Does Clayton mess reveal a larger truth: School boards don’t work any more?
Haven’t we been here before with Clayton County? (And other counties as well, including several in rural Georgia.)
Did we learn anything from Clayton’s earlier woes or does the latest friction point to the larger problem of having citizens run school systems?
The AJC has a news story about the Clayton County school board chair suggesting that the governor intervene and remove some school board members to save the school system from losing accreditation again.
“We’ve had troubles on the board. We’ve had troubles for a long time,” Chairwoman Pamela Adamson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday.
Jacob Vigdor, a Duke public policy and economics professor whose writings I have run on the blog, issued a statement yesterday on the antics of the Wake County, N.C., school board, which fired its superintendent.
I thought Vigdor’s comment applied here:
When contemplating the ongoing soap opera that is the Wake County School Board, it is important to bear in mind that Wake is one of the 20 largest school districts in the United States. There are more than 17,000 districts across the country, the vast majority of them much smaller than Wake County. If the nation’s largest districts, those we might think of as having the best shot at professional management, can’t take care of themselves, how can we expect anything of the thousands of tiny districts across the country?
The United States delegates important education policy choices to over 17,000 local school boards and administrators. The overwhelming majority of these officials have minimal expertise in policy analysis — and clearly some have penchants for political vendettas that trump policy analysis. This has to be considered one of the key reasons American students lag behind those in other developed countries.
It’s time for a discussion of whether school boards work any more, given the complexity, costs and consequences of education today.
Consider the Clayton saga: In 2008, Gov. Sonny Perdue intervened after Clayton lost its accreditation and ordered the removal of four school board members. The district got a new board and a new school chief and regained accreditation.
But now, Superintendent Edmond Heatley departs tomorrow, and the district is again on shaky ground with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for school board governance issues that could jeopardize accreditation. The issues include board member conflicts and attacks by some members on the school system and its personnel, wrote Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, the parent company of SACS, in a letter.
Adamson said a majority of the school board members are working diligently to help the school system, which regained accreditation in 2011. But “certain board members have caused trouble almost since Day 1,” she said. Adamson declined to identify the school board members, but said one board member sent about 1,000 emails to Heatley in a 20-month period.
“He was so inundated he couldn’t do his job,” Adamson said, adding that a majority of the school board voted to change its protocol for how board members should communicate with the superintendent.
The board also has issued reprimands and imposed sanctions on individual members. Board member Jessie Goree was barred from serving as board chair or vice chair for two years and from collecting expense money for conferences and other travel, according to information on the school system’s website.
Goree was rebuked twice by the board — once for making derogatory remarks about board members and the superintendent and once based on a complaint by Heatley about her conduct at a meeting with parents, according to news reports. Goree acknowledged some friction on the board. “It’s normal stuff that happens when you have nine people trying to have a discussion,” she said. “There’s no perfection here.”
New SACS scrutiny comes just as Clayton is losing its superintendent. Heatley leaves the school system Friday after three years. He was in his office Wednesday but did not respond to requests for interviews.
Asked whether his departure is related to conflicts with some board members, Adamson said: “I wouldn’t be surprised. I know he has endured constant attacks since he’s been here.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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114 comments Add your comment
Beverly Fraud
September 27th, 2012
7:41 pm
But I also know the model and a fair number are essentially Fifth Columnists with a political agenda they are not being honest with the public about. I don’t say that lightly or without a tremendous amount of documentation.
@invisible, thank God we have the Broad Academy to counteract that trend LOL
Private Citizen
September 27th, 2012
7:43 pm
“let Clayton County’s Board be run with no more than five (5) retired teachers, each with 25 years or more of classroom teaching experience.”
When you get the address of this dream, I want to go there.
Blue dog
September 27th, 2012
7:51 pm
The entire public school system needs to be ran by hired professionals serving under a single state education official, similar to the university system. Also, public schools should be funded totally by state revenues, not partially from property taxes. This would eliminate the disparity between poor and affluent districts. The other major change that has evolved in the last decades beginning with integration, is discipline. Urban schools suffer the worse. Those school administrations of mostly black schools, have lost control over discipline, fearing over zealous black parents who view any knock against their child as simply racial intolerance.
