Surprising news out of Fayette: School chief is out
Breaking news out of Fayette County where the Citizen reports that Superintendent Jeff Bearden is leaving his post in January with a year’s salary.
Bearden had run afoul of some board members with his proposal to trim costs and close schools. The school chief’s exit comes after the school board voted unanimously in June to extend his contract to June 30, 2015.
But relations between Bearden and some board members have frayed as the district, like others around the state, experienced fallen revenues and enrollments. As a result, Fayette was grappling with the always emotional issue of whether to close schools and which ones.
The friction over which schools to close spilled into the public arena when Bearden wrote a lengthy and detailed letter to the Fayette Citizen last month in which he stood by his recommendations to close Hood Avenue Primary, Fayette Intermediate and Fayette Middle School. He also recommended utilizing Rivers Elementary as a K-5 school.
I hope the AJC can come back with more details on what led to this drastic action today. (I have sent a note to the board president, but doubt I will hear back tonight.) It is interesting that now both Clayton and Fayette will be in the market for new leaders.
According to the Citizen report:
The Fayette County Board of Education Wednesday afternoon entered into a “mutual termination agreement” with Superintendent Jeff Bearden that will take effect Jan. 1. There was no discussion on the matter after the school board returned from a three-hour executive session and voted 4-1 on the termination recommendation.
Once having returned from executive session, Chairman Leonard Presberg asked if there was any recommended action resulting from executive session. Bearden in presenting the recommendation said, “I recommend the board and superintendent enter into a mutual termination agreement to be effective Jan. 1, 2013, that will include an additional year of compensation and appropriate benefits. The written agreement will be prepared by the school district attorney.”
Asked by Presberg for a motion, board member Janet Smola moved that the board accept the superintendent’s recommendation, followed by board member Bob Todd who seconded the motion. The vote was 4-1, with Smola, Todd and board members Terri Smith and Marion Key voting in favor of the motion and Presberg opposed.
There was no discussion prior to the vote and nothing said after the vote. The meeting ended immediately thereafter.
The called meeting began at 3 p.m. with the school board going immediately into executive session. The board remained in executive session until 6 p.m. Present at the meeting but not in the school board chambers was school system attorney Phil Hartley.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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96 comments Add your comment
Maureen Downey
September 20th, 2012
9:21 am
@Earnest, The DeKalb, Clayton and Fayette situations bring up a persistent problem in writing about rifts between school boards and school chiefs. Often, we assume that the school chief got stuck with an intransigent or incompetent board but the fact is that we don’t know who or what is to blame when school chiefs exit. Clearly, learning how to deal with school boards has to be part of a superintendent’s tool box. Not everyone has the power — or luck — of a J. Alvin Banks to get a deferential board. Do bad boards run off good supers? Sure. But are there cases where the school chief simply lacks the negotiating and management skills to work alongside or around, if necessary, a challenging board?
Maureen
PTC DAWG
September 20th, 2012
9:31 am
I live in Peachtree City, we will be just fine here in Fayette County. No need for some to fret about our situation. I am sure they have enough to deal with on their own.
Old Boy
September 20th, 2012
9:34 am
I can’t speak to the education provided by Fayette County schools today, but I can speak to it 15-20 years ago. After high school, I went to an Institution that was rated by some sources as the most difficult in which to gain entry in the country. I was surrounded by classmates from all backgrounds that were smarter and harder workers than I was. Several of those people struggled their first year because they were not properly prepared by their high schools. I felt that I was much better prepared than most of my peers. In fact, I was one of the few people that I knew who had his GPA drop his second year.
I have seen multiple comments about Fayette’s success coming from its demographics, but I have seen first hand that a great deal of its success comes from stellar teachers. I do agree with Anonymous in that something should be done about the large amount of administrators who have no direct contact with students, but it is important to give the educators their due.
