Any suggestions for new DeKalb school board? Should Georgia consider appointed boards?

No to appointed boards. Local boards need to be elected locally.

That and we absurdly have nearly 180 public school systems in the state. Appointing board members would be a full time job.

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“We”? Suddenly you’re Ulysses S. Grant and Abe Lincoln?

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Maureen: This is exactly what the Gates Foundation, the Walton Foundation, the Pearson Foundation, the Broad Foundation, and all of the other non-educators educational foundations which stand to profit big time from Common Core, etc., want. They want to try to portray the elected school boards as being so incompetent that the gnostics who meet in secret have to appoint the school board members. You guys are like wrestling fans who believe the hype and drama that the bookers create. You are marks.

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Public Unions should be illegal. It’s is not the Union’s money to bargain with. It belongs to the taxpayers.

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I like a mix of elected and appointed members, so both sides are represented.

but only after the establishment of sane criteria for eligibility.

my dream canidiates would include:

Zell Miller- obvious reasons
Richard Lenz – local busnessman and dekalb and education advocate
Natasha Trethewey – poet lariuate (sp) and emory faculty
Dr. John Trotter (yes, our very own) – gadfly who will take opposing POV
Denise Majette – was able to build coalitions (sorta) in the post McKinney cleanup
somebody, anybody representing the Coke, Delta, or UPS board of directors – real life business

they all have flaws, some major. but Pol Pot would be an improvement over the last decade

I couldn’t care less right now if they live in the system, have kids in the system, or are members of the communist branch of the tea party.

DCSS needs more right now than the usual suspects can provide.

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a special thanks to mr thomas anthony jones sr for illustrating so clearly why DeKalb is doomed to fail.

black, white, green, crosseyed, whatever – if you love your kids, get the hell out.

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@ Jarvis: Why don’t you actually learn the issues? No teacher unions in Georgia bargain for any money. Collective bargaining contracts do not exist in Georgia.

Hey, why don’t we just let Queen Elizabeth appoint the governors…like the kings and queens of England did in the past? I’m just asking…since so many boobs on here believe the non-sensical hype put forth by the tool of the establishment, viz., SACS and want to go backwards? Yes, let’s just let the General Assembly appoint our next U. S. Senator…like it used to do in the past? This would be an ideal time because Saxby is retiring. Yes, just take away the People’s right to elect all of its officials.

Hey, I have a better idea. Let’s just let the German-led Gridiron Society get together over there on Old Campus in Athens and appoint all elected officials in Georgia…especially since so many puffed-up members believe their own hype about Gridiron running the State anyway. Yes, indeed.

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John, why don’t you learn to read. I didn’t mention Georgia.

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seems we should appoint thomas anthony jones sr to replace Gene the machine Walker.

at first glance the same level of integrity exists. and he’ll make an excellent poster child for white flight.
Sudan and Jesse Jackson for “mr jones”

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so what happens when “african-american”, whatever the hell that is, DeKalb swings to a hispanic majority? based on the demographics, its coming (gwinnett too, for that matter).

they may have not won the civil war, but they are winning the war of the crib
don’t forget that. EVER.

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First, someone who can do math!
Second, someone with academic success (at least a college degree from a brick/mortar university)
Third, s retired educator, a CEO of a local Fortune 500 business, someone from an insurance background, someone from the zoo (kid friendly), local athletic representative (someone kids will respect). See if it makes a difference! Include honesty, integrity, intelligence, respectfulness, and good work ethic. That’s a start!

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Dr. John: Check your facts. Where I work there are at least four different collective bargaining union contracts. And is this still WWII with the German reference?

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@ap

like your suggestions, but need gentle modification.

-instead of up to date textbooks, move to accurate and affordable ones. just because a new edition is out with a new paragraph doesn’t merit the expense and headaches of wholesale changes. additions and updates can be done on line.

-while faculty are the most important cog in the education wheel, there are a whole lot of non teaching staff who have been screwed just as badly as faculty. if you don’t include secretaries, custodial, ect you’ll have a major problem on your hands.

-not crazy about term limits, I’d be more supportive of stricter qualification requirements.

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I might be wrong, but I feel like Deal can appoint whoever he thinks will get the system back on track & in SACS’ good graces. Anyone?

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@ bill & ed

I suspect your right. one of the sad truths in all this is DeKalb is having to turn to the least ethical governor in my lifetime to deal with a BOE run amok with ethics issues.

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I’m sure he’ll at least entertain the recommendations of Dekalb’s delegation, for better/for worse. It’s funny because I’m not hearing much from the folks who have been calling for Walker & Co’s heads. Where do we go from here folks?

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Trotter up to same old same old….trying to drum up some money for his coffers…Maybe instead of Dr. we should to refer to him as “Reverend”. Of course lest not forget he could have a doctorate in theology…..

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A name to ponder: Kim Gocke of Brookhaven – certainly an advocate for students.

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So glad the Dunwoody schools will soon be leaving the Dekalb cesspool..

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In general, I would like to see:
Someone with a local college or university that sees the graduates strengths and weaknesses.
A CPA so they can understand the finances and whether our finance department is doing its job.
A small businessman who hires local graduates and understands their strengths and weaknesses.
A teacher or former teacher who understands what goes on in the classroom.
2 others who are financially literate.

All should have college degrees. We shouldn’t have a school board filled with people who have less education than is required to be a teacher. And all need to be able to talk to each other, respect differing opinions and focus first on the student.

