Does the state law being used against DeKalb board cede too much power to SACS?
In his passionate closing statement before the state Board of Education on Thursday, attorney Bob Wilson hearkened to fallen soldiers, the flag and the Constitution in an effort to save the jobs of his clients, veteran DeKalb County school board members
“I look at that flag back there and I think about the young men and now the young women who lost their lives defending it. For what? Freedom of speech, the right to vote, they are right at the top, ” Wilson told the state board at the end of the 14-hour hearing. “The ballot box must be given huge, huge deference in this county. If it is not, we are lost.”
A former DeKalb district attorney and one of the two attorneys tapped by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2010 to probe CRCT cheating, Wilson didn’t land a winning punch with this powerful imagery.
A unanimous state board voted to recommend that Gov. Nathan Deal suspend the DeKalb board. The state board wasn’t impressed with what one member called DeKalb’s “deathbed repentance,” telling the six members that their history of dysfunction outweighed their promises of change.
But Wilson may get to give the speech again and perhaps to a more receptive audience.
On behalf of the DeKalb board members, he filed suit in Fulton County Superior Court and in U.S. District Court arguing the law allowing the governor to oust school board members in troubled districts is unconstitutional. A hearing in Fulton Superior Court on Thursday could restrain the governor from proceeding on the suspensions. A hearing in federal court is scheduled for Tuesday, but Wilson requested it be rescheduled because the transcript from the state board hearing will not be ready.
In turning to the courts, DeKalb joins six Sumter County board members who challenged the law in November and forestalled their removal from office.
Deal will announce Monday at 11 a.m. whether he will follow the state board’s lead and suspend the DeKalb board. (On Friday, Wilson asked the federal court for an injunction to stop Deal from acting on the state board’s recommendation. Will post if the court issues that temporary restraining order.)
“Removing elected officials from office is a serious duty, not undertaken lightly,” the governor said in a statement Friday. “That responsibility, however, pales in comparison to the importance of assuring the credibility of students’ education.”
There are legitimate questions about empowering a governor to unseat school boards that the courts — and all Georgia voters — ought to consider:
Among them:
•The law provides for removing board members without any showing of any wrongdoing or even a lack of discretion.
•The law cedes unprecedented and almost absolute power over elected officials to a private accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The law specifies that boards can be removed by the governor after being put on probation by its accrediting agency. In this case, that agency is SACS, which has been far more troubled by 5-4 school board votes than by chronically low test scores and faltering academics. As Nancy Jester, one of the DeKalb board members recommended for suspension, noted about the SACS criteria for accreditation: “You can be a school board of distinction, but the student achievement can be abysmal.”
•Why should the governor have the power to remove school board members for ineffectiveness yet pay no heed to crazy city councils and loose-cannon county commissions? There are many dysfunctional elected bodies around the state whose antics, while also not criminal, are irrational and damaging. (Some might cite the General Assembly as an example.)
•The law could be challenged for not only being unconstitutional, but incomprehensible. Last month, the state board told DeKalb emphatically that the law required all school board members, regardless of tenure, must be removed. Thus, DeKalb’s three brand-new members would go, too, if suspension were recommended. It was “all or nothing,” according to the state board.
However, at the start of the state board hearing last week, the Department of Education attorney reversed positions, saying the three newcomers wouldn’t be ousted because they had no role in DeKalb’s fall from grace with SACS. But the DeKalb board members elected two years could make the same argument, especially since it was conceded by SACS that DeKalb’s management problems go back a decade. Yet those two-year board members were recommended for removal.
•The big beneficiary in this debacle may be the governor, who gets to make a political decision that will widely be seen as heroic: removing the controversial DeKalb school board. Even if the courts overturn the law, it won’t be a loss, as Deal really doesn’t want to run the DeKalb schools.
Several speakers at the board hearing declared it was a “new day” in DeKalb. But many of the old problems — racial and economic divides, a ravaged real estate market, a growing underclass — remain. And it’s not apparent that a hand-picked school board will be enough to solve them.
–From Maureen Downey, the AJC Get Schooled blog
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201 comments Add your comment
Concernedmom30329
February 23rd, 2013
12:18 pm
Interesting comments from the business person, Maureen.
Emory has long seen the dysfunction of DeKalb and have walked away. It is understandable, because for a generation, we have had leaders who believe the “DeKalb” way is the only way. For those of us who are long time observers, it is frightening, because a simple look at our neighbors and we see that things can be done better, cheaper and more efficiently. But none of that logic for DeKalb schools.