Mary Kay Bacallao
September 20th, 2012
9:36 am
Yesterday, the Fayette County school superintendent decided to resign. Today as my children went off to school, I thought of the teachers who will teach them today and for the remainder of the school year. The awesome teachers I have known over the years in Fayette County came to mind. I know that our teachers will continue to do their best to educate our children. I will continue to do my best to support their learning at home. Our children will continue to strive for excellence. Fayette County will handle this change with grace and wisdom. I hope to be a part of the solution. I am running for the Fayette County School Board, post 2, a race that will be decided on the same day as the presidential election in November. Please feel free to contact me directly at marykaybacallao@hotmail.com
We can all work together for the sake of our children.
Ernest
September 20th, 2012
9:36 am
@Maureen, that sounds like a good future blog topic!
Tom
September 20th, 2012
9:40 am
To the “Anonomous” FC teacher who decided to air his/her dirty laundry, I say this. Welcome to 2012. Teaching today is not the same as it was when you started. Nothing is the same as it was 20 years ago. You’re naive if you think you can do what you did and how you did it the same as you did in 1992. Give me and the rest of us a break and stop trivializing the importance of what transpired yesterday. We had a superintendent who put together a plan to address the financial realities of Fayette County schools. Some may say it was too late, but those same people don’t have a clue as to the details. They speculate. Perhaps it was a year late…perhaps he was getting push-back from the board or parents. We don’t know. People seem to complain about his ineffectiveness; they are the same people who also complained when a proposal to close schools was offered as part of the solution. You, and everyone else who want to lay this on the footsteps of Dr. Bearden. He was here for less than two years. The board has been here, specifically Todd and Key, a lot longer and have had much more impact into our current situation. Bottom line…we lost our leader yesterday and you want to complain about having to sit in meetings as if it was his fault. I am embarrassed for you. And to the rest of the county…it is time to put your “big-boy” britches on. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem. Stop voicing opinion and get facts. Use those facts to either support a direction or make realistic suggestions for a new direction. Here’s a good starting point. Make the board accountable for the decisions they make AND made.
claytondawg
September 20th, 2012
9:46 am
To claytonmom and Maude…Great comments above. Some people may see Clayton County as a cesspool. I’ve been in Clayton since 1971; have I seen change? Yes. But, we NOW see what’s really going on in every district. To name a few (Cobb, Dekalb, Fayette) have had their say and laughs at Clayton’s expense, and yet, they are experiencing the same change in demographics and loss of revenues. We all share common problems: our Boards of Education are made up of self-aggrandizing, pompous, self-serving idiots.
USMC
September 20th, 2012
9:47 am
Maureen@9:03
LOL! Maureen is so out of touch and clearly clueless.
How about getting back to (R)eading, w(R)iting, and a(R)ithmatic?
So the “PR” person is SO valuable and important to the mission of EDUCATING children that we surly can’t live without him/her. What a joke. Wake up, people!
All public school systems in the metro area need to “clean house” on most of the nonessentials that have crept their way into the world of education.
PR Specialist??? Get Real Maureen!
Maureen Downey
September 20th, 2012
9:55 am
@USMC, You ought to look at the PR departments of major companies, major political parties and even the military. They have dozens of folks in those areas. Because they know that they need them and that they have to be on the ready to deal with media onslaughts in crises as well as the daily deluge of calls, requests and appearances. An unchecked rumor — of which school systems seem to traffick — can create panic in parents and systems need to be in the position to respond quickly.
Maureen
Pride and Joy
September 20th, 2012
10:05 am
I agree with USMC PR for public schools are the leaders that are elected. If they can’t put a speech together they need to be fired. We need their own thoughts coming out of their mouths — not some PR mike. The military and every other government tax payer funded entity shouldn’t have PR parasites on my tax payer dime either.
USMC
September 20th, 2012
10:07 am
@Maureen, you ought to look at the fact that major companies PRODUCE income to pay for such luxuries as a PR Specialist and have a real need for one.
You need to get out of the narcissistic “Bubble” of Academia and into the REAL world.
I am not blaming you, but our society pushes the envelop on the ridiculous.
Children are getting passed through these school systems and graduating WITHOUT the very basics(reading, writing and arithmetic) needed to educate themselves later throughout their lives.
Public Schools DO NOT produce income. They suck off the public tit.
So “keep it simple, stupid” and let’s narrow our focus back to teaching children the basics; not creating “programs” and “pr staff” and “administration”, etc.
