5:31 pm February 27, 2013, by Maureen Downey
From the governor’s office:
The nominating panel that Gov. Nathan Deal assembled will begin immediately accepting applications for candidates to fill the seats of suspended members of the DeKalb County school board.
Applicants should email the following information to the search team:
1. Legal name, contact information and home address
2. District seat for which one is applying
3. Resume, CV and/or brief biography
4. Statement of interest
The panel will accept applications until March 6 at 5 p.m.
I asked the governor’s spokesman if the applicants must live in the specific school board district for which they are applying. His answer: “Yes, the law says that replacement board members must be otherwise qualified to serve, which means, in part, that they must live in the district.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
Your source to discuss and learn about education in Georgia and the nation and share opinions and news.
About Maureen DowneyVacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
34 comments Add your comment
mountain man
February 27th, 2013
5:34 pm
“Applicants should email the following information to the search team:
1. Legal name, contact information and home address
2. District seat for which one is applying
3. Resume, CV and/or brief biography
4. Statement of interest”
5. Race
Kris
February 27th, 2013
6:18 pm
mountain man
“Applicants should email the following information to the search team:
1. Legal name, contact information and home address
2. District seat for which one is applying
3. Resume, CV and/or brief biography
4. Statement of interest”
5. Race
6.IQ level
7. Background check. and proof of Ethics.
Pessimistic
February 27th, 2013
6:24 pm
8. List of any relatives currently employed by central office or current/former board members or Dekalb county in general.
bootney farnsworth
February 27th, 2013
6:24 pm
1-proof of lack of ethics
2-proof of sociopathic tendences
Atlanta Mom
February 27th, 2013
6:43 pm
Ms Maureen,
The blurb on pg one of ajc.com hasn’t changed all day. I thought you hadn’t posted anything today.
catlady
February 27th, 2013
7:00 pm
Perhaps some of the outgoing members will nominate their spouse, a la Luareen Wallace was pushed by George when he ran up against term limits. I went with my mom and waited about 5 hours for her to vote against Ms. Wallace.
bootney farnsworth
February 27th, 2013
7:29 pm
be related to Gene Walker
Atlanta Mom
February 27th, 2013
7:30 pm
Shoot catlady, sounds like you were trying to early vote in FL in the last election.
Maureen Downey
February 27th, 2013
7:35 pm
@Atlanta, I notified the editors this morning, but no one can fix for some reason.
Maureen
Private Citizen
February 27th, 2013
7:35 pm
This is a great service to provide this information. Thank you.
LOGIC
February 27th, 2013
7:40 pm
I would recommend that the presidents of the parent council’s in the respective districts submit nominations with the support of the parents. I hope that each parent council calls an emergency meeting for nominations and what is best for the district and not just stick another body in there like we do with these sad elections. All people would have to work with the three that are there now and we know that Orson is as bad as his At-Large rep.
Kris
February 27th, 2013
7:43 pm
I nominate Larry, Moe and Curly. Intelligent, compassionate and ethically sound.
If not chosen, one would make a good governor in 2014.
Kris
February 27th, 2013
7:44 pm
Enter your comments here
Kris
February 27th, 2013
7:47 pm
I nominate Larry, Moe and Curly. Intelligent, compassionate and ethically sound.
If not chosen could be running mates for governor and Lt governor. and house speaker.
Deal out in 2014
Just sayin..
Mandella1099
February 27th, 2013
9:59 pm
Just ask DeKalb School Watch II who should be nominated – they have all the answers and the right candidate in each district that matters to them – Dunwoody, Chamblee, and Lakeside.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns & Elections for February 28, 2013 – Georgia Politics, Campaigns and Elections – Georgia Pundit
February 28th, 2013
6:45 am
[...] Downey with the AJC confirmed with the Governor’s Office that potential appointees must live in the district they …. “Yes, the law says that replacement board members must be otherwise qualified to serve, which [...]
catlady
February 28th, 2013
6:49 am
Atlanta mom: Don’t understand? George and Lurlean were AL governors in the 60s/
concernedmom30329
February 28th, 2013
7:30 am
Mandella
Do you think that MLK and Lithonia High Schools (just for example) have been well served by Cunningham? He has meddled in principal assignments like not other board member and that is why MLK has gone through principals like no other school I can think of.
Private Citizen
February 28th, 2013
7:33 am
concernedmom30329, Maybe the principals did not order enough pizza, so they were displaced / demoted.
Atlanta Mom
February 28th, 2013
7:39 am
Catlady,
I was referring to the 5 hour wait to vote.