Murphey
February 23rd, 2013
12:27 pm
To me, the difference between the dysfunctional DeKalb County Board of Education and other dysfunctional elected bodies such as county commissions is that the BOE is directly affecting the future opportunities of nearly 100,000 students. These are children!
They only have one chance at their education! They can’t be put on hold while the adults act like children and bullies.
I don’t think much of SACS either, especially their willingness to overlook the tremendous decline in DCSD for so long, but the buck has got to stop. If we weren’t paying so much for legal fees and a bloated central office staff we could pay our teachers a fair wage and give our children an education that will give them opportunities for success in life.
catlady
February 23rd, 2013
12:27 pm
Pardon, you make a point, but stupid/gullible/uneducated knows no party bounds, knows no racial bounds, etc. Where I live (black population less than 1%) we have the stupidest Republicans ever minted. They make decisions on issues based on exactly what you named, especially on what they see on Fox TV, what daddy says, who they are related to (everybody), and what the preacher says. You can attach the word guns or the word abortion to anything and they foam up, like peroxide on blood. It does not occur to them to actually examine an issue, look at prior acts of the person, or think independently. And planning ahead means thinking about next week.
bu2: I suspect the governor will go against anyone suggested by the Dekalb legislators.
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
12:28 pm
The powerful business interest decided to consolidate their interests in the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
Yes and well saw how well that worked (according to this very paper, correct me if I’m wrong Maureen) An almost universally derided “Blue Ribbon Committee” investigation, members of which (according to this very paper, correct me if I’m wrong Maureen) actively conspired with Beverly Hall to cover up evidence of cheating, all with an expressed purpose to “finesse this past the governor” in the hopes that it might all go away.
This was supposed to “improve things”?
bu2
February 23rd, 2013
12:28 pm
@Concerned
Its kind of the Georgia way. There are so many dysfunctional things in Georgia governance. If they looked at other states, they would see lots of better alternatives. Instead, they keep upping the ante, like trying to add more counties when we already have more than any state but Texas.
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
12:29 pm
There are several groups coordinated in this effort to modify DeKalb County schools: SACS, the state board of education, the governor’s office, various ancillary local political community, parent and homeowner community.
This refuse-to-behave school board seems to have a lawyer addiction, using hired counsel as a form of management, as if hired counsel is part of their collective of employees or support staff. The moral error is that this method of “support staff” does not fit budget guidelines and real fiduciary duty as guardians of public money. Any they seem thoroughly addicted to it – right up to the very end. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dekalb-school-board-files-injunction-stop-suspensi/nWXdQ/ Truly, they just.don’t.get.it. I encourage everyone to view the hearing video when it is formatted and posted online and see how flippant / arrogant / dismissive some of these folk are to anyone regulating them. They just do not get on board or respond and seems to be under the illusion that they are a power unto themselves.
bu2
February 23rd, 2013
12:33 pm
@catlady
The Georgia way is to let local Georgia legislators have total say on their own issues. They stand by and let African American Democrats steal in Atlanta and white Republicans steal in Gwinnett. I believe someone said Deal will have a press conference with the Dekalb legislative delegation attending. That speaks to them having a lot of influence on who gets appointed, if true. I suspect they are driving the decision as much as the SBOE.
bu2
February 23rd, 2013
12:39 pm
There was a 14 hour session and deliberation of a few minutes.
The governor has a weekend naturally to make him look deliberate.
The legislature is rushing through legislation regarding the new board members.
The SBOE magically has a totally different interpretation of how the law impacts new board members.
It all speaks to this being a dog and pony show with everything already decided behind the scenes. And the Dekalb legislative delegation is going to have their hand in the pie, much like the legislature insists on being able to appoint the SBOT in our dysfunctional transportation governance. The only question is who and how much.
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
12:39 pm
Dr. Trotter, in the wrestling analogy, actually the wrestlers would be the teachers and the WWE or whoever management would be the school board. The individual wrestlers do not have the power to take the wrestling organization’s money and spend $50 million dollars on using legal counsel as if they are part of the support staff.
Your 2nd amendment thing does not connect. Everyone in the country has an interest in 2nd amendment. Practically no one cares about curing or shaping a school board. A lady I know got an education doctorate from a real school and when I told her she should develop some of her ideas, she said, “The thing about education – no one cares!” I’d say that’s pretty true for the general populace. The issues are complex and unreachable for regular people, unlike the pistol on the coffee table.
If the appointed people turn out to not be wholesome, you deal with it from there. It is a work in progress.
