Suspended DeKalb school board member Eugene Walker: ‘I will not quit or step aside.’
Suspended DeKalb school board member Eugene Walker says his removal by Gov. Deal violates the constitution.
In a pro/con today, suspended DeKalb Board of Education member Eugene Walker explains why the governor was wrong to suspend him and five other board members Monday. Taking the other side is state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta. Please read her piece here.
Here is Dr. Walker’s piece. Please focus on his arguments, which are the same ones that the lawyer for the deposed school board will put forth in court later this week. It is important to understand that under challenge is not just the removal of the DeKalb board, but the constitutionality of the state law that permits the governor to step in and yank school board members.
By Dr. Eugene Walker
The governor is wrong in his decision to suspend members of the DeKalb County Board of Education.
The DeKalb School District has been placed on probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a private accrediting institution with considerable sway in the education community. SACS has made a multitude of allegations, some of which I agree with, but all of them were developed unilaterally in a shrouded process.
The leadership of SACS is not elected by the public, does not have to conform to open meetings and open records laws, and is not subject to constitutional due process as SACS sits in judgment of public institutions and elected officials.
The DeKalb Board of Education, like all school boards, is a public institution. We have open meetings, open records, due process, and we are accountable to the people who elect us into office. If there is cause to remove a member, such as an indictment or if a member resigns or passes away in office, the voters return to the ballot box to name the successor.
It is the democratic process: the electorate chooses its representative leadership. My constituents elected me, my colleagues’ constituents elected them and Gov. Deal’s elected him. It’s the model our founding fathers took great pains to create. It’s the way it should be.
What we have here is the state of Georgia once again meddling in local affairs. Rather than funding local school systems properly, the General Assembly chose to write Senate Bill 84, a popular but undemocratic law to impose state will on local politics. The governor has been hamstrung by an onerous law that gives an inordinate amount of power to a private company, SACS, and an appointed state Board of Education. One member of this board was appointed only last week and home schooled her children to boot.
This law, which requires the state Board of Education to recommend the removal of all or none of the school board members, if it were constitutional to begin with, replaces the legitimate will of the voters with that of an appointed group. This process is a clear attempt to circumvent or get around the democratic process — citizens electing and holding accountable their elected officials.
We have had problems on the DeKalb Board of Education. The DeKalb Board of Education is composed of Democrats, Republicans, black, white, men, women, liberal, conservatives and tea partiers.
By virtue of the electoral process, all are represented and have a seat at the table. The wisdom of the voters created the diversity, which is good and healthy for a representative democracy.
These problems of communication and respect for each other have been brought to our attention, and we are working on them. We have hired a new interim superintendent, we have passed a responsible budget, we have identified resolutions to many of the issues raised by the mighty SACS and I have resigned my chairmanship to effectuate the additional changes that are needed as we move forward.
It is against this backdrop that I take a stand to fight for and preserve the democratic process and remain hopeful that those who believe in and support the U.S. and state Constitution will join. I will not quit or step aside. Gov. Deal is wrong to thumb his nose at the U.S. and Georgia constitutions, and he knows he is wrong.
I place my faith in God and the voters of DeKalb County, not elitists under the Gold Dome who never set foot east of Moreland Avenue.
–from Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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194 comments Add your comment
glenp
February 27th, 2013
10:35 am
he’s been getting back at “da’man”
alm
February 27th, 2013
10:46 am
Dr Walker
Until this school year I lived in District 9. While I still own the house, I had to move my kids to a different school district. Due to the cuts in the classroom and the overall direction of the school system I did not feel my kids could get a good education in DeKalb. This saddens me because I’ve lived in DeKalb my whole life and I still care very deeply about it.
I will not call you names or ask for your head on a plate.
I know that you have a good case and that you could win it. But at what price?
Of the more than 98,700 students of DeKalb 71.13% qualify for free/reduced lunch. A long court fight will only hurt them as well as ALL the students of DeKalb. We already spend too much of our resources outside of the classroom and this will only make it worse. Please, PLEASE put the needs of over 98,700 students first. Please stand down and drop your case.
Private Citizen
February 27th, 2013
11:15 am
Hey, gotta gotta payback
(The big payback)
Revenge, I’m mad
(The big payback)
Got to get back, I need some get back
Payback, payback
(The big payback)
That’s it, payback, revenge
I’m mad!
(Polydor Records – 1973)
performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cDuwibflL4
dekalbite@Hamilton
February 27th, 2013
11:41 am
“@living, I think he had to resign from the DeKalb Development Authority – involved some kind of conflict of interest with Sembler Cos. Anybody have a better memory?”