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bootney: You must be VERY young to be able to claim that corruption and ethical “lapses” worse now than at any other time in your lifetime. During the century long era of absolute unchallenged one party rule in state govenment right up through the reign of King Rat Roy Barnes things happened under the golden dome that would make Nathan Deal and his cronies look like rank ameteurs in the corruption game. Think Talmadge, Vandiver, Carter et al never did anyhting underhanded? There was NO media oversight back then, so the dirty lundry never got aired out.

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Mr Trotter’s Points

Appointed People
I recall A LOT of people complaining about the legitimacy of an “appointed” state charter board. To John’s point, if we start appointing BOE’s, why don’t we have the Governor appoint the Senators. While we’re at it, why not have POTUS appoint the Governors? Let’s take this thing to its logical conclusion.

Rule Of Law
Let’s assume our government is not a banana republic. We therefore have laws and constitutions to follow. John’s point is that we should follow them whether we like them or not. If we don’t like the law or constitution, then change them. Until then, perhaps we should follow the laws and the constitution. Otherwise, we do live in a banana republic.

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@ Jarvis: Oh, I am sorry, Jarvis. I thought that this thread was discussing DeKalb County. Sorry. You apparently were waxing eloquently on global issues. Again, I tender my sincerest apologies.

Now, let me get back to the National Championship Wrestling (NCW). It appears that the DeKalb Team has been thrown over the ring ropes and Homer O’Dell will be leading Buddy Colt and Billy Spier in the next grudge match against Mark Elgart and SACS which are being led by the Tag Team Managing Team of Bill and Melinda Gates.

Eugene Walker, morphing the illustrious Dusty Rhodes, has been targeted as the bad guy personified. But the real bad guy in this episode is Dusty’s former partner with the Texas Outlaws, Dick Murdoch, who is being morphed by Mark Elgart who has monies galore behind his team. Ole Gene (aka Dusty) will be the Champion of the People again. I don’t think that you’ve seen the last of Dusty Walker…even in the DeKalb School Board races. I think that Dusty Walker’s Team will control the next school board elections in DeKalb School. The Big Man from Upson County was made to look like a real Heel, but deep down the voters of DeKalb see him as their adorable Baby Face.

I remember seeing a wrestling magazine in the Summer of 1976. The headline was this: “The Question Terrifying the Wrestling World: Will Dusty Rhodes Turn Bad Again?” Ha! I love watching the American Dream do interviews on TV. No one could talk more smack than the Dream. Ole Gene Walker is the Dusty Rhodes in this wrestling scenario in DeKalb County. Do people forget that Ole Gene has been elected many times to different offices in DeKalb? This is the problem. The powers lurking behind the SACS’s imbroglio with the DeKalb Board of Education know that they cannot control or influence Ole Gene Walker. This is why, in their small minds, he had to go. School systems are about money these days. We’re not talking about small money. We’re talking about the big money that the Gates Foundation, the Pearson Group (the largest educational company in the world, including McGraw Hill and many other publishing companies), the Broad Foundation, et al., apparently want. Yes, before it is over, Bill Gates will probably have “donated” (really “invested”) close to one billion dollars, but some estimate that his return with Microsoft apps in all of the schools could be as high as 100 billion dollars. Cantankerous school boards like Clayton’s and DeKalb’s were in the way. Only pliable and kiss-up school boards are wanted.

Actually, these groups don’t even want local school boards. Really. They want at best Regional School Boards and would really like to nationalize the schools. The several thousands of local school boards are too hard to manage. (See Clayton and DeKalb.) Therefore, the accreditors (e. g., AdvanED and its SACS) are so very important for this new national and global enterprise. Ivan Koloff (aka the Russian Bear) Elgart is really the true Heel. He is the Bad Guy (Heel) who, in my opinion, is out to destroy local control of the school boards. I think that he is just a willing pawn of the monied class. SACS, in the old days, was a harmless good house-keeping seal of approval. Today, SACS is being positioned as the ultimate totalitarian ruler which controls Public Education from pre-K through Graduate School.

The other day I was reading where the Board of Regents in Georgia merged several colleges and universities at its January meeting this year. North Georgia College and State University and Gainesville State College merged to become the University of North Georgia. In the publications explaining the merger, the folks declared that “SACS approved of the merger.” What? Is SACS Frederick the Great or Ivan the Terrible or King George III of Public Education? Yes, the real Heel is Mark Elgart and AdvanED. We need more Dusty Walkers to buck up to SACS. I think that the People of North Carolina essentially told SACS to kiss its collective A$s. We need more of this. We need a complete revolution against SACS and this nefarious scheme of muting local school boards and eventually eradicating local school boards. This is where it is heading folks, and you can remember that “crazy” John Trotter told you so – just like I have told you many things in the past which have occurred.

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I’m just a bystander here, so will simply observe that Maureen made a sensible inquiry about possible board members replacing those who were outsted, and for the most part, commenters have responded by insulting each other. So, from my disinterested perspective, I’m wondering if the Dekalb BOE is simply representative of the county’s population in its dysfunction.

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Of all the places that I thought I might see a Buddy Colt reference today, this wasn’t on the list. I don’t have much use for your theories Mr. Trotter, but you earned some points with that analogy. Well done sir.

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oops, make that ousted, though outsted is a pretty good word.

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It is sad that all the discussion hear is about race and very little about the students of Dekalb county. If that has been your comments, shame on you. You are just as bad if not worse than the Board because you are parents and grandparents.

NEWS FLASH*** Corruption comes in ALL races and ALL political parties. So get off of ALL the high horses and start focusing on the needs of OUR kids.