Private Citizen
February 28th, 2013
7:40 am
In other words, did someone say Cunningham had/has a pizza business that did business with schools? What’s the pizza store, anyway? Yes, the “pizza story” goes to him. This is a pretty crazy write-up on the guy, be fore-warned. I’ve got nothing against his past deeds, but I very much know when principals get moved around, this is just a huge drag for everyone. I’ve been through it so many times. This is just so crazy, this whole school board populist “find a character” and then give them governing authority over schools. It is certainly a burden for the professional trying to do their profession of being a school teacher.
Private Citizen
February 28th, 2013
7:41 am
I forgot to post the link. http://www.championnewspaper.com/news/articles/780financial-problems-plague-school-board-member-780.html
Private Citizen
February 28th, 2013
7:43 am
5 hour wait for pizza? Works about as well as everything else connected to DeKalb County Schools. In DeKalb County, voting = “pizza!” Maybe metaphor, maybe in reality.
Private Citizen
February 28th, 2013
7:50 am
I keep thinking, if Eugene Walker’s daughter in law is a district office secretary, imagine which paper work gets processed and which gets sidelined. After Hurricane Katrina when the New Orleans schools were taken over by chart school administration, they said they found boxes of thousands and thousands of unprocessed teacher employment applications in a closet, basically from white private school teachers who wanted to teach in the New Orleans public schools. I just talking abstractly, but in Georgia, there are no nepotism laws? Seen antics of white nepotism.
As Bernie indicated in a post about “work with your own,” it is a time of tribalism, people maybe even being forced to work in their tribe since everything is so economically tight out there and outside of your tribe often no one will do anything for you. Nepotism laws in Georgia? It is really overwhelming. -Read about a school board in another Georgia county. Incumbent moves up the food chain to County Commissioner, and their family member gets elected to the same school board post that had held. White people in action.
DeKalb County Grad
February 28th, 2013
8:47 am
It would be wonderful if teachers who have retired would serve. We need balance of educators, business leaders and educational advocates. We need people who have valid ideas concerning student achievement and not about advancing their family fortunes at the taxpayers’ expense. Please no lawyers need apply. Walker and Company keep the lawyers well paid.
Mountain Man
February 28th, 2013
9:24 am
Hey, Maybe Mary Elizabeth would apply for the post!
dekalbite@Maureen
February 28th, 2013
9:28 am
Would you consider doing a post regarding Cheryl Atkinson’s recent hire by Success for All after she sold Success For All as a three year contract to DeKalb. This is a $5,000,000 program that was “paid” for as we went into deficit mode It was recommended and pushed by her and then before the ink is dry so to speak she quits and goes to work for them. America’s Choice, another program we are just leaving in DeKalb cost tens of millions ($6,000,000 to $8,000,000 for at least the last seven years) was sold to DeKalb by an ex DeKalb Central Office administrator.
Is this not a clear conflict of interest? After all, Cheryl Atkinson is still collecting her paycheck from DeKalb as part of the “settlement”. This seems pretty egregious to me.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/ex-dekalb-chief-hired-by-program-she-promoted/nWcWz/
Maureen Downey
February 28th, 2013
9:39 am
@dekalb, Just posted about that.
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2013/02/28/cheryl-atkinson-takes-new-post-after-dekalb-success-for-at-least-one/
DeKalbdad
February 28th, 2013
9:54 am
Amen to DeKalb County Grad!!!!!
If you are applying for DeKalb school board, AJC wants to talk to you | Get Schooled
March 5th, 2013
9:38 am
[...] The deadline to apply for one of the open seats on the DeKalb school board is tomorrow at 5 p.m. The AJC is working on a story on the process [...]
Truth in Moderation
March 6th, 2013
10:21 am
@ Maureen
Why don’t you put YOUR children first and the children of DeKalb?
Resign from the AJC and RUN FOR SCHOOL BOARD!
There isn’t anyone BETTER QUALIFIED!
Maureen Downey
March 6th, 2013
10:25 am
@Truth,
1. Don’t live in a DeKalb school district. Live in Decatur. So, I can’t apply or run.
2. Even if I lived in a qualifying district, lots of better candidates out there. (Hearing some impressive names of people who have applied.)
3. I hate to go to meetings unless I am covering them.
Truth in Moderation
March 6th, 2013
11:36 am
@Maureen
Do all the charter “city schools” have their own school board?
I disagree. You are well qualified. You have an advanced degree, good communication skills, thorough knowledge of the politics and operations of a School Board, and a dedication to our children receiving an excellent education. A WINNING COMBINATION!
Truth in Moderation
March 6th, 2013
11:40 am
@Maureen
Living in a different state didn’t stop Hillary Clinton from running for the Senate in N.Y.
There are options…