Corruption Connection: The Board, The Schoolhouse and The PTA

The following email was sent to Get the Cell Out - Atlanta on September 9, 2011, by a parent who was active in the Briarlake Elementary School protest against the cell towers.

Because of loyalty the Briarlake parent had to the PTA and the "feeder pattern" of schools, the parent solicited the assistance of a former PTA President from Lakeside High School.  The two campuses are only about a mile apart, which made many people question why cell towers would be needed at both locations in the first place.  

Following a phone conversation, the Briarlake parent received the email below and then forwarded it to us with a suggestion that we consider changing the focus of our petition or perhaps start a separate one.  It was suggested that we might be able to gain more signatures if we were to focus the protest around how much money the individual schools should receive from the cell tower revenue to be used at their own campus, as opposed to trying to outright stop the towers completely based on the property values, lack of notification and health and safety concerns that were outlined in the existing petition (see www.thepetitionsite.com/GTCO-ATL).  We refused.

The Lakeside High parent's email text is printed below in an effort to make public the evidence we have that shows a concentrated effort to influence the opinions of other parents by a small faction of individuals who were working with either the school administration, specific board members, or both.  

You will likely recognize the terminology and other phrases used in the email as typical of "canned" feedback that is commonly provided as part of a standard roll-out / public deception plan that is used by cell tower companies, primarily T-mobile, all across the country.  These "talking points" are given to the "co-conspirators" in the plan and are expected to come across as natural by those who have written them.  

However, the level of technicality in which a layperson suddenly is able to discuss the towers does not seem appropriate, especially when you begin see and hear a repetition of the same explanations or descriptions that just do not add up.  In addition, the sheer aberration from the normal, expected reaction of a parent to an issue like this one is what often makes the statements stand out as "odd" or "suspicious."  

In fact, these types of odd statements are exactly what got ATT's proposed merger with T-mobile in hot water with the FCC (among other things).  A national Gay and Lesbian group issued a statement in favor of the telecom merger and then was forced to quickly recant when the group's members read, and strongly disagreed with, the statement.  At the same time, a Latino group issued a similar statement about their support for a merger when Latinos would clearly have been one of the groups hurt the most by the loss of a low-price option in cellular communications.

Isn't it ironic that it is ATT and T-mobile that were also involved in this particular deal ffor cell towers in DeKalb County, and the same tactics were used here?  

It is important to note that the PTA, Principal, Board Member and Others from Lakeside High School were all a part of the school's booster club.  And, that booster club also had a prominent member - a former school board representative who had tried in the past to get a cell tower at Lakeside and was stopped by a lawsuit.  That lawsuit revealed two important things:  the surrounding community did not want a cell tower; and the school's property was not owned by the county.  The grounds that were in question were part of a donation that carried a requirement that they not be used for commercial purposes. 

So, if all of these involved individuals were aware of the prior attempt to place a tower and the outcome, then why were they trying again?  The answer:  because they did not want a tower; they needed the money for "extras" not covered by SPLOST funds.  And, it is our belief that in order to get what they thought they deserved, a plan was set in motion that would have placed cell towers into the hearts of 9 other residential neighborhoods.  They were willing to sell out the health, safety and investments of others in order to benefit their own.

It is time that someone in the state start investigating the corruption connection between the school board, the school administrative staff and the PTA!  If these tangled webs of special favors and scams are allowed to continue, the school system will remain mired in a swamp of nepotism and related problems.  Unless specific actions are taken to stop the subculture from functioning by its own set of rules, our schools will remain filled with people who are contributing to the demise of the entire system, whether they realize it or not.  

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From: xxxxxxx  (Lakeside PTA Co-President, past)
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 7:41 AM
To: xxxxxx (Briarlake PTA Board Member)
Cc: xxxxxx (Other Lakeside PTA Co-President, past)
Subject: Re: the people's voice is making waves

Hi XXXX,

It was nice to talk to you and to have you bring me up to speed on the issues. Let me first say that if my house shared a property line with Briarlake, I wouldn't want a 450 foot fake tree there, either. As I write this, I am speaking for myself personally. As I mentioned, I am no longer a PTA Co-President at Lakeside.

I am concerned about the actions of the board on this and other issues. I definitely believe that the school communities should want towers, if they are placed. I am disgusted that the board did not actively solicit comment on this issue. I firmly believe that more of the financial benefit from the towers should go to the schools where the towers are located, rather than into the general county budget.

As I said on the phone, I would love to have a cell tower at Lakeside. There is very limited service there. In fact, only Verizon covers Lakeside. In all the time I have spent at the school, I have been frustrated by the lack of coverage. I have also desperately wished that my kids had service at Lakeside. I realize that this is not an issue at Briarlake as elementary students have no need for cell phones. As I mentioned, there is no cell coverage at my house. There is one carrier whose signal sometimes works here. The way people use telephones has changed. When there are teenagers at my house, they and their parents are frustrated by our lack of coverage. The website you cite gives information about towers in my area. It does not show, however, that there is very limited coverage in the Breckenridge/Amberwood neighborhood*. 

I have not seen any credible evidence that there are health risks associated with cell towers. The American Cancer Society does not recognize towers as dangerous. From what I have read, the CDC is neutral on health risks, too. My next door neighbor, a PhD in radiation oncology at Emory, has been an expert witness testifying that cell phones do not cause cancer. From what I have read, the towers produce much less radiation that cell phones themselves. 

So, I'm with you on the Board issues. I don't feel like I can completely support all of your issues, though. If I you would like my support with Board issues, I will help. I will not sign the petition as it is online, though, as the community I know would love to have a cell tower at Lakeside. I will be happy to send a letter with issues that concern me. When addressing more than the money issues, you may find more support by opposing a cell tower at Briarlake, rather than opposing all towers.

Good luck to you!

*GTCO-ATL Note:  This is also where board member Womack owns a home.
Also  Note:  At the time of this email, Lakeside High School had 120 towers in a four mile radius  from its campus. And, a small, unregistered tower had already gone up at the street line near Echo Lake.