TM
February 23rd, 2013
12:44 pm
DeKalb BoE aside, Yes SACS can trigger government constitutional over reach, with no public/goverment regulations, oversight/accountability, standards, or burden of proof. BUT, it can be an effective tool to soften the beach head to accelerate charter school deployment and expand its market.
(Note: I like charter schools as “ONE” tool to help improve public education)
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
12:45 pm
Best case scenario: They get the boot, file a big, ugly, nasty lawsuit and then maybe we get some much needed sunlight on SACS and how its ‘bidness” is done.
catlady
February 23rd, 2013
12:46 pm
Well, this will be a chance to see if the “cure” is any better than the “illness!”
I still have major concerns over the actors in this scenario. Has the board been disfunctional? Yes. Has it had the children first and foremost? No. Should the governor be allowed to replace it with others? Is the law regarding this, as dependent on SACS accreditation flawed? I say yes, in a big way.
I feel for the folks of Dekalb. (My daughter rents a house there, and I am sure at least $400 of the monthly rent goes to the school system.) I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but I shudder to think of some of the implications.
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
12:47 pm
I’d like to see the make-royalty school board system gone in a lot of places. They play-act as royalty, favor their own, and mess with qualified professionals.
I had a friend who moved up to rural East Tennessee. He tried to get-on as a substitute teacher in the local school system. They wouldn’t even talk to him. He made much effort. They completely brick-walled him on just basic things, would not allow him past the threshold. He was just a regular people, but he was not from rural East Tennessee. School boards can act as gatekeepers on hiring, and the gatekeeping is not based on who is best for the jobs that need to be done. It is a conspicuous unique loophole in the American system where government can be exploited by a collective of persons motivated to do this, using public money to run a school district as if it is a private business that they own.
Bernie
February 23rd, 2013
12:51 pm
Despite all of the issues surrounding the efficiency of this Board and capabilities. What is Fast emerging as glaring concern is the Lack of Leadership and understanding of duties and responsibilities of The Intern Superintendent Michael Thurmond.
For some reason Mr.Thurmond thinks or implies he is responsible for the managing of the school Board. Mr Thurmond needs to spend a few hours in the Superintendent’s office reading and trying to find out just what are the Systems polices and duties are for the Superintendent. Instead of Flying by the seat of his pants just because he is a Lawyer.
The difference is as wide as APPLES and Oranges. Any First grader knows the difference between those two fruits..
This should be a glaring RED LIGHT for the entire community and the BOARD as well as SACS. it seems Mr.Thurmond’s inexperience and under qualifications will even further disrupt,enhance and contribute to an already further deteriorating situation. Mr.Thurmond has already proven that he is out of his depth and understanding of the issues, he is being charged with. This is the second time in two weeks he has made inaccurate and woefully uninformed statements as to what his responsibilities are.
As far as duties, Managing the School Board is certainly NOT one of Them. That would apply for any School System Superintendent. An aggressive search should be implemented ASAP before further damage and waste of Taxpayor funds are spent inefficiently.
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
12:53 pm
Serf’s Collar, I greatly appreciate your macro observations, however it is a leap to say that modifying the DeKalb situation equates to implementing the political forces that you identify. If we analyse cause and effect, wanting to implement the macro initiatives is not the primary cause of this action.
This is Mrs. Norman Maine
February 23rd, 2013
1:01 pm
As a voting taxpayer, I have a real problem with a private agency having so much power over an elected school board, no matter how crazy and dysfunctional they are. Mark Elgart doesn’t like the look of you then he snaps his fingers and viola! you’re on probation! Seriously?! What is the purpose of basing accreditation on how well the school board gets along but shrugging your shoulders at poor school performance? Isn’t that the purpose of accreditation?! Personally I could care less how well the crazies like each other, I got a real problem with low academic achievement. It makes no sense.
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
1:03 pm
@Private Citizen, I’d say that is the first legitimate rebuttal to anything Invisible Serf has posted thus far…
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:09 pm
Beverly, It is possible that no one will give them the time of day on their “big nasty lawsuit” and it will (again) be thrown out of court. If I make a guess, I will guess that their federal court judge will reference the state decision and say “See you. Have a nice day.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pP_hqHg4Tw#t=0m34s
LOGIC
February 23rd, 2013
1:09 pm
@bu2
My reference is tied to the number of people who vote (as in voter turnout). The paltry voter numbers in certain districts give an equally weighted seat to those in other districts where turn out is significantly and statistically higher. The current board structure fuels this complete dysfunction because those of “screaming” are trying to point out that the representation does not reflect the county from a population and tax base perspective.