“The developer who wants a $52 million tax break for a troubled project in north DeKalb County poured thousands of dollars into the political campaign of an official with influence over the fate of the request.
People affiliated with Florida-based Sembler Co. spent $18,000 last year helping Eugene Walker win his seat on the DeKalb School Board.
Walker is also chairman of the DeKalb Development Authority, which could vote Thursday on whether to give Sembler what officials say is an unprecedented subsidy in the county: a 100 percent property tax abatement over 20 years for part of the company’s Town Brookhaven project near Oglethorpe University.
Campaign finance records show that five Sembler executives gave Walker $2,000 apiece on Sept. 27. Then, on Nov. 19, those same executives and three of their relatives each gave Walker an additional $1,000.
The donations did not exceed legal limits, but they did contribute to Walker’s financial advantage in the election. He had six opponents, and he raised four times more than all of them combined. Sembler gave him about a third of his total.”
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/semblers-investment-in-dekalb/nQG4B/
The AJC followed this religiously and the public outcry resulted in Walker resigning his chairmanship of DeKalb Development Authority and retaining his seat as BOE member.
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2009/08/18/eugene-walker-resigns-from-dekalb-development-authority/
Dirty Dawg
February 27th, 2013
11:53 am
I live in DeKalb but don’t have any kids of school-age, nor am I, due to age and income, any longer paying school taxes, but this whole thing reeks of the sustained, pervasive initiative as represented by ALEC and the rest of the ‘conservative’ majority to undermine and/or ‘flank’ the constitutional rights of a certain local citizenry. I don’t know how bad this guy Walker was or is, but I do have faith and confidence in Michael Thurmond and for Deal, a man that I do know and have absolutely no faith and/or confidence in – other than he’s proven that he is a self-serving crook of the first order – to have appointed Thurmond to take over and fix the problems of DeKalb’s School System only to turn right around and ignore his plans and efforts, strikes me as just an effort to put a ‘black mark’ next to Michael’s name. All this is compounded by a State Board – appointed/elected by a Republican majority and Governor(s) – that judged the DeKalb Board as unfit and should be dismissed, and also this SACS. group that first decided that DeKalb should lose its credidation…I mean who appointed them to their jobs and who evaluates the quality of their work? Somebody pulled a pretty quick trigger on DeKalb and Deal decided to take advantage of the situation in order to discredit the County and it’s electorate, and at the same time marginalize Michael Thurmond…and it’ll probably work because the local media won’t dig any deeper than what’s on the surface, and the State Democratic Party is incapable of standing up to any of em.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
11:58 am
“It’s often referred to from the highest office to county offices as checks and balances. In short, the Gov. simply had to do what he did. The voters didn’t particularly care for it, but understood nonetheless.”
@Who stands for the children?
QUIT LYING.
The “higher authority” is YOU, the voters. The voters can vote OUT the likes of Dr. Walker. Yet they chose not to. Prove CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT, and the Judiciary becomes the “higher authority” and can remove them and put them in jail.
In my opinion, the white NOBLE NORTHERNERS of Dekalb are the GREATEST THREAT to our Constitutional freedoms. They REFUSE to remove corruption, if it indeed exists. PASSING THE BUCK TO THE GOVERNOR REWARDS CORRUPTION. Please remove yourselves from the public school system. YOU ARE AN ECONOMIC DRAIN ON HONEST LAW ABIDING CITIZENS.
bootney farnsworth
February 27th, 2013
12:05 pm
@ dr john
can’t say anyone didn’t deal with his points anymore
bootney farnsworth
February 27th, 2013
12:06 pm
on thing we all can agree on. this will get race ugly before its over.
OriginalProf
February 27th, 2013
12:06 pm
@ Dirty Dawg. You really need to read up on this complicated case before commenting…perhaps by going back over the blogs here for the last few weeks. For example, the DeKalb BOE appointed Michael Thurmond as Interim Superintendent, not Governor Deal, and they also voted to let SACS appraise them for accreditation.
OriginalProf
February 27th, 2013
12:08 pm
@ bootney farnsworth, 12:06 pm. It already is.
Maude
February 27th, 2013
12:08 pm
How can one adult man put his needs above the needs of 99k children? I read somewhere that he said he was working for God, well he isn’t working for the God I believe in.
Inman Parker
February 27th, 2013
12:22 pm
The man has no conscience.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
12:40 pm
@PROF
“they also voted to let SACS appraise them for accreditation.” –
Was the Board required by law to do this? How many RFP’s were sent out to various accrediting agencies? What was the winning bid?
Please solve this mystery; before being gobbled up by Advanc-ed, SACS and all the other regionals were independant 501c3’s. Is Advanc-ed (the holding co.) now a 501c3 as well? An LP?