Put cameras in ALL classrooms….challenge all parental attempts to “soften” enforcement of bad behavior and start to become what the private schools now have….control of the students. Only then will the public schools be able to attract “good” teachers.
Talk to private school teachers who make half the salary of public school teachers and they will tell you…the ONE REASON they teach private school for less money is RESPECT. They do not have to put up with a student cursing them out with impunity.
Bring back discipline……..fund all schools equally…and GET RID OF LOCAL CONTROL!!!
Then….we may be able to elevate the education for the children in this state.
momintheknow
September 27th, 2012
7:54 pm
School boards with relatively small districts represent their community well. They work well with superintendents that probably reflect those districts too. When you get a large area things start to break down. The divisions we are seeing are natural. If our constitution provided for the breaking away and re-forming new counties and school systems then we would not see these governance problems. Our state, for reasons that are confusing to me, won’t recognize this. It continues to glue together communities that don’t have anything in common. A superintendent in a relatively unified district is going to have an easier job. A superintendent in a district with diverging needs is going to have a rough go of it. Systems should be able to break apart at this time just like we allow cities to form.
From Inside The Community
September 27th, 2012
8:00 pm
You can blame the school board all you want. The real problem is that they hired the wrong person for Superintendent, Ed Heatley. Superintendents look upon school districts such as Clayton County as one they can prey upon. Dig deeper people. If it weren’t for Jessie Goree protecting the citizens of CCPS, this crook would probable still be ripping off the citizens of this county. $349,000 a year salary. Puleezze! On another note— WE WEREN’T BROKE UNTIL THIS CROOK AND COMPANY CAME AND TOLD US WE WERE BROKE! NOT A BUDGET POSTED FOR PUBLIC VIEW SINCE HE TOOK CHARGE. DIG DEEPER!!!
Teachers for CCPS
September 27th, 2012
8:02 pm
Step down Pam Adamson!
Private Citizen
September 27th, 2012
8:07 pm
Collar,
You certainly get to the point. “a Transformational game” You’ve given me pause. I would like to see an outline, a map and destination. I agree with you that the treads on the tank are squeaking and rolling. I wonder, what is the “end game?” It would be nice to know so as to know have to play along with shock at every step along the way.
Hey, I learned something recently. Andre “the Giant” Roussimoff “was driven to school by playwright Samuel Beckett, a neighbour. Roussimoff was a good student, but he dropped out after the 8th grade since he did not think having a high school education was necessary for a farm laborer. He then worked on a farm, completed an apprenticeship in woodworking, and next worked in a factory that manufactured engines for hay balers. None of these brought him any satisfaction.”
Okay I get it now. Andre’s dilemma for his morning commute was the basis for “Waiting for Godot.”
No, that can’t be it. Beckett was probably there outside the house waiting for Andre. Wait a minute.
Mrnumbersman
September 27th, 2012
8:13 pm
School boards can work. But, political school boards that have to be elected have serious issues. If we don’t have school boards then we will have government boards ruling the school district from afar. We already have enough government intrusion into the inner workings of schools without any more need of further intrusion.
atlmom
September 27th, 2012
8:15 pm
No, they don’t really work. even where you people are citing they ‘do’ work – yeah, well, great. What I said a year or two ago was – great…go recruit wonderful great hard working school board members for APS – since all of them are pretty incompetent. Go ahead, find the best you can.
So great – they get elected.
Then four years later – or 12 years later, or whenever, you’re going to eventually have a board of incompetents again. it’s just the way it works. What needs to happen is LESS oversight, not more…because, well, whatever we’ve been doing( and by that I mean, nationwide, everywhere) is. not. working. It just isn’t. The ‘good’ school systems are great because of the parents and the kids and the neighborhoods. Take the ‘lower socioeconomic’ kids with different parents, etc, and put them in *that* school system and it would be a disaster. Completely. because they aren’t even set up to deal with kids who don’t behave or who threaten or who don’t want to (or don’t know that they can) go to college.