The Board should be representive of the ALL Dekalb County so ALL of the issues can be addressed. We need to get our fiscal house in order so that teachers can be compensated and provided with the tools needed to ensure OUR students are successful. Parents need to get involved and stop complaining. My kids graduated last year but I care about the interest of all of OUR students. I fully intended to be a fixture at the Board meetings going forward. It will take a village to support the new Board and not the tribes represented on this blog.

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Crying shame:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/big_penders_at_teach_union_nqPRUrH7Qbe15RSAXzMRyN

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Dear Jarvis,

There are NO teachers’ unions in Georgia.

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I don’t believe that it is going to happen anyway. Even if Governor Deal appoints a new board by Thursday, I think the current board will be given their injunction and this entire conversation will be moot.

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Peter: I suspect you are right. Besides, most of the really smart people in Dekalb County have raised themselves up to the point financially whereby they can leave the horrible public school system behind and send their kids to one of the handful of really fine old established private schools in the area (not the spate of marginal quality little start-up religious schools opening up all over the place in the past 20-30 years, or those started in the 60’s in response to desegregation, but those who had been around long before.)

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i would like to see different schools for home owners and renters. let the people who pay the property taxes and the majority of the taxes in the county have their own schools

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Dr. John is a bully.

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If you want to get the job done, place or “appoint” the talent required. I do not recall any military generals getting “elected.”

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vietnamvet: Can you show me the county/school property tax bill for your rented apartment/house/condo? Schools are funded via local property taxes, which are paid by property owners, not renters.

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Cheryl Seavey Murphy – Oak Grove/Lakeside. Cheryl was raised in DeKalb, attended Emory, raised two children and served on PTA boards as President. She is hard-working, honest, ethical and works to develop collaborative and practical decisions. I believe the Governor would do well to choose someone with a strong civic background, teaching history, financial management qualifications and IT knowledge to help lead the new school board. I hope the dimissed six will resign without dragging us and our tax dollars through the courts. Be gracious.

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Dr Henson,
If your Board of Directors, state-chartered special school, was infiltrated by “evil doers” … how would you root the evil doers out if they block nominated/voted and had a majority?

d
Don’t be so sure that rule of law will prevail. Judge Lee denied the RO on a technicality. She may hunt down another technicality or reinterpret something and strike down the injunction next Thursday.

Most of us agree with the outcome of the hearing. The prosecutor, judge and jury knew how this was going to end before the hearing began. It was a kangaroo court. Do the ends justify the means? Perhaps the same will be true for Judge Lee’s decision on Thursday.

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To those DeKalb school board members seeking to save their jobs in court: For the love of God, just GO!

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Three names I really like that have been mentioned: Brad Bryant, Denise Majette and Cheryl Murphy. @South DeKalb – Vernon Jones is half the problem with where the county is today (although you may be Mr. Jones himself) and would be more of the same and NOT a good pick.

And for all of you claiming racism, sorry but that ship has sailed. The issue is doing what is right by the students of DeKalb with the most competent leaders that we can get.

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BTW, I applaud Jester for taking the high road at the meeting yesterday and I do think the State should consider her as well. Don’t know enough about Speaks except that she has tried to do the right thing in the past on some issues which angered the “Black Mafia”.

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@ Smoke Rise Mom
One potential problem is whether such a teacher would truly independent of the DCSS central office and bureaucracy. For example, if DCSS could negatively affect the teacher’s pension, would the teacher be truly independent?

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Is Trotter ok?

It seems his grasp on reality is slipping. Meds ok?

Nothing he has said would move the county toward a solution.

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If you really want board members to dig in and solve the problems in DCSS, then you need to pay them MORE — a lot more — and not less. DCSS school board members make a paltry $18,000 per year, for a job, if done right, is easily more than a full time job, which means we basically pay them a little above minimum wage. And for that minimum wage job they are subjected to regular public criticism, much of which is frequently uniformed or misinformed, and we lambaste them and skewer them regularly in the media. And, particularly for urban school districts like DeKalb, when you boil it all down the real core problem is that a large percenatge of the students come from homes with weak and uninvolved parents that don’t care much about education — a problem which no board member can really fix. So why would anyone subject themselves to this very difficult job, with ridiculously low pay, and regular public abuse? It’s a wonder that we get some of the good, caring, and competent board members — which DO exist in DeKalb and APS (if you say they don’t, then you are uninformed). If we paid board members what a top quality manager of a hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of employees enterprise should make, which is many times more than $18,000 per year, then we might attract more good people into taking on this crazy, thankless job.

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@ Pardon My Blog
Denise Majette?
Why should DCSS be a haven for out-of-office Democratic politicians? Michael Thurmond, Thurbert Baker, and now Denise Majette?

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The very first duty of responsibilty of this New Board should be is to re-negotiate the current pay package of Mr.Thurmond to save money. Then start an agreesive search in finding a competent,experienced and qualifed Superintendent ASAP! This may even cause to replace Mr. Thurmond with at least a more qualified interm Superintendent. Mr. Thurmonds inexperence all though well intentioned motives are not enough at this time of crisis with the management of the school system. Someone internally who is more familiar with the shortcomings and inner workings would be far better than Mr. Thurmond on his BEST DAY!

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I’m not saying that I disagree with what happened yesterday, but from what I read about the judge’s decision to throw out the suit on Wednesday, she hinted that she agreed about the Constitutional issue.

I am really on the fence about business people as board members. I fully agree businesses need to be part of the educational process. They need to provide feedback on what they need from curriculum so that the students coming out of the schools are prepared to work and be a productive part of the community that they are in. That being said, the job of a board of education is to set policy. I am not sure businessmen and women are the best to set policy for the craziness that is public education in the United States.