The bottom line is that Public School systems grossly WASTE tax dollars, and kids are going on WITHOUT a basic education.
VictoriousOne
September 20th, 2012
10:10 am
The problem here in Fayette County is the same that exists everywhere in some form, regardless of the affluence, ethnic mix or geography, and that is the NIMBY syndrome. (Not In My Back Yard) Everybody wants to see the right thing done, but nobody wants to pay for it or sacrifice to get it. We complain about the “dead zones” in our wireless service but turn out in record numbers to protest the new cell tower if it’s going anywhere near our neighborhood. Hello? How can the cell service cover your home if the tower is not located nearby? We want that coverage, but want the tower in somebody else’s back yard. These fools in Fayette do not know how good they’ve got it, and it is really sad to listen to the nonsense. We have consistently had schools among the best in the state – making AYP across the board every year since there’s been AYP and often producing the best test scores in the entire state of Georgia – and yet we find ways to be hyper-critical of how things are done and to bury ourselves in selfish concerns in a fit of “me-itis.” I’d love for one of the “anonymous” and whiny teachers out here to go and spend a few days in a tough, inner-city school district where they break up fights all day long, fear for their own safety and do nothing but seize weapons and referee drama. You’d come crawling back to Fayette on your belly if you had to and beg to sit in an air-conditioned meeting. Are you serious? How realistic is it for any person to have a job and not have to go to meetings? Duh!
Our district is nowhere near bloated at the top, by any objective standard you choose to use. The size of the central office staff and the overhead ratios for FCBOE are way below what they are in countless districts all around us, but it’s so much easier to point the finger of blame at the Board or the staff at the district than it is to go find a mirror and deal with THAT guy. Our county is overrun with parents who want “special permission” for their child to attend a particular out-of-zone school, when every school in the county is a School of Excellence, Blue Ribbon School and so on. The salary of our Superintendent is one of the lowest in the metro, by a long shot. You want to talk about wasteful? How about the protracted struggle we spent months on several years ago when the county’s newest middle school opened? The Peachtree City contingent did not want their precious babies to be forced to mix with those people from up north in Fayetteville, so we battled like the Old Testament Israelites over the boundaries that would comprise the zone for that school. If there is waste in our transportation plan, it is just as much the fault of us parents who insist on having it our way, rather than allowing the district to just optimize its bus routes and map your kid to the school that is closest or makes the most sense logistically.
Folks, our students are still receiving one of the finest public educations available in our state, in spite of the State of Georgia’s penchant for sending along lots of new standards and mandates without bothering to fund those same requirements. Jeff Bearden is not the problem here, people. We are. We’ve enjoyed such extended success and relative comfort with all things Fayette for so many years, and now economic reality has reached our doorstep. The Superintendent inherited an overbuilt, drastically underfunded mess, and has made some well-thought-out suggestions as to how we can stop the bleeding. My observation is that he is a good guy who knows his craft and is trying to do the right thing – I am certain that political factions on and around that “Board” have conspired to undermine his efforts to get us to face what must be done. We have more schools, buildings, busses and expense than we have revenues, so we might as well pull our collective heads out of the sand and get busy doing something about it. I am sad to see Jeff go; my only hope is that the Board and the next Superintendent will have the cojones to look these parents in the eye and handle their business. Quit your complaining and realize how blessed you are to even live in this county. Otherwise, feel free to take your issues down the road to one of the other school districts in the metro. I’m sure they’d love to have you…
Maureen Downey
September 20th, 2012
10:14 am
@USMC, Not sure how those points relate to whether major school systems need a communications specialist to deal with the media and the public. And as for the real world, I work in the real world and have dealt with school systems in three states. They need media specialists. Try shadowing a school chief for a week. You will agree that school chiefs do not have time to research for media requests how many kids enrolled but dropped AP classes in the last three years, how much a school is charging for IB tests, whether schools have multiple generations of teachers from one family. I have had to call schools and get them to round up photos of all their vals and sals in an afternoon. In some cases, that meant the PR person had to call the parents to get them to send photos. I have called school PR folks to arrange interviews with triplets who have won top awards. If you think school chiefs have the time to call all the triplets and find out when each of them could meet for an interview and photo, then you have no idea of what their job entails.