Our school systems are a mess, then we keep thinking that making that ‘one small change’ (like, oh, i don’t know, ‘new’ cafeteria menus – that have our kids throwing away so much food it is disgusting) – and we’ll be fine.
it doesn’t work that way. we need new and different ideas and TOTALLY new something. Charters are a step in the right direction, but only a small tiny step. not anything that is the whole story.
South Georgia
September 27th, 2012
8:18 pm
To become a teacher requires four years of college, passing standardized examinations for certification, proper credentials, back ground checks, all at a minimum. To become a board member to govern the educated employees requires one uneducated idiot to get a bunch of other uneducated idiots to vote them into office.
Old timer
September 27th, 2012
9:11 pm
A great Ga educator and historian died today,,Ted Key you will always be my kids favorite teacher and a wonderful college to work with. You encouraged all of us in CC to learn more about our area and to includ it in our teaching. Anna the kids you got involved in Historicical Jonesboro are wonderful….
Old timer
September 27th, 2012
9:17 pm
Best educator in the old Clayton county died today..RIP Ted Key…you gave me so much…that yellow. Us driving through GA tea hen us teachers about ou state…and my kids loved your classes the best ecer
High School teacher/parent
September 27th, 2012
9:18 pm
Has anyone realized that the school board ,embers do not have to have ANY background in education. In order to be on the American Bar Association, you must have a law degree to advise lawyers. American Dental Association-a dental degree, but a school board to advise schools can be comprised of an angry elderly person, who runs to keep kids off his lawn and a lady who hates children.
claytondawg
September 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
@Old Timer–I knew Ted Key and his wife. Both are/were terrific people, in addition to being true teachers.. Ted’s students were not only taught, but they experienced Georgia History; he knew his subject and his students learned. RIP, Ted. For those of us who knew you are better stewards of history and appreciate your skill and love.
GTJohn
September 27th, 2012
9:38 pm
In order for a school board to work, we must have parents ( electorate) that are intelligent enough and caring enough to elect members who care about the kids and what they learn.
I would bet the majority of voters do not actually know any factual information about those for whom they vote. To get info on the local elections is not that easy, but doable. On the national level it is easier but it does not come from things that state – and I approve this message.
That is why none of it works today and why we will lose our way of life unless it changes.
GTJohn
September 27th, 2012
9:46 pm
An unqualified electorate will never elect qualified servants.
Private Citizen
September 27th, 2012
10:05 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CLdY9AAqI4#t=6m16s
66yrs/99pct
September 27th, 2012
10:11 pm
If this doesn’t indicate a need for Charter Schools, I don’t know what does. This county, as well as all the others in metro Atlanta – including Fulton, are being run by a bunch of egomaniacs who care more about their prestige than any other thing in the universe (except their paycheck).
WE pay them and get NOTHING in return other than a “review board inquiry” to see if our children may or may not be attending an accredited school. If this is my tax dollars at work – I demand CHARTER SCHOOLS because these yahoos don’t know how to do the job they are being paid for and I’m tired of preparing my kids a decent lunch and carrying the school board’s sorry butts in the process!
Private Citizen
September 27th, 2012
10:14 pm
“Why do you have so little testing in the first place?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CLdY9AAqI4#t=12m47s
S
September 27th, 2012
10:18 pm
People of Clayton County it is time to wake up. Now that “Egghead” SACS fearless leader has lost his pick for super he is threatening accreditation again so that he can force us into hiring yet another cronie from the Broad Academy of Stupidintendents. We need to stand up and take our county back. Pam Adamson and Mary Baker need to go with Heatly. Jesse is the only one with that I saw researching and questioning actions that weren’t right. The rest of you went along with whatever Heatly wanted like good little brainwashed puppets. I can tell you right now Pam that there was no crying going on among staff members at the announcement of his leaving. And tears won’t be shed when you leave. I just haven’t figured out yet why SACS wants control of tis county. Whatever is happening with the board has nothing to do with the great things going on in the schools with the students and staff and to threaten all that they have worked for over stupid politics is asinine. To destroy children’s futures is a crime. People of Clayton County please wake up.