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On a slightly different topic, I would love to see Joshua Starr (from Montgomery County, MD) come in and be our superintendent. Any educational leader that sees how we overtest our students has my vote.

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how about bill campbell? I heard he needs a job and wants to move back to atlanta. but, he’ll want big money.

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we hear how much the ‘Super’ is payed w/ benefits.
I have not seen what board members earn.
Must be alot (including side benefits) if they are fighting so hard to keep their board position?

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Excellent recommendations! Questions

1. Why haven’t any of them run for a board of education seat?
2. What makes any of these people different than our previous board members?

Walker – State Senator, PhD History from Duke, Teacher for 15 years
Womack – Bachelors from UGA, VP of Trailways, President of Georgia Courier, VP of First Financial Group (Fortune 400)
Bowen – BS Accounting, Attorney and CPA, Director of U.S. Transaction with Hewlett Packard, JD from Georgia State University, College of Law
Redovian – BA degree in Finance from Ohio University, President and Owner of Atlantic Southern Products
McChesney – BA History, Masters in Education, Teacher for 34 years
Jester – BS Economics, Actuary
Edler – MS Business, BS Accounting, CPA
Cunningham – High school education – man of the people
Woods – High school education – woman of the people

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i think they should appoint robots to the school board

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@The Hammer – I don’t think most people *inside* the public education system wants the “homogenized people” that you claim. However, the major problem we face in public education is that forces outside public education control the line of thinking right now. Dr. Trotter has mentioned several – Gates, Broad, Walton, etc. Georgia legislators seem to be ensnared by the siren song from Michelle Rhee – a self proclaimed “bad teacher” whose record in DC was very similar to Beverly Hall’s record in Atlanta. That is the problem with the ban on collective bargaining in Georgia. Teachers know what we need to do to create productive citizens from our students, but frequently we are not permitted to do so because of the “reformers.”

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how about let the mayor of atlanta and city council pick the school board? Atl needs to be represented by more African-Americans and the mayor will make sure the right people get picked.

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As a former school board candidate in Cobb County, who ran against a controversial incumbent, I can honestly say that the majority of the people vote based on name recognition, NOT necessarily for the best candidate. It is a sad state of affairs when people care more about a calendar issue and not the real issues affecting our schools, and children’s education. This said school board member in Cobb has been called out for numerous ethics violations, yet he still gets by with them due to his age and people excusing him for being a senile old man. SACS should take a good hard look at this Cobb Co. boardmember as he has pulled some of the same antics that the Dekalb school board members who are being replaced have. I wish people would be more proactive when doing their homework regarding candidates and their qualifications… It is up to the voters to take the initiatives to ensure quality representation from school board members.

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I think the best thing, for the parents of that county to do, is vote with your feet and move out of that school district all together.

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@ d: I think that Michelle Rhee is phony as a three dollar bill. Where are the test scores (the actual tests) of her “miracle” students whom she taught in D. C.? They seem to be missing, right?

As an administrator, if I were willing to beat up teachers, don’t you think that I could have played this same game that she and these other gypsy and slutting superintendents play? (Did I just make up a word…slutting? Ha! I do indeed call these superintendents “gypsy superintendents” and “educational sluts.” I have been calling them this for years…in many of my articles.)

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You would think this historic 14 hour hearing and unanimous decision would be news, but guess what?, outside of the metro Atlanta area, in the hinterlands where local newspapers are real tight with their local boards of education, and have a sort of cooperative arrangement where they promote each other, there is not a whisper of mention of this news. It would really rock-the-boat in the where people are trained to the obedience system and school boards role play as local royalty.

Ssshhh. Don’t print that, whatever you do!!!

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tsiky tisky Dr. John, no reason to be sexist. you must spend too much time on the road getting coffee at convenience stores with the counter / cash register next to the magazine rack. ha

I usually turn the top of the rack magazine around so the back cover is facing outward. Ever seen one of those girls on the side of the road “talking on the cell phone” (not), impatiently rubbing their hairdo, sort of stamping feet as if waiting for someone, meanwhile with the parked police cruiser in the parking lot across the street, surveilling them? There’s a lot of that is urban/rural Georgia. Lots of dysfunction, role playing, meth labs, throw in jail, not rehabilitate. A guy just told me that when he was in prison, there was no rehabilitation and a warden told him “I own (for profit) stock in every one of you guys. Every year I buy shares in the (for profit prison) company. It’s all a money grab. Everybody’s makin’ money, the police, the prosecutor, the judge, the prisons.”

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And everything is a felony now.

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At this point I would be fine with no board and a superintendent that is hired by the county CEO. One throat to choke.

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I like the idea of a mayor appointed school system. I also agree that we should select representatives “whose interests reflect the greater district needs”. However if we are to consider one representative from the Organization of DeKalb Educators we should also consider one representative from the Georgia Federation of Teachers.

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@ bbb

not only did you not answer the question, you are sadly and stupidly mistaken in your basic premise.

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Dr Trotter – how about addressing Maureen’s question without sarcasm? Who – real people – would you suggest be appointed? Forgeth the rhetoric about whether the law will be upheld or not — just tell us who you think is competent.

I’d add Dan Weber of Dunwoody to the list, and if Fran Millar wasn’t busy being a legislator, would propose his name. Another good name would be Kay Weber – 30+ years in DeKalb as teacher and was principal at Peachtree Charter Middle School during some difficult transition years. She retired from the sytem, but she is one sharp lady and not afraid to speak up for children.