And why is all this vital? Because a school system has to get its stories out there. It has to speak to the good that it does and explain the bad.
Maureen
Truth
September 20th, 2012
10:14 am
We need to go back to electing the school superintendent. The school board should not be allowed to hire/appoint the superintendent and set their pay. The school board has too much power now.
Bill from Atlanta
September 20th, 2012
10:19 am
Why would anyone want a job as a superintendent? No win situation.
Another Dekalb Teacher
September 20th, 2012
10:25 am
@PSP
I’m guessing reading comprehension was your weakness in school. I was referring to the corruption and nepotism that seems to be going on in both DeKalb and Fayette.
Fycyresid
September 20th, 2012
10:28 am
The board hired Bearden from a school district in Maine that had a very much smaller population and different demographics than Fayette County. This is all on the board for hiring an individual that did not have the experience need for the job.
trina@atl
September 20th, 2012
10:29 am
I thought Fayette was so perfect the way that they always put down all of the other school districts. Funny how now all of your dirty laundry is coming out. This is what happens when your nose is so far up and you put eveyone else around you down. Every district has their problem and none of them are perfect.
Maureen Downey
September 20th, 2012
10:31 am
@bill, Absolutely agree. And ditto for school boards who have to see their constituents every day in the grocery store or on the street.
My observation: If you want to run for office and have the least stress and most benefits, go for the Statehouse as there is comfortable distance from voters who often have no idea what their legislators are doing in Atlanta. The perks are great. You get to call yourself “Senator” or “Representative.” Lunch is provided free most every day during the session from some generous company. If not, there is always a line of lobbyists willing to pick up the tab. You can travel to wonderful places under the guise of “fact finding.” And if you do violate one of the few laws on ethics, your colleagues will do all they can to minimize your pain and suffering.
Maureen
Ernest
September 20th, 2012
10:32 am
@USMC, I believe you are naive if you believe that in this information age, community/media relations isn’t a necessary function of school districts and other public entities. Who in the school district do you think should handle inquires from the community and media? Who should ensure that both know what is going on in schools? Citizens thirst for information is at an all time high and there needs to be a function that handles that for schools so the leaders can focus on their core mission.
By your handle, I will ‘assume’ you are affiliated with the Marine Corps. Do they produce income? No, but are a tax payer supported entity that provide a valuable service for our country. Citizens also have questions about what they are doing. Should a Base Commander be the point of contact or someone specializing in media relations. This is what I found for Camp Pendleton:
http://www.marines.mil/unit/basecamppendleton/Pages/PublicAffairs/MediaRelations.aspx
It's about the numbers...
September 20th, 2012
10:37 am
@Another Fayette Teacher, you must not be a mathematics teacher. Of course FCBOE personnel and teachers will take a hit under next year’s budget! (Personnel spelled correctly). It’s all about the numbers. It doesn’t take a math teacher to figure out where the real cuts will take place. Only 10-15% of the budget deficit can be eliminated by closing schools.
Here’s how it will go down: FCBOE administration will shed a significant number of positions (and not through attrition), teachers will take a 5-7% pay cut with their defined benefit plan converted to a defined contribution plan for new hires and increased premium share for medical coverage, ALL schools on the table for closure will be closed (including Tyrone and Brooks) and any and all extracirricular activities will be reduced or eliminated.
That’s the only way you can make the numbers add up to elimination of a $20 mm deficit. It’s not a prediction. It’s the law. FCBOE must produce a balanced budget next year. They can’t project a negative ending Fund Balance. Remember also, there will be no help on the Revenue side. We are at the maximum millage rate.
It’s nothing personal @Another Fayette Teacher, it’s just math. Fayette teachers are great. But, equally, your disdain of Fayette parents is misplaced. Like you, most parents don’t understand the magnitude of the change that’s coming. They have no idea school closures are such a small part of the problem.
Dr. John Trotter
September 20th, 2012
10:40 am
I see where someone on this blog has offered up Edmond Heatley for Fayette. Ha! But, make no mistake…the Clayton County Board of Education is stupid enough to take back Heatley. I just wrote an article about this.