Rick L in ATL
September 27th, 2012
10:24 pm
You can’t argue that school boards are untrustworthy AND argue against the charter amendment. This is precisely why people need to vote YES in Nov.
I will put our bunch of APS BOE clowns up against Clayton’s any day. Have you forgotten LaChandra Butler Burks’ “Blue Ribbon Panel?” or the REPEATED credit card abuse by Courtney English? Or the stammering, stuttering (but unrelenting) support of the disgraced Bev Hall by Cecily Harsch-Kinnane? I sure as hell haven’t.
These people can’t be trusted to make even inconsequential decisions; how can we even consider giving them absolute authority to decide yes/no re: charter schools? Sure, we elected them–that’s our bad. We’ll remedy that soon enough. In the meantime, we have to do damage control, and minimize their negative impact on our scandal-plagued, broke-a$$ system.
Teachers for CCPS
September 27th, 2012
10:31 pm
Welcome Luvenia Jackson, Interim Superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools. She is an upstanding as well as outstanding educator who Ed Heatley and Stefanie Phillips DEMOTED quickly upon their arrival for no apparent reason! “FUNNY HOW TIME HAS A WAY OF BRINGING ALL THINGS FULL CIRCLE.” I promise you citizens of Clayton County, the fat lady has not sung YET!
bootney farnsworth
September 27th, 2012
10:37 pm
lets face it- we’re sunk
Dr. Johh Trotter
September 27th, 2012
11:09 pm
I just stumbled on this entry upon this blog. I actually wrote an article about the latest diatribe of the reincarnation of Ericka Davis, Pam Adamson. Both apparently were/are control freaks who if they can’t get their ways go running to little Markie Elgart of SACS, the same man whom I have challenged on dozens of occasions to meet me in a public debate. The proposition: SACS arbitrarily and capriciously applies its so-called Standards. I will gladly take the Affirmative and Mark can take the Negative. He is, in my opinion, the greatest educational hypocrite in Georgia.
Queen Pammie cries: “Help me, SACS, help me! I’m trying to cut off debate, discussion, and dissent, but folks like Jessie Goree on the school keep asking questions! Who do they think that they are, elected officials?!” Markie replies: “You’re right, Queen Puppet, and we will send a letter and work everyone up into some fit — while we let Atlanta get away with murder! You are right indeed! Who does the school board think that it is by trying to actually hire a superintendent on its own?! How is Glenn Brock’s august search firm going to make money if the actual elected officials do what they are charged by the Georgia law to do?!”
The comical ones are actually Pam Adamson and Mark Elgart (and Glenn Brock, as I am confident that he is lurking in the background). Goof balls. Political goof balls. They are to be pitied. This is like members of the Soviet Politburo getting mad that political prisoners (like the Clayton County Board of Education is to SACS) actually complaining about their treatment in the Gulag.
You can read my more detailed musings at the following site >>>
http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com
Burroughston Broch
September 27th, 2012
11:11 pm
Let’s take a look from 30,000 feet. If the school boards and administrations were acceptably performing, there would be no outcry for charter schools. Instead, the outcry is all over the state and not only in those areas were the schools are in the SACS doghouse. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
I am conflicted about proposed Amendment 1. On one hand, I like the idea of keeping the Constitution as it is and retaining local control of schools. On the other hand, so many dysfunctional school boards are defaulting on their reponsibilities and ruining our children’s educational opportunities. I don’t believe that those who wrote the Constitution envisioned the mess we have today. I am still sitting on the fence.
Wheeler Mom
September 27th, 2012
11:34 pm
I don’t know if school boards are an institution whose time has passed, but after watching the Cobb board for the past couple years, I think I can pinpoint two problems (at least with that one).
First, the position should be non-partisan. Party politics should not be a factor in the education of children.
Second, there should be an “at-large” position representing the entire district, as well as the separate district representatives.
I think changing those two things would make a fairer, more representative board.
PArt of the calendar fiasco came about because the three newly elected board members thought they had some kind of voter mandate, when in truth, the total number of votes wasn’t even close to the number of students in Cobb County Schools. They were voted in partially due to the oddities of partisan politics and an off-year election.