I’d put my name on the list – CPA, Ivy League economics degree, MBA from Emory, 30+ years in various business positions with Fortune 50 companies, and a graduate of DCSS (when Peachtree was still a high school). Volunteered at one of the most challenged high schools in Atlanta Public Schools, and continue to be involved with education through a non-profit board position.

But, oh, dear, I was smart enough to see the DCSS train wreck coming. One year of education – at Vanderlyn, one of the top elementary schools in the state, no less – was enough to convince me to send my child to private school. And that simple fact would, in the eyes of many, be a barrier to being on a public school board.

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how about Beverly Hall – she’s available

(sorry, couldn’t resist)

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I would support the mayor appointing board members. I agree we should select ‘”representatives whose interests reflect the greater district needs”. However we MUST have a board who reflect the diversity of Dekalb County. Also, if we have one board member from the Organziation of Dekalb Eduactors we should also have one member from the Georgia Federation of Teachers.

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When people complain of political candidates these days regardless of office (why even vote? I don’t like any of them!), many acknowledge one of the main problems with the democratic process, even with the lure of $$ or more likely power & influence = most of the people that I and many would consider ideal for the job have no interest in taking it, they have more dignity & less patience for this type silliness, to ever run for the position. They run the other way.

I know a couple in particular, many like us half-tease from time to time “why don’t you run?” They have addressed the board repeatedly, come better prepared than those up front, & are clearly more qualified/knowledgeble than anyone else on the board & most central office staff. If you’ve attended & watched enough board meetings you know at least a couple. They are invested in education in an unbiased way (at least while looking in from the outside – I’ll concede). They are not pushing their own individual/local/area school agenda. They are usually challenging the efforts of the board based on incorrect information, inproper process & clearly out-of-whack priorities. They speak of true achievement in the classroom, reasonable class sizes, equiping & compensating our teachers (not ODE style – I’m talking from true rank & file prospective). They speak against canned programs doomed to fail. They want true “success for all” – in reality, not yet another expensive pet project. “Victory in the Classroom” as the only goal, not just a slogan. “Premier” as a reputation earned, not self-proclaimed.

Though I voted for her, but did feel it would serve the greater good to have the all 6 board incumbent members removed, I consider Nancy Jester mostly fitting this mold. Yes, she took actions to protect her turf, & that’s the problem = she had turf. If all were elected AT LARGE, only 5 at most, I think we’d have a better outcome.

Appointed, regardless of who does it, creates a similar problem. They are beholden, not to a home district, but to political patronage, which has always been the American way. And that carries more quid-pro-quo than any election.

So to me district-based elections vs. appointed, both devils you know.

At-large elections on very small board (no more than 5)? Not necessarily all angels, but gotta be less devils.

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@ futuro

sorry, wrong minority. the current majority minority in DeKalb is not interested in your opinions or input

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Not sure appointments by elected officials will work. No salary is a MUST. Health insurance benefits may be ok, as it is a way to (hopefully) ensure teachers can receive quality health insurance. The problem that will be hard to fix is engaging DeKalb voters to care about who they are voting for and whether or not they are running for the right reasons.

Board Member is not a job title, it is a service to the community and it needs to be performed by someone who cares about education, DeKalb County students AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, being good stewards of DeKalb taxpayers’ money.

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When people complain of political candidates these days regardless of office (why even vote? I don’t like any of them!), many acknowledge one of the main problems with the democratic process, even with the lure of $$ or more likely power & influence = most of the people that I and many would consider ideal for the job have no interest in taking it, they have more dignity & less patience for this type silliness, to ever run for the position. They run the other way.

I know a couple in particular, many like us half-tease from time to time “why don’t you run?” They have addressed the board repeatedly, come better prepared than those up front, & are clearly more qualified/ knowledgeable than anyone else on the board & most central office staff. If you’ve attended & watched enough board meetings you know at least a couple. They are invested in education in an unbiased way (at least while looking in from the outside – I’ll concede). They are not pushing their own individual/local/area school agenda. They are usually challenging the efforts of the board based on incorrect information, improper process & clearly out-of-whack priorities. They speak of true achievement in the classroom, reasonable class sizes, equipping & compensating our teachers (not ODE style – I’m talking from true rank & file prospective). They speak against canned programs doomed to fail. They want true “success for all” – in reality, not yet another expensive pet project. “Victory in the Classroom” as the only goal, not just a slogan. “Premier” as a reputation earned, not self-proclaimed.

Though I voted for her, but did feel it would serve the greater good to have the all 6 board incumbent members removed, I consider Nancy Jester mostly fitting this mold. Yes, she took actions to protect her turf, & that’s the problem = she had turf. If all were elected AT LARGE, only 5 at most, I think we’d have a better outcome.

Appointed, regardless of who does it, creates a similar problem. They are beholden, not to a home district, but to political patronage, which has always been the American way. And that carries more quid-pro-quo than any election.

So to me district-based elections vs. appointed, both devils you know.

At-large elections on very small board (no more than 5)? Not necessarily all angels, but gotta be less devils.

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They voted to remove one of the only competent, professional, true “educators” that the DCCS had…quite frankly Dekalb doesn’t deserve her…. Go ahead Dekalb, vote some matchbook cover degree – having, criminal clowns to replace her….what a F’ing joke this all is….

Dr. Pam Speaks bio:

In November 2008, Dr. Pamela Speaks was elected to the DeKalb County Board of Education for District 8 and began her term in office in January, 2009. Dr. Speaks is a retired DeKalb County School System (DCSS) educator who has served students in many capacities over the past thirty years.