By the way, folks, I had nothng to do with this situation in Fayette. I knew nothing about it until I just read it on this blog. I am in Brazil…and hopefully will not be blamed for this like the AJC incorrectly blamed me for much of the foolishness in Clayton County. What about Atlanta and DeKalb, Maureen? Are these my fault too? Just kidding!
Fayette County is a fine school system and will survive this…for a while, at least. It now continues to try to maintain order and discipline in the classroom and the school environment in general, and I applaud this. Of all of the metro school systems, I think that Fayette supports its teachers perhaps the best of all. You can’t have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions, as we say at MACE.
http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com
http://www.theteachersadvocate.com
Just A Poster Using Another Pseudonym
September 20th, 2012
10:54 am
If the public knew how toxic the atmosphere was in most of Fayette’s schools, they would be amazed. But we, the teachers in this county, are instructed from the moment we are hired to act as though the schools are the happiest places on Earth. Let’s face it, folks! If the board of education can’t even keep a superintendent, how long before all of us teachers decide to reach a “mutual termination agreement” with them?
Fayette P
September 20th, 2012
11:09 am
Fayette has some of the best schools because of the parents, teachers and administrators.
Some of the issue’s are:
1. The Citizen newspaper (Fayette County paper) – a good old boy paper from segregation days. When the school board chief took the helm a good old fashions which hunt ensued. He was called a non believer (atheist) and a Jew by the paper. Nothing to see here folks the good old south showed it’s nasty history when Presburg took office. (The paper is delivered to every household in the county weather you want it or not) It does influence thought processes when there is no opposition to their lies or unethical ways.
2. Parent involvement is key, but there is a time when you have to step back and let people do their job. School closings are a must. We cannot continue to keep a new school open with only 72 kids in it when it was built for 850. Yes that’s right we operate two brand new schools with less than 100 kids in each. People want to close the new schools to keep the old costly school open because it’s down the street from their house.
3. The school boards past will continue to haunt us until we see more revenue. By the way some of the same people who made the stupid decision to build 2 new schools as the population of kids remained stagnant are still on the board. Family members of the past school board got rich from these decisions. Builders, realtors etc.
4. The kicker, “District voting” not in favor of it but when the NAACP sued for the school board to be elected by district rather than county wide, we decided to go back and fight this and still are. The legal cost alone is worth 10 superintendents. Near sidedness, you can still control most of who is on the school board even when you have district voting.
Hard Currency
September 20th, 2012
11:46 am
Isn’t it informative that the leadership of all our school systems cut and run, or get run off for lack of ethics, with generous financial parachutes in hand, whenever the music stops and it’s time to evaluate their performance. They float along until a period of accountability is right around the corner, and then they head for the exit. They should get two weeks pay when they leave, nothing more.
PSP
September 20th, 2012
12:02 pm
Reading comprehension? Try using one screen name or do you continue to hide behind your own ineptitude? I think the bit dog just yelped….
FORMER STUDENT AND RESIDENT
September 20th, 2012
12:05 pm
FAYETTE COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS BEEN ON A ROLL FOR YEARS.WHEN I GRADUATED IN THE LATE 60′S IT WAS A POOR, HUMBLE SYSTEM ; COACHES WHO ALSO DROVE BUSES AND TAUGHT TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR INCOME, TEACHERS WHO COULD NOT AFFORD DECENT HOUSING, ETC DUE TO LOW PAY SCALES. A VERY FEW YEARS AGO I LEARNED OF A FORMER ADMINISTRATOR WHO HAD RETIRED A YEAR OR SO PRIOR, BEING PAID $450.00/DAY TO SUBSTITUTE TEACH! WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!
Angel
September 20th, 2012
12:09 pm
Where is SACS now with regard to Fayette? Only in Clayton and Dekalb!. We know why.
ptcitizen59
September 20th, 2012
12:37 pm
Some people in Fayette County are calling Superintendent Jeff Bearden is a spineless, self-serving bureaucrat. I may have not totally agreed with some of his decisions, but his vision was on track.