It is the very structure of the board that fuels the north/south divide. Let all DeKalb residents vote for all members. Then all of candidates and reps must reach across the “north/south” divide to garner support.
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
1:09 pm
But @Private Citizen I would say the marco reasons were precisely what governed (pun intended) Markie Mark’s actions with the APS school board…
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:10 pm
yer I’m pretty smart. Collar is on the case, though, and I like it.
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:14 pm
Mrs. Norman, SACS is like the traffic officer writing a ticket. The violation is “fiduciary duty.” In this scenario, the traffic officer does not have power beyond that, it then goes to the court/judge. Basic stuff, really. The thing is, the scale of the DeKalb situation is why so many people / agencies are involved. It is really a very good thing.
Yes, SACS can play two roles, like the officer who can impound and tow the car, too, take it off the road.
Burroughston Broch
February 23rd, 2013
1:18 pm
@ Mary Elizabeth
What is the practical difference between the Kochs buying undue influence at FSU (one university) and the hundreds of university faculties dominated by far left liberals who allow no political outlook different than their own?
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:21 pm
Beverly, I tell myself that I will not call you Beverly because I think it is not right, but anyway, I see the whole world as a piece of graph paper, and then you apply cause and effect. If you want to make it three dimensional, apply the time / history component of where things come from, origin, evolution, and time lines. I should write an essay on it. One thing on local education, very little attention to care-taking history and sequence of ideas and where they come from. Many of the initiatives, rules and requirement, especially from the state, have no author. Some outrageous thing and it says “State DOE” at the bottom of the page. You don’t know if it came from George Soros or Pinnochio.
Hey a different subject. NPR is definitely being used as a quaalude / sedative on the populace. Turned on the radio in the car last night and they had some person in an interview talking about their warm fuzzy blanket. It sounds like a joke. I’m not kidding. That’s NPR’s function now, to keep people dumb and put them to sleep in the land of “feelings.”
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:25 pm
Burroughston Broch, you should look into “foundations” (Carnegie, Ford Foundation, etc.) and their involvement in university departments. If a grad student or professor wants to study the wrong thing and publish or teach the wrong thing, they’re out the door and quick. Why do you think they h
Burroughston Broch
February 23rd, 2013
1:25 pm
It will be fascinating to see the deal cut in the General Assembly.
Jason Carter and Shirley Franklin’s son Cabral are muttering about dire consequences if every black Democrat suspended from the Board is not replaced with another black Democrat.
Another move is to make the DCSS a refuge for out-of-office Democrat politicians – Michael Thurmond as interim superintendent, Thurbert Baker as the author of governance training, Denise Majette or Vernon Jones on the Board, etc., etc…..
Not one word about what is best for the students.
Burroughston Broch
February 23rd, 2013
1:26 pm
@ Private Citizen
One thing at a time – no diluted focus.
Thanks!
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:29 pm
Why do think they have 25 required “review” approval processes on the way to publishing a dissertation for .phd? The mechanism is done through funding. And the people doing the funding make telephone calls or write emails to direct things, when needed to direct and perpetuate their mode. Why do thing the USA thinks that the US defeated Germany in WW2 and those 168 million Russians who gave their lives crunching through the snow to kick Germany’s ass are not taught in US schools, the US gets to see the propaganda films made when the US showed up after the job was done?
living in an outdated ed system
February 23rd, 2013
1:30 pm
@Dr. Trotter – you are blaming SACS and supporting a bunch of adults who have completely violated their fiduciary responsibility. I think you are in the vast minority here, sad to say. The state must protect the welfare of the children when the voters have demonstrated their malfeasance in electing unqualified board members.
This is one of the fundamental ills of the traditional public school system.
Private Citizen
February 23rd, 2013
1:31 pm
whoops. meant to say “butt.” I should probably update / improve my forms of expression.
catlady
February 23rd, 2013
1:33 pm
BB: I sure hope none of those superstars are put on the board. The board needs basic, bright, good people. People with some small sort of expertise they can bring, not those accustomed to being rock stars, with the false vanity and expectations of grandeur. The board has already had its divas. Time to get better than that!
living in an outdated ed system
February 23rd, 2013
1:51 pm
@Dr. Trotter, there is no “quick fix” to the DCSS quagmire. In this situation, I do not think you will win the argument that you leave this up to the voters. DCSS is in crisis mode, and needs swift intervention. As @Maureen would probably agree, this is a “no-win” situation. We have a dysfunctional board that brought in a politician to run the schools. The only sensible option would be for the governor to remove the six board members, not suspend them with pay, and insert six professional managers who live in Dekalb County to fix the governance issues. Lets not forget the fact that DCSS has a 59% high school graduation rate!