Dr. Johh Trotter
September 27th, 2012
11:42 pm
Maureen: You have this thing totally wrong. It’s not the school boards which are out of control; it’s SACS that is totally out of control. School boards are simply part of the messy process called democracy. The voters can clean up any mess, if the voters so desire. Look at the “mess” in Congress. Are we to jettison Congress because we don’t like the “mess”? Until Mark Elgart started acting like he was Zeus sitting atop Mount Alpharetta, things were rocking along fairly smoothly. The culprit is SACS, not the school boards.
By the way, I was attending school board meetings in Clayton County all through the 1980s and 1990s when there were almost knock-down-dragouts between school board members…between Democrats and Republicans and even between factions on the school board. The new interim superintendent, Luvenia Jackson, used to attend these meetings, some of which lasted after midnight. There was constant acrimony in the air. But, guess what? SACS never got involved, and the teachers kept teaching and the students kept learning. It wasn’t until, I hate to say, that African Americans took over some of these school boards that SACS all of a sudden wanted to get involved. White folks, I don’t care if you get mad that I say this; this is just a fact. The Clayton County Board of Education members act like shrinking violets compared to the Clayton County Boards of Education under the leadership of the following Chairs: Margaret Haynie, Lindy Krebs, Andrea Calloway, Judy Taylor, Dr. Abner Moore, Linda Barrett, Mike Barnes, and Mark Armstrong. I am not pointing down these eight Chairs any more than I would put down the partisan leaders in the U. S. Senate, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. This is just how politics works.
Only when Clayton and DeKalb Counties had African American majorities on their respective school boards did SACS get so holy and concerned. I have said over and over that SACS stands for Still Advocating for Cronies and Superintendents (SACS). It is a phony, money-grabbing private company (with no accountability to the voters of Georgia) which makes its money by scaring the daylights out of local school board – and then the local school boards still have to pay SACS all kinds of money. This private company gets it feed from the country trough. It is a union for the superintendents and an enforcer for groups like ALEC which want to exert influence in public education without undergoing the elective process. I am wont to say that SACS is the agency of those who feast on seared Salmon and asparagus and imbibe on fine Merlot at the Piedmont Driving Club but who would never deign to get the dirt of local politics under their pampered and manicured finger nails.
The Georgia General Assembly should cut the cords between the school systems and SACS. The elected State Superintendent should administer an agency set up by enabling legislation in the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. The agency would simply be called the Georgia Schools Accreditation Agency (GCSS). It would ultimately be accountable to the people. The State Superintendent could appoint the members or they could appointed by the Governor based on Congressional Districts like the appointed Board of Education. But, SACS (and especially Mark Elgart) have out-lived any usefulness that it may have had at one time in Georgia. SACS now causes much more harm than any good that it may do.
So Sad...
September 27th, 2012
11:47 pm
I don’t know if the SACS letter was pre-planned or if they were watching last Monday’s board meeting when Goree told the new CFO that she would have to get used to his “White voice” and then laughed it off. If a White board member had said that to an African-American staff member, it would have been ALL over the news. She is the albatross that is pulling the district into the abyss. The worst part is that she doesn’t care.
Lou
September 27th, 2012
11:58 pm
@Maureen…my friend’s mom is a teacher in Clayton County. Her mom said that after going to a teacher’s meeting they are postponing the Superintendent leaving until the last week of October…have you heard about that?
crankee-yankee
September 28th, 2012
6:49 am
OK Maureen, so the count is 8 boards across the state that are under scrutiny. Methinks that is a small percentage of the state’s boards and does not constitute a trend. What are the numbers from other states across the southeast, the nation? Are we above the norm? How do those numbers compare to historical data? Once those numbers are known, this discussion will have something to gnaw on.
Bartow Citizen
September 28th, 2012
7:51 am
I think this is a valid question.
Bartow County is also a mess, with several board members and taxpayers at war with each other constantly.
