VICTORY in Every Classroom! State Recommends Removal of DeKalb BOE

GEORGIA'S STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

RECOMMENDS THE REMOVAL 

OF THE DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION!

February 22, 2013:  Late last night, shortly after 10 p.m., the state Board of Education concluded its 13 hour hearing of the DeKalb County, GA, Board of Education.  While many of those who had been watching and listening throughout the day were expecting a 14-day wait before a decision, the state BOE immediately began their individual statements and then casting their votes.

While they had some hope that the district was headed in a better direction than they initially believe when they first convened in January, they unanimously determined it was in the best interest of the 99,000 children who live here that the Governor remove the entire board.  There are three exceptions, however.  The three newly elected members who were not serving at the time the system was lowered to the Probation status by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) will not be held accountable and will likely remain in their seats.  Those members are the newly-elected chairman Melvin Johnson, newly-elected vice chairman Jim McMahan and newly-elected board member Marshall Orson.

Financial Officer, Michael Perrone, answered some questions that had
lingered in the minds of many residents about missing textbook funds and
some questionable practices of borrowing from accounts to pay off debt.  The
state BOE attorney Hackmeyer was tough, yet subtle, as she got to the
heart of many of DeKalb's problems:  a general lack of accountability that
persists among upper level staff as well as many of the board members.

We will have more on this subject later today.   Congratulations to every whistleblower and thank you to every citizen who stood up to be counted in a petition that was signed by more than 1,500 people.

Thank you to every teacher who has endured the abusive relationship with the former board members and has still found a way to teach and take care of our precious children.

This decision was made thoughtfully and is a step in the right direction for DeKalb.  We hope to remain involved in the process of rebuilding our schools and restoring full accreditation.  We look forward to the changes that will be facilitated by the new Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond who has stated his commitment to excellence and a focus on the classroom.

While Dr. Eugene Walker says he will file a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the controversial state law that allows for the elected board's removal, it is a brighter day in DeKalb today!   The voices of the children were not heard, but there were adults in the hearing room who did not forget them.  They did their jobs and did not allow the "masters of distraction" to throw them off track.

To our GTCO-ATL friends, fans, followers and leaders, we thank you for following this story and doing your part to remain involved in your school, your community and caring about the future of the entire county.  We can accomplish great things when we agree to all work together!  Our ability to hold off the cell towers from invading our public school grounds has set a great example to parent groups everywhere that have been turned toward fighting each other instead of focusing on the source of the problems that are tearing them apart.  Rooting out the corruption and coming forward with what you know has been important to exposing those who wish to bring harm to our communities in order to line their own pockets with our money.

Working together to understand and help each other sets a good example for the behavior we want to see our children exhibit, and how we want our leaders to behave as they are leading us.  It is how we want our classrooms to function and our neighborhoods to grow and flourish.

VICTORY is every classroom was the rally call of former Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson which she never achieved.  Instead, she turned our classrooms into battlegrounds where there were no winners.  But, today we can claim that VICTORY is ours - the parents, children, teachers and other stakeholders of our public education system.  CONGRATULATIONS!!  

Please check back throughout the days and weeks ahead as we will continue to be covering the details of these events and the outcome of the decisions being made.  We will also be providing update through the Patch online newspaper, Crossroads News and the DeKalb School Watch Two blog.

Please stay involved and aware of the progress being made so that you can show up in 2014 to VOTE responsibly as the entire board is slated to be voted upon in the same election and will hold their seats for four years.  Direct questions to Get the Cell Out - ATL at sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com.