You would be ok leaving the current system intact? We have nine “fiefdoms” on the board – no one is looking at the best interests of the entire school system, and no one is thinking about the children. As one commenter said in another post, Thurmond didn’t put the teachers at the top of his meeting list when he took the job!
This situation is a real mess, and this is the time for the Governor, whether you support him or not, to show true leadership, and not let politics drive the decision. Have the courage to do the right thing,which is to intervene NOW. There are few leaders in our history who have done what is right, rather than what scores them political points. One example is John Adams sacrificing his second term by not waging war with France and saving the union. Another, lesser example is Gerald Ford pardoning Nixon, so the country could heal and not be torn apart by the distraction of a messy trial of a former president.
If we wait for the voters, we risk accreditation NOW and that is unacceptable, regardless of what you think of the methods of SACS. That debate is for another day – we would not be in this predicament if it wasn’t for an incompetent board. Remember that when you author your next personal assault on Elgart.
Looking for Solutions
February 23rd, 2013
1:53 pm
Get Schooled asks a good question — does SACS have too much power? Maybe they do but -
even the President of the United States can be impeached. We need a clear method for removing school boards. Our innocent children are at risk. Dekalb is in danger of losing accreditation and any college worthy of being a college accepts students only from accredited schools.
As a taxpayer, I have a right to know where my tax money is spent and who got the money. Many Dekalb school boards think they are above the law.
So maybe SACS does have too much power but in this case, I’ll glady give them the power if they can fire this corrupt school board and get another one who will obey the law.
Truth in Moderation
February 23rd, 2013
1:54 pm
“DeKalb was great in the 60’s/70’s,” was SACS involved? Does anyone know how regulation was done at that time?”
In the ’60’s and 70’s, DeKalb was a predominantly white upper- middle class county. That’s why they got the Fernbank Science Center. Emory and CDC wealthy professionals added to the mix. When housing integration accelerated in the late ’70’s, the demographics changed. This is well documented.
Burroughston Broch
February 23rd, 2013
2:03 pm
I know a very respected engineer who could retire now. He is interested in the DCSS situation but lives in Dunwoody.
Do you think I should encourage him to run?
Truth in Moderation
February 23rd, 2013
2:05 pm
Decatur is the Sandy Hook of DeKalb. Wealthy and influential citizens took over the independent City of Decatur school district (one elementary, middle, and high school) and turned it into one big charter for total control. If you aren’t rich enough to buy a house in the city school limits, forget it.
bu2
February 23rd, 2013
2:23 pm
@not Truth in Moderation
Before Maureen feels compelled to comment, you don’t seem to be too familiar with Decatur. There are a number of elementary schools. There is a mix of housing, only a few small pockets would I describe as wealthy. Certainly more upper middle class than otherwise, but by no means all that way. The schools are economically and ethnically mixed.
Truth in Moderation
February 23rd, 2013
2:31 pm
All the DeKalb school board members slated for removal are MINORITIES!
This is OBVIOUSLY A RACIAL PLOY! Why does Maureen condone this, since she is safely within the City of Decatur limits?
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/21311574/dekalb-co-school-board-files-for-temporary-restraining-order-over
Truth in Moderation
February 23rd, 2013
2:41 pm
@ bu2
Thanks for tipping your hand to the bloggers. All of my points, except “only one elementary school” are SPOT ON! Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been the rush to CHARTER the entirety of Decatur City Schools. The facade of the “NOBLE NORTHERNER” is falling fast! LOL!
dekalbite
February 23rd, 2013
2:41 pm
I still don’t understand how the DeKalb Board could approve budgets that result in a deficit when those actions are against state law. Nancy Jester, a BOE member, showed them in accounting terms how they were underestimating recurring costs and explained this to them. The BOE had the numbers in hand to show they were in danger of running a deficit when they depleted the entire reserve fund. Articles were in the newspapers regarding DeKalb being the only metro system to have NO reserve fund. Moody’s downgraded DeKalb’s credit rating because of this:
http://www.crossroadsnews.com/view/full_story/19913910/article-Moody%E2%80%99s-downgrades-DeKalb-Schools-credit-rating-
This BOE knew or should have known based on the math that was accessible to them that they were creating a situation that was against the law when they took the school district into a deficit. Why are they not being investigated and possibly prosecuted for this?