Dr. Speaks began her professional career in education after she earned a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University. She continued her education and earned a Master of Arts from Northeastern. She also earned a Specialist in Education (Ed. S.) from Jacksonville State University. Finally, she earned a Doctorate in Education (Ed. D.) from Sarasota.

Dr. Speaks taught physical education and special education in Brookline, Massachusetts and in Boston, Massachusetts. She moved to Georgia, and for twenty-five years, Dr. Speaks worked in the DCSS as a special education teacher, as a specialist for the Regional Assessment Center, and as an administrator.

As an administrator, Dr. Speaks earned the reputation as being one who demonstrated high standards of excellence and expected the same from the teachers she was assisting to earn their certification. Consequently, teachers in schools across the district credit Dr. Speaks with helping them become effective classroom teachers. Additionally, she supported teachers as an Instructional Coordinator. Finally, she ended her career in the DCSS as Title I Director. In that position, Dr. Speaks was responsible to oversee the federally-funded program that provides additional funding to schools that serve economically disadvantaged students.

She has two children who graduated from the DCSS. Her daughter is a 1994 graduate of the DeKalb School of the Arts and her son is a 2002 graduate of Lakeside High School.

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Profile – School Board
What is the desired profile of a school board rep? School board reps work roughly 20 – 40 hrs/week and make $18K annually. We severely limit ourselves to the type of person that can do the job …

* Old retired people
* Independently wealthy
* Significant others of a single income home
* Somebody that can afford to live on $18K

Are these the profiles of the school board reps we want?

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School boards exerting “local control” is a myth. Schools are about transferring curriculum “knowledge.” School boards do not “control” anything in this regard, nor should they. School boards manage: pay the light bill, make sure the roof is not leaking, and that the buses run on time. They manage the check book and local infrastructure. That is a big job all by itself and it is a service to teachers and students.
________________________

I think elected local boards is a joke. It is make-believe that they have power over education and it a con job from big power that local boards have control. When they exert “control” it is negative control. It is a complete mis-fit. It is a personality charade. When I watched the last of the hearing, the last two “new” board members just rattled about a bunch of visionary dross. Frankly, it was ridiculous, like a side-show at the midway. Point being, they don’t have any power over education. They can ban books and obstruct hirees and create distraction. Maybe I’ve just not ever seen a “model version” of a productive school board aside from… paying the light bill, making sure the roof doesn;t leak… balance the checkbook.

Hire skilled teachers and get out of their way and let them do their work. But Georgia is allll about something else.

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I’d be all for national administration of schools, but for some reason in the United Stated, national administration seems to create burden, confusion, and entirely ignore teachers having the tools to do their job based on real applied-practitioners demanding the tools they need. Something else is going on. It is no small thing that Georgia has no (zero) sequential vocabulary program and that much of math instruction has been turned into a mess of combined concepts instead of sequential mastery.

A master teacher commented about “the standards” make a system where the teacher has to keep moving, whether the kids know the material or not. If you think about this for a minute, it is completely counterproductive for teachers to not have the authority to do effective work. Local school boards provide nothing, no relief whatsoever, on these important issues of real control. They do not merit reference as having “control” either, for the simple reason that they do not.

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For many Georgia school boards, the use of “control” is to get rid of annual comprehensive testing that shows their standing and performance in a national comparison, and instead, replace it with testing the does a comparison within Georgia. This is an example of “negative control” and appears to be supported by the state DOE. At the very least, the state DOE accepts this. It allows them to pay personnel and test company to make a “Georgia version” of annual comprehensive test. This type of dishonest “make believe” activity is one reason why many unconnected Georgia students are told they are getting quality norms, but why over a long period of time Georgia students and communities are manipulated as dumb peasants and real national comparisons reflect this lack of serious services.

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Lynn13 you must be talking about the Decatur School Board. They are wonderful and have brought Decatur’s school system up to great levels in a short amount of time because they are selfless and always but students first. I am so thankful my kids are in CSD cause they are getting a fabulous education! I wish that Superintendent Edwards and the Decatur School board could take over the DeKalb system so DeKalb’s kids could get as great an education as ours are in Decatur. God bless DeKalb’s parents, teachers and students and let’s hope help is on the way.

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If the fact of being elected is critical, you may as well go back to elected superintendents. Just do away with the board. At least there would be someone with the responsibility and that we could hold responsible.

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As much as it pains me…DIO has a good point.

DCSS has severe challenges and requires much time and attention from a skilled BOE. Unfortunately, the pool is limited when considering the time/effort involved in THIS situation and the $$ available to compensate for that time/effort. Not every BOE requires so much investment in time…but given everyone’s issues/concerns about superintendents in DeKalb, I think DIO has a point.

Someone is going to post that a BOE shouldn’t be spending that much time…and in successful systems I’d agree…but this system is so broken and battered, THIS board will require the time.

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Yes to appointed boards. Far too many people use getting elected to a school board as a springboard to higher office. They’re not there for the children, they’re there to generate name recognition and make political connections. Education is an afterthought.

Which isn’t to say that appointed boards would be a slam dunk. There are many ways in which appointed boards could be implemented poorly. What if they’re appointed by a governor who insists that schools teach rain comes from prayers? There are dangerous pitfalls in making boards appointed but as long as those are addressed, it would be better than the current system where members are more often than not in it for something other than education.

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Would that be the same State Sen. Ronald Ramsey who is alleged (by John Trotter-nothing anonymous there) to have illegally shut down a grievance hearing just as a teacher was about to testify to widespread cheating?

Funny, didn’t hear much from Mighty ODE on that one. Are they willing to hold Ramsey accountable for the performance (or lack thereof) of OIR in DCSS?