Just this week, one board member released a web site that contains a recording of another board member berating a teacher over some personal issues. That teacher was moved and her principal demoted to teacher after personal issues with this board member. Text messages from this board member were also released. At last Monday’s board meeting, the same board member publicly discussed personnel issues and threatened people. You can see it all here:
http://www.bartowforabetterboe.com
http://cartersville.patch.com/articles/sound-off-school-board-members-address-website-accusations#youtube_video-11482047
Dr. Johh Trotter
September 28th, 2012
9:01 am
People are concluding that school boards are a “mess” simply because Mark Elgart and SACS have declared that they are a “mess.” But, who died and made him the Zeus of Public Education. School board members, like other elected officials on City Councils, State Legislatures, the U. S. Congress, etc., will argue over policies and practices, and this is actually good. Robust discussion and debate is great.
Mark Elgart and his so-called SACS Standards are bull sh-t, if you will. Total bull sh-t. Elgart wants school boards to sit around holding hands and quietly intoning banal niceties to each other as the “professional” attorneys and the gypsey superintendents make all the decisions with input, of course, from key and connected business “leaders” in the community. This is Mark Elgart’s ideal school board, a school board which gets elected by the people and then sits on his collective rump and says nothing and does nothing.
Oh, by the way, did I say that I thought that SACS’s so-called Standards are bull-sh-t? Well, if I didn’t, I do.
Dr. Johh Trotter
September 28th, 2012
9:07 am
Typo: its collective rump, not his collective rump. Sorry.
Clayco Survivor
September 28th, 2012
10:58 am
WHAT?? SAY IT AIN’T SO! Could this be a way to keep Heatley in place and pacify SACS??
Dr. Johh Trotter
September 28th, 2012
11:54 am
@ Clayco: I think that this is what this ruse is all about. It’s all a game >>>
http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com
C Jae of EAV
September 28th, 2012
12:50 pm
The 1st thing that immediately comes to mind after reading this blog is DCSS Board Member Nancy Jester’s recent editorial blog “ The Myth Of Local Control”. Essentially, your blog serves to support to some degree Ms. Jester’s premise. Furthermore, little is being spoken to the Gov’s Office being leveraged to instigate the removing of duly elected board members. How exactly does that fit into the “local control” narrative that’s often thrown up to defend againest any all public policy initatives aimed at providing enhanced “school choice”. Should not those served by these elected officals we covet so much have a say in all this?
Bottom line I would say that by and large school boards work as intended. The difficulty in Clayton County seems to stem from board members who have misjudged the true nature of their role (goverance/oversight vs day to day operational authority). Equally as alluded to by Ms. Jester a lot of Superintendant’s believe the Board serves at their pleasure rather than the reverse. Hense there is friction when Board members object to how policy directives are being manifested. The functional responsbilities of both parties (Board vs Super) are necessary and will have to be executed regardless. The question becomes how wide a span of control . In other words purhaps these uber large districts should be broken down into multiple smaller one’s. It’s a slippery slope..
DeKalb Teacher
September 28th, 2012
2:17 pm
Ms Jester’s editorial in full
http://whatsupwiththat.nancyjester.com/2012/09/26/the-myth-of-local-control/
C Jae of EAV
September 28th, 2012
4:02 pm
@ bubba 09/27 3:16pm – Your suggestion for the formulation of a Milton & South Of Atlanta (South Fulton/Clayco) districts strikes to me more like socio-economic segregation of schools. Personally I don’t see how your proposal resolves the concerns cited in Clayco. @Mary Elizabeth if you’re out there, since you have often spoken to your concerns about charter schools manifesting segregation within the public education sphere, what say you of what @bubba is proposing?
@Sandy Springs Parent 09/27 5:18pm – I believe your thought has some merit. I would be more apt to reconfig local districts no larger than 4 HS clusters. I think at that level your able leverage economies of scales from an operational perspective, yet keep local districts at a managable size to avert some of the other buracratic concerns that have been noted in the blog.
@Private Citizen – as perverse as it may sound as a right to work state, virtually every person in GA who works for someone else as an employee works/serves at their employers pleasure. Such is life, don’t like it work for yourself and even then you still work at the pleasure of your customer base. So it is what it is. The problem for public education comes where the employee (i.e. Super) figures they are above the employer (ie The Board).