Since they claim he did such a poor job, please explain why school board has two sets of agendas? Why did this school board make Title One schools have a higher classroom size ratio compared to other schools? Why do Title One schools have a different start time compared to other schools? Why did this school board take away parapro positions from Title One schools and decide to give a high school a secretary instead? Clearly this school board has a hidden agenda against Title One schools and is not willing to move those students to other schools. Why is this school board so adamant in closing 2 of the newest schools (Inman & River Elementary)? This is the same school board who voted to give Superintendent Jeff Bearden an extension on his contract and now it voted him out. Superintendent Jeff Bearden can only do what the school board allows him to do. These issues we are facing were here long before Superintendent Jeff Bearden arrived.
For those who criticize Superintendent Jeff Bearden do you have children attending any Fayette County Schools? If so as a parent I would be more concern about heath issues in our schools. Why doesn’t this school board come clean about the server mold issues that these schools have? By turning of the air conditioner at 2pm and turning it back on at 7am in the morning and completely off over the weekend, this won’t cause problems?
Maybe I am wrong, but let’s have the school board or Melinda Berry-Dreisbach provide the community answers to the following questions.
• Release “ALL” information from the community surveys
• Teachers complaint at Starr’s Mill regarding mold
• How many employees and students are absent each year with respiratory infection or asthma. Be nice to see what schools have more kids absent.
• Are they will to bring an outside company to test the school air quality or for mold?
• Provide class by class on how many kids are in each class and at what school.
• Provide the number of “All” staff members at each school and how many children are enrolled at that school.
• Can the school board please explain why the number of complaints to DFACS or student disciplinary actions have been greatly reduced recently? Did we just send them to an open campus?
• What is the SPLOT money being spent on? Clearly not on text books or computers as they claim.
• If these 4 positions human resources director, comptroller, coordinator of audits and purchasing agent have been operating unfilled, why can’t we continue? If we are placing more on our teacher, why can’t the district office operate with more duties?
• Release all transfers of employees in the past 2 years.
• Did anyone do a time study on the work load that is placed on our teacher by the state and school board?
The real question to ask was Superintendent Jeff Bearden about to reveal the dirty little secrets of Fayette County? I strongly recommend that the citizens of Fayette County get involved in this issue. If we continue to turn the other way, Fayette County will become another Clayton or Atlanta Public school and placed on probation.
OldGrunt
September 20th, 2012
2:02 pm
Sounds like Fayette County is on the Road to Clayton and DeKalb. Know that their school board is PROUD! They are now going to enter the realm of the TOUGH METRO BOARDs! Why in the world would interference of ‘goody two shoes’, and Bertha Better Than You’s? Based on school boards we have seen recently, think the public would be better served by ELECTING SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS and FIRING SCHOOL BOARDS. Really hate to see Fayette County go down the tubes. They were the only bright spot in the metro area.
Fayette County Res.
September 20th, 2012
2:10 pm
The true problem in the the school system is Leonard Presberg. He wasnt even elected into his position and is a perfect example of what is wrong with the board of education today.
mothers conern for clayton
September 20th, 2012
2:16 pm
Stop putting everything on Clayton County I never had a problem in the school system. If you are a parent that keeps up with there children. I now have two kids in Clayton County school system that are doing well, and their older 3 siblings have Graduated and two have their masters and the other one in the Military. Please stop blaming the County on your problems and all the kids are not bad or some of you may call stupid. Fayette County have problems also but not put on the news as fast. We have great kids and good families here so get your problem straight before you talk about us. Never had problems at the school because my kids where great kids. Our teachers have to put up with some of the mess because people or staff don’t like to write out reports. My opinion if the students disrupts the class call his parents and put him out especially if this is a everyday thing.
Maureen Downey
September 20th, 2012
2:17 pm
To new posters, Please refrain from calling folks names. If you want to criticize a public official, cite votes or specific actions with which you are unhappy.