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@If we end up with 15 members on Thursday, then what?

Over the top rope Battle Royal! With a holographic Gordon Solie providing commentary.

INDEED!

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People elected boards only…you get what you asked for.

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OK Here’s something so genius I can’t believe Walker/SCW/Cunningham haven’t suggested it:

Let our duly-elected but soon-to-booted 6 appoint their own successors!

Elected & appointed in the same sentence. Everyone’s happy.

Your Welcome . . . . My work here is done

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I guess the Governor may come up with six super-duper kiss-ups to Ivan the Terrible, uh, I mean Mark Elgart. Yes, indeed, let’s just do away with elected school boards. Isn’t this what AdvancED, Gates, Pearson, Broad, and the Bilderbergers really want? Yes, it will be sufficient for the Governor to ask some of his fellow Gridironers just whom they would recommend. This elected process is just too much. It is just too messy. Too many people of whom we don’t approve get elected by the People. Darn! This is a mess. Hey, why not just disenfranchise black voters all together? Isn’t this really what some want? Yes, indeed, go back to the days of the Black Codes in Georgia. Heck, just re-institute the Convict Lease System. Yes, let the Bourbons control everything again in Georgia. Hey, I’ve got an idea, why don’t the Disgruntled Ones in DeKalb just petition Governor Deal to just re-name the school system the DeKalb Colored School System? The only black elementary school in Clayton County for years was officially named the Jonesboro Colored Elementary School. Yes, this would be progress in the minds of those who feast on the seared salmon and asparagus at the Piedmont Dining Club. I love that metaphor. Ha!

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I hope our honorable governor replaces these board members for the good of our precious children and citizens of dekalb. I pray the courts will uphold what the voters of GA passed to give a governor this power.

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Trotter really pulling out all punches to get some money for the coffers….why don’t you just state “He’s gonna put ya’ll back in chainss” and then pass around the offering plate at your next sermon, John?

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I predict that all hell will break loose if the right to vote for school board members is taken away from the citizens of Dekalb County. Folks are not going to let a tea party backed governor or anybody else take away their right to vote.

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Just think for only $44/month you can have the great LION speak for you, too! That’s just $528/year to the coffers of the great LION!!

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Hey “Comment”: Why don’t you address the fact that Mark Elgart does nothing to Fulton County (his home county which has had, from my understanding, many complaints to SACS), Cobb County (remember those 57 illegal school board meetings?), or Gwinnett County (remember those 45,000 serious disciplinary offenses that were not reported?)? Perhaps you might want to “comment” on this instead of making your usual immature ad hominem attacks.

I have found that people in general don’t like it when you point out the racial disparities. No collection plates, please. Just pointing out the obvious.

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The governor already has recommendations on his desk for all the positions.

There really are some very qualified individuals throughout the county that can be appointed thats interest will be turning the system around and doing what is best for all the stakeholders. However, I do not see the situation being turned around in a hurry as it took years of dyfunction for us to get in this situation. I personally saw the corruption 12-15 years ago when I got involved politically to try to make changes. I have seen the situation get worse each year. I have seen good board members elected who thought they could make a difference and after elected they realized it was a very disfunctional situation and a very frustrating situation.

I recently heard a recent board member speak who is no longer on the school board who said the problem was that there were 9 people on the school board had different agendas for being on the school board (this person included themself). I thought this was an interesting prospective and probable was the true root of the problem.

However, I do feel sorry for some of the school board members who were removed.

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i think i speak for a lot of people i know who live in dekalb. lets get the school board fixed and clean up all the problems and scandal in dekalb county. so hopefully my property value will go back up and i can sell my home and get the hell out of here!!!!!

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DeKalb Inside Out asked, “If your Board of Directors, state-chartered special school, was infiltrated by ‘evil doers’ … how would you root the evil doers out if they block nominated/voted and had a majority?”

I wouldn’t have to root them out. The State Board of Education would when it was time to renew the charter. That’s the beauty of an independent state-chartered school–a dysfunctional board cannot keep a chokehold indefinitely. The authorizer will shut them down.

When was the last time that happened to a district with a dysfunctional board?

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I too find it hard to believe rent includes $1,500 year in school tax.

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There are still openings for next year pre-K through 4th grade at ADS. adsdirector@hotmail.com for more information. Located on Clairemont at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Atlanta. Serving diverse population from all over the metro, esp. Decatur, Atlanta, Tucker and surrounding communities. Not as expensive as other privates, but still maintain small class sizes, certified teachers, quality instruction in a caring environment with excellent parent involvement by choice, not required. Current year transfers considered on a case-by-case basis. School may expand to middle school years in two years if there is sufficient demand. http://annunciationdayschool.org/Home.html

Suggestion for public school future in DeKalb: at-large elections or appointed boards since all school board members cast a vote that affects outcome for all students. They must be accountable to the people who they are affecting. Right now, the elections process is not working because you only vote for your area and therefore your area is reduced to a single vote on a board even if you represent a larger number of people who are educated and know what works in education.

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Dr. Walker was elected at large (at least over half the county).
At large voting IMHO is absolutely the worst idea I have heard mentioned on these blogs. You’d have the Milton County secession movement played out in Dekalb. The neighborhood/ caste infighting is a reflection of the electorate. The board is merely a symptom.