gr
February 23rd, 2013
2:49 pm
What about the legal fees?
http://www.dekalbschoolslawsuit.com/
Total fees DCSD paid to Heery/Mitchell over nine years $14.6 million
Legal fees incurred by DCSD in Heery/Mitchell lawsuit $37 million
Unpaid invoices sought by Heery/Mitchell in original lawsuit $478,274
Truth in Moderation
February 23rd, 2013
2:55 pm
“This BOE knew or should have known based on the math that was accessible to them that they were creating a situation that was against the law when they took the school district into a deficit. Why are they not being investigated and possibly prosecuted for this?”
It has always been my contention in this situation that if the Board members were doing something illegal to cause DeKalb’s woes, then PROSECUTE THEM and if found guilty, LAWFULLY REMOVE THEM.
OBVIOUSLY, the DeKalb School Board has enablers, AND THEIR REAL MOTIVE IS TO REMOVE ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS from the law! This is part of the NWO takeover plot. JUST ASK “INVISIBLE SERF’S COLLAR.” Read the blog.
dekalbite
February 23rd, 2013
3:05 pm
“It has always been my contention in this situation that if the Board members were doing something illegal to cause DeKalb’s woes, then PROSECUTE THEM and if found guilty, LAWFULLY REMOVE THEM.”
Well, why is the state not investigating and prosecuting the Board members for actions that are against state law?
IMO – Removing them is a far lesser issue than investigating and prosecuting them if they took actions that were against state laws. Didn’t the state auditor say at the hearing that running a deficit was against state law? The BOE was responsible for the deficit since they authorized all expenditures and had all of the accounting numbers in front of them. As a DeKalb taxpayer, I would like an investigation of the Board as to how they could take actions that resulted in a situation that was against state law. Are there any other taxpayer out there that would like to know if they placed DeKalb Schools in a situation that was against state law?
Truth in Moderation
February 23rd, 2013
3:20 pm
@dekalbite
If the AJC isn’t on board with exposing any illegality of the Board’s actions, then they are one of the enablers….
Maureen Downey
February 23rd, 2013
3:25 pm
@Truth. That is a lot of misinformation packed into one paragraph. Wrong on almost all counts, but particularly on the conversion to a charter system, which was the choice of the school chief and board. And as far as I can see as a parent, turning the entire system into charter hasn’t changed anything.
Maureen
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
3:25 pm
“Remember that when you author your next personal assault on Elgart.”
And @living I would suggest you consider that focusing strictly on the likes of Walker (no matter how much his shenanigans are reminiscent of Boss Hogg) and putting off the debate on Elgart and SACS for another day could be considered the equivalent of making sure the book gets thrown at a a fisherman who throws a beer bottle in the Gulf while we defer action on BP.
Take a look at Invisible Serf’s blog, and you might see just how dire the consequences could be if sunlight isn’t shone, and shone quickly on AdvancED.
bu2
February 23rd, 2013
3:30 pm
@once again Not Truth
“All the DeKalb school board members slated for removal are MINORITIES!”
Nancy Jester is the only Dekalb County minority being removed. The remainder are of the majority in the county. And all 6 were on the board when the county went on probation. African American Johnson, the board chair, was elected after the probation and was not removed.
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
3:30 pm
Well Maureen, @3:25pm the moniker is “Truth in Moderation not “Truth to Excess”
dekalbite@bu2
February 23rd, 2013
3:31 pm
Decatur City Schools dropped from around 38% Economically Disadvantaged to around 27% Economically Disadvantaged in the 7 years in the middle of the Great Recession so its probably safe to say this area has definitely been getting much more affluent (see link below to state DOE).
Decatur City Schools is still very diverse racially and culturally, however it is not as diverse as it was in 2005. It has moved into a situation of white students being a slight majority where they were in the minority just 6 years ago. The number of African American students has remained the same, Hispanic students have increased quite a bit, but the White student numbers show a very large increase.
White students have increased in their academic performance, but African American students have seen the largest gains in academic achievement. Decatur students do very well with all of their students regardless of racial or cultural differences going by the student achievement numbers.
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Pages/Home.aspx
Beverly Fraud
February 23rd, 2013
3:43 pm
Well bu2 Jester does appear to have a significant amount of common sense, and a degree of integrity to go along with it.
If that’s not the epitome of “minority” on this board, I don’t know what is…