Maureen
bluejangel
September 20th, 2012
2:46 pm
Comparing the State of Georgia’s test scores? REALLY? We’re still 47th in the nation! We must thank God for Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
CHUNKEYMONKEY
September 20th, 2012
3:32 pm
Sounds like the superintendent may have found out some ‘nonsense’ that was on-going, or had been accomplished, by a board member, or board members! If I were a citizen down there in Fayette County, think that I would do some checking as to who may have had some monetary interests in buildings, contracts or personnel. That is an awfully sweet package they are giving this guy, after terminating a recent contract renewal! Something is fishy down there folks. It’s your tax dollar, but I would do some serious checking — especially for those members who voted to let this guy go!
abacus2
September 20th, 2012
3:47 pm
Len Presberg is the only one on the board with a functioning brain, a backbone, and no special interests. He should apply for superintendent. The reason the “southern contingent” don’t like him is that he is not Christian.
As for Bearden’s hush money – rumor has it he is sitting on several ethics violations against some school board members. SACS will be visiting Fayette County in the very near future. Thanks Fayette County School Board!
Life long Clayton County resident
September 20th, 2012
4:38 pm
I have lived in Clayton County all of my life (hence when I say that it is the nicest place I have ever lived you know I am telling the truth :0)) I know I got a quality education. I had some of the greatest teachers at Forest Park High back in the 90’s. (Yes I realize that was almost twenty years ago, but people always referred to us with disdain even back in those days.) I knew that my teachers were dedicated, but when I arrived at The University of Georgia I realized just how excellent they were; I was head and shoulders better prepared that the other freshmen, many of whom were from the much lauded school systems of North Fulton and East Cobb. Later, as a teacher and Debate Coach at several inner-city Atlanta middle schools, I saw the fact that “the cream always rises to the top” with the brilliance and excellence of many of my inspirational students. I had some debate teams that used to take Lovett and Westminister to task within the Emory Debate League. Yes we had many behavior problems at those schools, but a child who wanted to learn with a dedicated teacher always could. I think that it is tremendously unfair to throw darts at the students and parents in Atlanta, South Fulton, and yes even my own Clayton County. There are many geniune scholars in these communities too. Do not judge a child’s intelligence, aptititude, or scholarship by his or her zipcode. There is no sin to being poor; Jesus came to Earth as a “poor-boy”, too.
Hope and Change
September 20th, 2012
5:01 pm
Thanks both for the subject and the comments in this discussion. I have enjoyed reading the serious and thoughtful expressions of concerns by all. After the problems we had here in Clayton I make it my business to read most articles related to Public School Systems Management. I hope to soon be part of a 21st Century solution to change and improve how School Boards are elected/selected and School Systems are managed. It’s time for a new model. Too much time is spent on trying to fix this traditional out dated management model rather than creating a new Parent/Teacher/Community/Business and local Government model. More to follow….
Fayette County Res
September 20th, 2012
5:13 pm
Presberg has the functioning brain? This is the same guy that ran up to a child at the 4th of July parade and started screaming at him because he felt he was being disrespectful to his Obama campaign signs and beliefs. Give me a break. Let him actually run and get elected before claiming how great he is. If he is elected by the majority in Fayette County, then he deserves to be there.
Can't Believe this Nonsense
September 20th, 2012
6:54 pm
Didn’t Beardon break other contracts when he took the Fayette County job?
http://www.capecog.com/capecog/2006/09/runaway_bride_s.html
It is considered unethical for teachers to break their contracts and doing so can result in loss of certification. Why is okay for someone in such a position of community trust? And then to send him off with a year’s salary?
Every board member needs to apologize to the tax payers for such ineptitude and waste of funds. Or at least explain to the public why such drastic events transpired. This is just hurtful to our community and schools.
hssped
September 20th, 2012
8:05 pm
@abacus2
“As for Bearden’s hush money – rumor has it he is sitting on several ethics violations against some school board members. SACS will be visiting Fayette County in the very near future.”
Have you checked out the rumors you mention? If so, do share (please).
Can't Believe this Nonsense
September 20th, 2012
8:20 pm
Interesting read on Beardon…
http://www.capecog.com/capecog/2006/09/runaway_bride_s.html
Joe
September 20th, 2012
10:02 pm
I am proud of the Fayette County School System. In the past 10 years I’ve been to over 60 schools in the various districts related to the metro Atlanta region. Without bias, the schools of Fayette County demonstrate a far superior level of educational and behavioral culture than all others in the district comparison. All stakeholders (administration, teachers, students, and parents) continue to provide an educational and cultural foundation for students that will enable them to make a positve impact as adults upon all others that their lives will touch.