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Kim Goeke
Ella Smith
Shayna Steinfeld
Viola Davis
Pam Speaks

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“The whole school board thing needs to be reverse-engineered and looked at”

I HEARTILY AGREE! It’s a very simple process:
SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD OVERTURN THE COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW. This would solve all current problems. SELL OFF ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL CAPITAL and citizens will be RICH and can now afford good private schools or home school, and BEVERLY FRAUD WILL BE OUT OF A BLOG GIG BECAUSE ALL THE EDUCATIONAL CORRUPTOCRATS WILL BE OUT OF A JOB!

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bu2 “Dr. Walker was elected at large (at least over half the county)” – that was several years ago for one thing when most people were unaware of the problems in the school system, and he was elected due to poor turnout of a portion of that section of the county and high turnout by another section. If the whole county would have voted, he would not have received the most votes regardless of what time of the year they try to stage the elections. Dunwoody and Fernbank are in separate districts as are Lakeside and Tucker when you look at the super districts. Most of the money and votes come from these areas. And, Walker’s power comes from controlling three votes, not just his own. So, if the whole county voted for all the positions, Walker would not have two others to control and would likely be “marginalized” as Nancy Jester has said she has been. You might not get Walker out (or those like him) but it would be much, much more difficult to get the others elected whom are obvious pawns being used in his game.

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As a teacher in DeKalb let me just say …….. we need serious help. There are no resources going into the classrooms. If there is anything new in your child’s classroom, it is because the teacher has bought it. Our school has not even had copy paper for the last two month to run off student’s lessons or to send a note home. We are expected to buy it ourselves. Children suffer from thinking like this. We are told to do more with less. Even though we are furloughed and not given supplies we are still expected to provide an excellent education with everyone scoring high on tests. And don’t get me going about the poorly made tests DeKalb wants your child to pass……………….Someone help!!! DeKalb Schools needs people who will cut, cut, cut, and go line by line through the spending and make it right…….for the taxpayers, the students and families, and all employees.

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“As a teacher in DeKalb let me just say …….. we need serious help. There are no resources going into the classrooms. If there is anything new in your child’s classroom, it is because the teacher has bought it. Our school has not even had copy paper for the last two month to run off student’s lessons or to send a note home. We are expected to buy it ourselves.”

Yet DeKalb has a billion dollars to educate less than 100,000 students. We have the highest millage rate in the metro area and the lowest teacher compensation.

Where does the money go?

Do you think Mr. Thurmond who has not ONCE mentioned teachers as stakeholders or Melvin Johnson, New Birth (Eddie Long) elder and longtime DeKalb insider, will change things? Tell your parents to attend BOE meetings, write and call elected representatives, and seek meetings with Mr. Thurmond. ALL teachers should be advising parents to do this. Parents need to be visible at the schools and in the Central Office and at BOE meetings and asking for and documenting everything that is NOT happening in the classrooms for students.

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I would recommend highly Ms. Piece and Mr. Brown. Both of these individuals live in south DeKalb and both of these individuals have run for school board and were not elected. There was also a young man that I remember who ran for a position on the school board who was involved as an administrator in a local college. I do not remember his name but I do remember how sharp he was. Of course he was not elected either.

I think you may need to go back and look at the percentages that Dr. Walker won by in the last election. I honestly did not spend hardly any campaign money. I did not expect to win. I knew that beating Dr. Walker was almost an impossible task but he needed someone to step up and give him some competition and I actually did do that.

Dr. Walker was scared enough to make deals with the Fernbank Parents openly which is questionable in itself if he should have ethically been making deals like this regarding school boundary lines. I have also been told he was shocked at how well I did. I think the vote was an indication that the south side of the county were beginning to realize that Dr. Walker was part of the problem. A high percentage of the citizens of DeKalb were fed up then and now they are outraged.

bu2, If you will check you will see I can hold my own in a debate. However, the forum at Fernbank was not a debate. The deal had been worked out with Dr. Walker and Dr. Walker was handed the microphone. I have been in many debates. This was not a debate. I can hold my own with Dr. Walker and most individuals in a debate and I have done so in the past if they are fair debates. At one time I did reach out and take the microphone away from Dr. Walker and stepped in. I am not easily ran over. You apparently do not know me very well. However, I am not offended as you would have had to be there to understand how bad the situation was.

However, if you knew me you would also know that I only want what is best for the students and citizens in DeKalb. I think what is best is for the governor to do is to find a highly qualified African American to replace Dr. Walker. This is just my opinion but I do feel that is what is best for the school system at this time. Race should never be a factor in making decisions like this but at this time I feel it is best to replace Dr. Walker with an African American. I also think it is time to discuss the racial issues and division that has occurred on the school board as this is a major factor in this disfunctional situaiton. I have heard at least members discuss race on issues regarding decisions. This should not be a factor in making decisions as a board member. The needs of every child in the school system should be the first priority regardless of the color of a board member’s skin, child’s skin, the religion of a child, or the ability of a child. This must be discussed and the school board and system must rise above this.

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Private Citizen, I totally agree.

However, I do believe the committee and Governor Deal with be sensitive to making sure the appointments are racially diverse.

Qualifications should always be the number one factor in making a decisions like this.

I do believe that the communication lines need to be open regarding racial issues. I believe racial issues have been present and may have caused some of the poor decisions made by this school board. For instance I believe that one of the reasons our legal bills are so high is because of the number of legal firms representing the school system/school board. I believe race was a major factor for the school board in selecting the firms they selected. Transportation issues were a big factor in running up our deficit. While other school systems have stopped transporting students all over their county DeKalb County has continued to bus their students. Other school systems continue to allow schools of choice but they require the parents to pay for their own transportation in making the choice they have for their children. Marta makes a great deal of money in Fulton County transporting students from one end of the county to the other.

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