & Ed's Excellent Adventure
September 7th, 2012
12:23 pm
Man, I miss one day of work and the blog turns into Dunwoody Mom vs. Dekalb School Watch. I missed all the fun!
bootney farnsworth
September 7th, 2012
12:23 pm
considering what has gone on, is still going on, and will continue to go on….
that anyone in DeKalb might think its a bad thing to demand SACS and DCSS be totally transparent boggles the mind. while in percentage Dekalb has a multitude of bigger problems, the SACS issue can destroy your education system.
but by all means, lets let them work out a deal in private. CYA, indeed.
bootney farnsworth
September 7th, 2012
12:29 pm
@ logic
I have been preaching to anyone who would listen for some time the vital need for a neutral checks and balances system to curb the excesses on all sides. but its not in anyone in power’s interest, so…
I am investigating the possibility that since the state refuses..repeat REFUSES… to do their jobs in this matter, does this make the unconstitutional rule preventing us from unionizing null and void?
I have never in my life been even remotely interested in being in a union, preferring to handle my own affairs. problem is, that only works with an honest partner. which the state no longer is.
bu2
September 7th, 2012
12:50 pm
@concerned
Walker is an at large representative covering half of the county and Druid Hills is only a tiny part of his district.
We need to make sure the legislature follows through on reducing the school board. In that event, Cunningham and Walker would almost certainly have to run against each other as they live blocks apart.
bu2
September 7th, 2012
12:56 pm
According to the update, Walker, the chairman, and Bowen, vice-chair, will write the response. The vast majority of the complaints are almost certainly directed at Walker, Bowen and Womack (who tends to step over the line on getting involved). So 2 of the 3 are the ones doing the response in private. They apparently will share it with the rest of the board, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the board will get any real input.
bu2
September 7th, 2012
1:03 pm
“Nancy Jester’, but with the way you people beat up on the only halfway decent board member we have, it’s no wonder that very few people care to run for school board anymore. ”
Wow. Despite the downright bizzarre extremes the DSW2 blog has gone to attacking Woods, Cunningham, Walker, Bowen, Johnson, Womack and Orson, VERY mild criticism of Jester is out of line and beating her up. Nancy, please call off your fans. They make you look bad.