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
12:42 pm
@Maude
“well he isn’t working for the God I believe in.”
What God do you believe in?
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
1:04 pm
South DeKalb posts? Crickets.
Very strange.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
1:09 pm
“How can one adult man put his needs above the needs of 99k children?”
What about the trashing of the Constitution for ALL Georgians, because of people who think like you?
Please remove yourself from the public school system and home school/private school.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
1:14 pm
@Maureen
Crickets from Original Prof. COULD YOU ANSWER THIS QUESTION?
“they also voted to let SACS appraise them for accreditation.” –
Was the Board required by law to do this? How many RFP’s were sent out to various accrediting agencies? What was the winning bid?
Please solve this mystery; before being gobbled up by Advanc-ed, SACS and all the other regionals were independant 501c3’s. Is Advanc-ed (the holding co.) now a 501c3 as well? An LP?
OriginalProf
February 27th, 2013
1:18 pm
@ Truth. I can’t answer any of your question here. Google is your friend.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
1:21 pm
Then, what was your point in bringing it up? If they are a monopoly or monopoly 501c3 charity, then I would suspect some anti-trust laws have been VIOLATED. But I guess you are not interested in looking into THAT!
Maude
February 27th, 2013
1:59 pm
I believe in the God that puts the needs of children above a man that is not doing his sworen duty!
Who stands for the children?
February 27th, 2013
2:02 pm
Truth. Do you work for the post office?
Do you own a gun? (Hope not–hope you don’t purchase one until this school issue dies down)
What neighborhood do you live in, so that I and the other residents can take a brief vacation until this school issue dies down
Is there such a thing as Male PMS?
Whoa, fella, calm down…..that’s it….the blood pressure is going down…..that’s it……calm…..calm.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
2:08 pm
Lots of crickets.
@ Invisible Serf’s Collar, Dr. Trotter, Beverly Fraud
Can YOU answer these questions? Or tell us were to find them? Who to call? Advanc-ed’s website did not say that they were 501c3 from what I could tell. Didn’t say that they were an Inc. or LP either. I couldn’t find a listing on the Stock Exchange.
“they also voted to let SACS appraise them for accreditation.” –
Was the Board required by law to do this? How many RFP’s were sent out to various accrediting agencies? What was the winning bid?
Please solve this mystery; before being gobbled up by Advanc-ed, SACS and all the other regionals were independant 501c3’s. Is Advanc-ed (the holding co.) now a 501c3 as well? An LP?”
bu2
February 27th, 2013
2:12 pm
I don’t think Dr. Walker will back down. I don’t think Governor Deal will back down. I only see two ways out of this mess.
1) Deal comes up with a cushy job for Dr. Walker & the Dekalb delegation pressures Copelin-Wood and Cunningham to stand down.
2) Deal agrees to re-appoint only the two at-large members whose districts go away in 2014. Again the delegation pressures Copelin-Wood and Cunningham to go away and Jester gets held to her promise to step down. Edler also has to go away. With Speaks and Walker, one from each faction stays and there is a majority of 7 new members, 3 elected and 4 appointed.
A lot of people wouldn’t like Walker staying, but his voting block would be eliminated and we get to move forward.
The other option is to continue the limbo until the courts rule and one side or the other wins. That’s the worst option for the district.
bu2
February 27th, 2013
2:14 pm
In the meantime, the board should pass an anti-nepotism policy that forces Dr. Walker to choose between his board spot and his relatives jobs in 2014.
alm
February 27th, 2013
2:20 pm
Bu2 I thought the same thing a couple of days ago. Keeping Speaks in 8 and Walker in 9 gives takes away the disenfranchisement argument.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
2:22 pm
@Who stands for the children?
Certainly not you.
I hope you realize that my home school students are enjoying reading this blog as a part of their “authentic curriculum” for formal Logic. Our text is THE FALLACY DETECTIVE: Thirty-eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning. I highly recommend it to you. According to your last post, (guns, post office, etc.) you gave us a perfect example for Lesson 7: Ad Hominem Attack. Thank you for confirming the validity of my arguments and for making a GREAT LIVE LESSON for my kids!
Hoosier
February 27th, 2013
2:26 pm
Dr Walker—you feel so strongly wronged? Fine. Then hire and pay for your own lawyer. Don’t expect the taxpayers to pay for your fight.
Truth in Moderation
February 27th, 2013
2:31 pm
“The other option is to continue the limbo until the courts rule and one side or the other wins. That’s the worst option for the district.”