C Jae of EAV
September 28th, 2012
4:13 pm
@claytondawg 09/27 7:38pm – There needs to be a more balanced approach to the composition of any board of governance. Your suggestion doesn’t necessarily fix the problem its likely to only generate new problems by creating a situation where all the decision makers come from one prism of thought. Many local boards have significant presence from former educators doesn’t seem to matter much one the whole. Stacking the deck completely that way isn’t like to improve those odds.
@GTJohn – By george I think you’ve idenified the elephant in the room. People don’t put much into how local school board members are vetted when they run so often people are elected that offer little value.
C Jae of EAV
September 28th, 2012
4:17 pm
@Dr John Trotter – I appreciate the history lesson
3schoolkids
September 28th, 2012
4:34 pm
I had read Ms. Jester’s blog earlier today and think it is very funny she points out the school board heirarchy doesn’t mean parental choice but voting yes on the charter amendment will change that. Yet she doesn’t mention ONE charter school that contains a governing board with a majority parent representation. Unless the governing board of the charter school-any charter school, has a majority of parents on the board there is no parental power.
I do think the timing of the Dekalb and Clayton SACS notifications is very convenient given the upcoming vote on the Charter Amendment. Won’t AdvanceEd have MORE clients if it passes? And why haven’t we heard of an SACS investigation into Georgia Cyber Academy’s IDEA compliance issues?
For those interested in investigating any correlation between size and number of school districts and school performance please see report below:
http://www.nea.org/home/44479.htm
Yes it is an NEA report, but check the references if you don’t like the source.
DeKalb Teacher
September 28th, 2012
4:35 pm
The race below, which I’ve posted before, is not atypical of the races across the state. I posit that the electorate was well aware of the candidates and voted for the person they felt more comfortable with. Like Chris Rock’s skit, the educated person isn’t valued.
DeKalb District #5 BOE Race in 2010:
Kirk Nooks – B.S. and M.B.A from Mercer and Ed.D. from George Washington
Jacques Hall – Perimeter College student
Cunningham – functional illiterate and convicted felon with high school education
2010 BOE election results
Jay Cunningham – 64%
Jackques Hall – 24%
Kirk Nooks – 12%
HLS
September 28th, 2012
4:53 pm
Elgart is a coward. He should say what he means. He should not paint the entire board with the same brush. He should not elude to a un-named outside influence. The history lesson here – is what happened to the Clayton BOE 12 years ago with the Trotter influence 5 led by Nedra. Then the next BOE with the arrogant 4 – led by Trotter puppet – Noreese. Let there be no confusion, when Elgart talked about “outside influence” that is raising its ugly bearded face again is none other than our own infamous Mr. Trotter. And if you would only watch the tapes of the BOE meetings – you know that the “disruptive force” at the meetings is its present member – the well-meaning but – ” I have a forum , where you gotta listen” – Ms Goree. I must say seeing Goree and Trotter on the same side is not a surprise.
Since John Trotter is strolling back into play, he will be supporting candidates – the voters need to take a good look at the new candidates for the open seats of the BOE. There is some hub-bub right now about a disruptive – you know who – board member — just wait until Trotter again has 3 instead of 1 supporter on the board. If that happens Clayton WILL lose accreditation. Oh- yeah – UN-welcome back K(Tr)otter. One thing you can be sure of – if Trotter is putting someone down – then they must be speaking the truth and certainly not paying into his retirement fund – MACE .
One more thing – if you read the rules and regulations for Board meeting you would know Goree is not following them — would someone please explain them to Goree.