Ronin
September 21st, 2012
9:47 am
@ Maureen and USMC. from 10:14 yesterday. Should a school need a PR specialist? In an normal world, absolutely not. (especially when kids are graduating that can’t read or do basic math) However, we no longer live in a normal world. With the litigious environment that we live in and some school administrators that have Joe Biden type gaffe moments and all the I-phones with video and audio recorders on them, it’s no wonder that corporations and now public school systems use PR specialists and a spokesperson to gather information and a potential liability limiting evaluation by staff counsel before a public statement is made.
Superintendents should be elected at a set salary (125- 165k) for a four to six year term, he/she should select a board of business people, who are payed a salary for school board members. Part of the mission would be, what pork can we cut to put more dollars in the actual classroom to facilitate learning.
In review, this may be where charters are heading. It will be interesting to see the results. As for school systems in Georgia, national test scores show the system we are using is not achieving the results that students, parents, teachers and employers want.
Dr. John Trotter
September 21st, 2012
1:49 pm
Appointed superintendents are horrible. I have been saying this and writing about this for years. There may be exceptions to the rule, but, the rule remains. Most are jerks. They made it to the top by kissing a$s, and they seem to want their a$ses kissed once they assume the role as superintendent. They just assume that this comes with the territory.
I have a strong feeling that Mr. Presberg will not get elected in his own right in Fayette County, but this will depend on how his district is drawn. I am sure that he had this in mind when motivated to settle the law suit. I don’t believe that he would have a prayer (no pun intended) to win countywide.
By the way, district voting was probably going to come to Fayette County one way or the other. When multi-member districts are challenged throughout the country (especially in the South where race is always an issue), the federal courts usually shoot down these district in favor of single-member districts.
Back to the appointed superintendents: They tend to be real jackasses who will traipse all over the country, uprooting their families at a moment’s notice for a sweeter deal in another school board bed. They jump from one school board bed to the next. Hence, I have always called them Gypsies or Educational Sl-ts.
I don’t know much about Bearden…except what I have read here on Maureen’s blog or on the blog up in Maine. But, he is probably cut from the same pattern. Just jump around the country, expecting his butt to be kissed when he lands in another school board bed. Nationally, these appointed superintendents don’t last three years on average. Dr. DeCotis lasted several years as superintendent, but he had been a teacher and administrator in Fayette for years before he became superintendent and seemed to have a real decency about him, even if you disagreed with him.
The Fayette County School System may now be going through a few growing pains, but, trust me, it is heads and shoulders above the other school systems throughout Georgia. There’s no comparison. Be proud of what you have in Fayette and continue to work diligently to keep it great!
By the way, the McIntosh Chiefs are 3 and 0 in football! I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the player, parents, boosters, and Coach Lee Belknap and his fine coaching staff! Football has been a struggle at McIntosh for years, but perhaps the program is now turning a corner. We hope so. I was at the Alexander game a couple Fridays ago, and I commented that if the Chiefs have a winning season, the school may have to build onto the already large stadium! The MHS fans are great! I will be keeping up with the game tonight from Brazil…as I did the Ola game. Coach B, the Eyes of Brazil are upon you! Ha! Reminds me of “Jamaica gotta bob-sled team!” McIntosh gotta a football team! Go Chiefs!
Retired at 37
September 23rd, 2012
9:21 pm
Retired at 37 because I saw and experienced everything Anonymous wrote. Ridiculous wasting of precious time. I wanted to teach, and was good at getting kids excited about learning and reading. I needed time to prepare quality lessons, but instead was spending hours in meetings and documenting, and bringing hours of work home each night. My family life suffered, and I didn’t have the time to be the teacher I used to enjoy being. So many working in the BOE office, all wanting to throw their sticks in the fire by coming up with a new improved method of documentation, needing to validate their existence …look what I came up with for teachers to do now! Way too many unnecessary positions at the top taking up way to much money from quality teacher salaries.