School Board Candidates Face Off at Forums Set for July 10 and 19

TUESDAY, JULY 10
DeKalb residents can meet the candidates for School Board Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 at a July 10 forum in Atlanta.  You can bet that Get the Cell Out will be there in full force to blog and ask questions of all the candidates.  We will write about our experience here so you can read about the candidates and their responses.

The free forum is hosted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Maureen Downey, author of the daily blog “Get Schooled.” The candidate meet and greet will start at 6 p.m. followed by the forum at 6:30 p.m.

The forum will be at Westwood College, 2309 Parklake Drive, NE, in Atlanta.

For more information, visit www.dekalbchamber.org/event.asp?id=846.

Read more: CrossRoadsNews - School forum set for July 10


MONDAY, JULY 9
And, don't forget the regular school board meeting will be held July 9 and hopefully streamed online if you cannot attend it live.

If you cannot remember how to vote if you are against the cell towers on school grounds, just remember who we have determined to be the best choices based on what we've learned so far:

2, 4, 6, 8
Mc-Mc-Mc-Speaks

2 - McChesney
4 - McMahan
6 - McGill
8 - Speaks

Okay, so it doesn't exactly rhyme, but if you read it over a few times, it is pretty easy to remember.  Then, when talking to friends in other districts, you can help spread the word about the best choice for their district, too!

And, unless CEO Burrell Ellis steps up and responds to our inquiries about his role in the cell tower process, we will likely be adding his name to the list of incumbants that must go!


And, from DeKalb School Watch Blog: 
THURSDAY, JULY 19

Candidate Forum to be held at Arabia Mountain High School
Posted on July 7, 2012

 Just in time for the upcoming July 31st election, the PTSA of Arabia Mountain High School (AMHS) has invited all 12 DeKalb County Board of Education Candidates to participate in a DeKalb County School Board Candidate Forum on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 6:45 p.m. in the Auditorim at AMHS.

Because AMHS is a School Choice and Magnet School, the students that attend AMHS come from every district in DeKalb County. Given the recent replacement of the Superintendent and other key staff with the DeKalb Board of Education, as well as the recent public debate over major budget cuts, this year’s School Board election is of vital importance to the various communities throughout every segment of DeKalb County. So far, 9 of 12 candidates have confirmed. We do not have an email address or phone number for Tom Gilbert. Please contact us at ptsa@arabiaptsa.org.

The format of the Candidate Forum will be as follows:

Each candidate will make a one-minute opening statement;

Voters will submit their questions for the candidates prior to the meeting. Only 8-12 questions will be asked depending on the number of candidates that confirm. The more confirmations, the fewer questions. Candidates will have 1 minute to answer.

Candidates will have the opportunity to make a two-minute closing statement.

The Candidate Forum will end at 8:30 p.m.

AMHS is located at 6610 Browns Mill Road, Lithonia, GA 30038.

The PTSA of AMHS aticipates that 500 voting DeKalb County citizens will attend the Candidate Forum.

The following DeKalb County Board of Education Candidates have been invited to participate in the Candidate Forum at Arabia Mountain High School on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 6:45pm. Those with a star (*) have confirmed their participation:

District 2
 Don McChesney (I)*
 Marshall Orson*

District 4
 Tom Gilbert (no contact information yet)
 Jim Kinney*
 Jim McMahan
 Paul Womack (I) (his emails bounce back)

District 6
 Dr. Melvin Johnson*
 Denise McGill*
 Terrilyn Rivers-Cannon*
 Latasha Walker*

District 8
 Michelle Jenkins-Clark*
 Dr. Pam Speaks (I)*