That is the BEST option for TRUTH, FREEDOM, AND THE CONSTITUTION. Let’s shine a BRIGHT LIGHT ON THE DEEDS OF DARKNESS. Selfish Dekalbites. If you can’t take the heat of SELF-GOVERNANCE, please remove yourselves from the public school system.
bootney farnsworth
February 27th, 2013
2:38 pm
@op
I mean a lot worse than this.
Decatur Dad
February 27th, 2013
3:17 pm
Power to the voters of Dekalb County! Before it’s all over, Deal & Mark Elgart are going to wish that they had chosen a different profession. I’m not a huge fan of Eugene Walker, but I support his stance 100%. So who’s lying, Nancy Jester or Mark Elgart?
Private Citizen
February 27th, 2013
3:19 pm
abstract thought, in the great karmic universe, I wonder if this is some “payback” on Errol’s heavy hand and spray bottle of WIndex. Errol, you shouldn’t spray that Windex in somebody’s eyes; something is going to happen in return.
What's Best for Kids?
February 27th, 2013
3:46 pm
Got Hubris?
Who stands for the children?
February 27th, 2013
4:05 pm
Truth. You’re more than welcome. Anytime.
Pardon My Blog
February 27th, 2013
5:00 pm
@Truth – Again, did you forget to take your meds?!
@Dirty Dawg – I seriously doubt you are who you say you are.
The Deal
February 27th, 2013
5:55 pm
Truth, presumably you’ve got Google like any of us. Read up on basic accreditation here: http://atlanta.about.com/od/governmenteducation/a/atlanta-school-accreditation.htm
Unfortunately, we can’t get the other information you ask for, as our board and its highly-paid secretary(s) have never posted meeting minutes with any regularity. You are welcome to submit some Open Records Requests for that information.
Private Citizen
February 27th, 2013
6:43 pm
This is just an opinion, and I could be totally wrong, but with the conclusion of the Obama era just starting to become visible on the horizon, there may be a new energy apart from this ultimate-free-pass to all things black-political.
No offense meant to anyone, but the wheel keeps turning and things do not stay the same.
dekalbite@
February 27th, 2013
7:34 pm
Enter your comments here
dekalbite@The Deal
February 27th, 2013
7:35 pm
“Unfortunately, we can’t get the other information you ask for, as our board and its highly-paid secretary(s) have never posted meeting minutes with any regularity.”
And that highly paid secretary ($69,000 in salary and benefits) is Dr. Walker’s daughter-in-law.
dekalbite@Hamilton
February 27th, 2013
9:13 pm
And I might add that the highly paid secretary (one of TWO highly paid secretaries) to the Board who does not post BOE minutes with any regularity is married to Waker’s son a School Resource Officer (Security employee in a high school) makes $82,000+ a year in salary and benefits. And that is just two of Walker’s relatives. He has a plethora of them employed by DeKalb Schools. Can you see why he is fighting so hard to maintain his power? His pittance of BOE member salary is not the issue. His highly paid non teaching relatives receive literally hundreds of thousands a year from Dekalb Schools.
sources:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/school-board-report-card-dekalb-county/nQkw4/
http://www.open.georgia.gov/
Proud Educator
February 28th, 2013
5:35 am
I’m confused. The highest elected position in the country, the presidency can have a removal from office without recall, yet so many are upset about the removal of local county school board members? Really?
Patricia
March 1st, 2013
8:52 pm
I moved to Dekalb county fourteen years ago from Clayton county. Dekalb is turning into another Clayton county. Eugene walker you need to go. The only reason why you want step down is because this job is a cash cow for you, your family and friends. All of you need to go. Thank goodness I don’t have children in school any more.
BBW and BBC
March 2nd, 2013
11:07 am
It is obvious that the SACS is a racist group. Look what they did to Clayton county.
As for Stacey Abrams, she is racist to. Her motorvation to get rid of Dr. Eugene Walker can only be because he is a man of color.
Hang in there Eugene! Sue em’ back baby – Thurmond has got your back brother, you ain’t going nowhere.
North Dekalb
March 3rd, 2013
2:06 pm
Do not resign or step aside! You are an ELECTED official. Let the racists and the uninformed continue with their nonsense. Folks on these boards and others who think like them with their ingrained racist and hate are indication of type of people fueling this unconstitutional fight. The laws do not apply to them, and they simply make another to change what they don’t like. custodians of our tax money Parents (with their “parent trigger” information, know nothing about classrooms, teaching, and school operations. DO NOT STEP ASIDE, DO NOT RESIGN!!
ben burton
March 10th, 2013
8:28 pm
Uhhh, excuse me, but do I detect some redundancy here? redundancy here? To “circumvent or get around?”