Jessie Goree
September 28th, 2012
5:07 pm
@ So Sad – I usually just read and not comment; because every one is entitled to their opinion. However, at the Board meeting, I said that I would have to get accustomed to his “Barry White” voice. Barry White is the singer with the very deep bass voice. We have had a female CFO and Dr. Phillips giving the financial reports. I’m sorry if you are unfamilar with Barry White. I guess I need to check with the CFO to see if he understood. I was just having a moment of fun. Sorry, if you heard something different. This week I’ve been blamed for everything but I wouldn’t dare make a racist statement about an employee. @Lou – Ms. Luvenia Jackson will be sworn in at 8 am on Monday, Oct 1. She will be our Interim Superintendent until the Board that is in place in January launches a search. By the way, we had our very best Retreat on Saturday. One session was on “Selecting a Superintendent” and was conducted by our Attorney Glenn Brock. He explained the law and requirements to conduct a search and mentioned that SACS would want to see us “fully involved”. We discussed holding forums to engage our stakeholders which SACS added to our mandates in 2009, We never said that we were doing a search. We were just trying to be proactive and follow the SACS mandates.
mojo
September 28th, 2012
5:15 pm
@3schoolkids, I think you miss the point Ms. Jester is making. Parent power comes from the fact that they CHOOSE to go to the charter school. If they don’t like it, they can leave. The school has an interest in delivering a valuable product for the parents. In traditional schools you are trapped and can only go where an administrator lets you go. There is nothing to prevent parents from being a majority of a governance board. The real power is in the hands of the parents because they can choose.
Clayton Teacher
September 28th, 2012
7:57 pm
@Jessie Goree, I want to say thank you for having the courage to question the bullying and non-transparent tactics of our FORMER superintendent, Ed Heatley. I know you have taken more than your fair share of flak for simply questioning his plans and tactics and actions–actions which if performed in Berkeley, CA, where he so smuggly thought he was headed, would have put him out the door–most probably in jail–before he had led for a school year.
Heatley, the high-heeled, high-horsed, bullhorn- holdin- handed FORMER superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools was a graduate of the Broad Superintendents Academy. Google it. Read their agenda. Look back on his record here and see how adroitly Heatley rammed that agenda down the throats of the hardworking students, families and educators of Clayton County. Notice, too, that he omitted that critical affiliation from the biographical blurb he gave the Berkeley (CA) Unified School District.
Jessie Goree, thank you and thank you to God, that you dug your heels in and tried to question this man and his Broad Academy agenda.
People, so you know, Berkeley wouldn’t have him after they read of his antics and the similar stuff he pulled in Chino, CA.
Pam Adamson, do you read, Ma’am? I heard through the grapevine that you were an excellent, on-the-ball educator. But, Ma’am, do you read.
Google. Read. Read differing opinions. Look for the “hidden” items that come up.
Regular folks on the internet with their humble insights will reveal more than any paid search team ever will.
Come on, Clayton! Rise up!
Private Citizen
September 28th, 2012
8:15 pm
Regarding the “transformational” agenda:
“American K-12 education, or what Rupert Murdoch, Walden’s distribution partner on “Won’t Back Down,” lip-lickingly calls “a $50 billion sector in the U.S. alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed.” http://www.salon.com/2012/09/27/the_corporate_education_agenda_behind_wont_back_down/?fb_action_ids=226063094188505&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
Realistically, what Georgia is probably looking forward to is how to sort of these new education entrepreneur companies and separate the wheat from the chaff. Sort of like when “Emerson” privatized schools dive-bombed. This folks have a lot of nerve, naming their exploits “Emerson” and “Walden.” Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau would beat their butt with a hickory bough. Re-reading Thoreau, it is frightening and harsh book in a lot of places. He didn’t think much of many people.
What I want to know is who is going to be the first bunch of building contractors smart enough to open a vocational tech charter school and get some of that money while educating teens.
Trash talk
September 28th, 2012
8:22 pm
Thanks Jesse for setting the record straight.
Private Citizen
September 28th, 2012
8:26 pm
Jessie, You’re in Georgia. Everyone knows who Barry White is. What you need to see is Gerald Levert wiping the sweat off his brow with a teddy bear and throwing it into the audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZxzj08Iwss
Maybe the Ying Yang Twins will open a charter school in College Park and get some of that money while teaching the production arts, how to make records and video.
Private Citizen
September 28th, 2012
8:34 pm
If the Luvenia lady is good enough to be the “interrim,” then make her the superintendent and stop with the “searching” and cult of personality and get back to work in the classroom teaching kids.