No More Books? Who Approved This Policy for Tucker High School?

A parent of a Tucker High School student recently asked about a "Pilot Program" she had heard about in the county.  And when the administrator in charge did not have the answers, a lot of the same old concerns and worries the district has faced for years came bubbling right back up to the surface.  And, for us, a few new questions are rising to the top as well. Thank you to DeKalb School Watch Two blog for posting this story and letting the taxpayers know what is going on in our schools!

Now, let's review the history of the e-books issue:

February 12, 2013:  Get the Cell Out - ATL raised questions at the public meeting of the DeKalb County School Board about the ebooks policy that former Superintendent Atkinson was attempting to implement in DeKalb before her mysterious exit under questionable circumstances and allegations. Shortly thereafter, the entire board, sans three newly elected representatives from Districts 2, 4 and 6, was removed by Governor Deal with the help of SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The SACS report mentioned concerns about missing textbook funds that were reportedly spent on books but no records could indicate that the books had arrived. You can read the SACS report here. It says:

"Interviews and artifacts revealed that the system is dealing with a financial crisis. The district has exhausted its reserve funds and is operating with a severe monetary deficit.In utilizing options to secure material and fiscal resources to meet the needs of allstudents and improve the effectiveness of the system, the district established in 2009 atextbook leasing program with Bank of America for a $25 million credit line to purchasetextbooks. Reportedly, the credit line has been capped at $12.5 million, a debt that thesystem plans to repay over a period of seven years. The Board adopted the action itemfor the Termination of Acquisition Fund for Textbook Leasing Program.

"Schools benefitting from the purchase and distribution of the textbooks could not be identified as confirmed in the Video – Board of Education Meeting September 10, 2012. Additionally, through interviews, the team was unable to identify any schools that benefitted from textbook purchases. Stakeholders made several references to repairing textbooks and redistributing existing textbooks, but they did not provide any information about newly purchased textbooks. The Board has not received a report in relation to the status of textbooks in the district. There is purportedly a plan to incorporate the use of e-books. However, reports indicate that the district is not wireless, and only approximately 35 percent of the schools currently have some level of wireless connectivity."

The eventual answer came from Dr. Kathlene Howe from the top ranks of the school system.  She said that the money spent was not to purchase new books, but instead it was money used to complete a book leasing program that the district had entered into years ago.  So, Dr. Atkinson ended the book leasing, but where did the books go?  Does the program operate like a rent-to-own as long as you are constantly upgrading to the new edition of the book each time one comes out?  But, similar to car leasing programs, when you are finished and you elect to discontinue the leasing program, you don't get to walk away with the car at the end.  So, taxpayers and children were cheated out of any real tangible product even after years of paying into a book program because we were spending too much in other areas to be able to afford to just buy the books ourselves?  You can hear Dr. Howe's explanation during the Dr. Walker hearing, thanks to Stan Jester, Fact Checker's website here.

Get the Cell Out - ATL entered editorial on this topic FIVE times between Dec. 2012 and May 2013:

What DeKalb's Children Think About the E-book Announcement; Dec 06, 2012; Atkinson addressed a room full of suits recently at the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce meeting. She announced the plans to move to I-pads and E-readers to the delight of the luncheon's gold sponsors like ATT and Georgia ..."
http://www.getthecelloutatl.com/2012/12/what-dekalbs-children-think-about-e.html

DeKalb County Schools superintendent lays out plans to go digital; Dec 12, 2012; "DeKalb County Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson holds up a netbook during the State of the System Address in which she talked about how students learn digitally as opposed to using textbooks. As part of a mission to ..."
http://www.getthecelloutatl.com/2012/12/dekalb-county-schools-superintendent.html

WIRELESS - Yeah, Most Schools Have Done That Already and Regret It.";
Jan 09, 2013; DeKalb School Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson holds up "this netbook" and brags that every school will be wireless by August 2013. We wonder if Dr. Atkinson is aware of the number of school districts throughout the world ...
http://www.getthecelloutatl.com/2013/01/wireless-yeah-most-schools-have-done.html

GTCO-ATL Non-Consent Form for WI-Fi in the Classroom; Feb 05, 2013;
And, if you think that netbooks will solve the problems in DeKalb County, take a look at what is happening in Detroit. When will our schools start modeling .... "
http://www.getthecelloutatl.com/2013/02/gtco-atl-non-consent-form-for-wi-fi-in.html

DeKalb Announces Wireless Plan That Appears to Be Behind Schedule; Apr 19, 2013; "Is it in line with the other schools in the district that SACS said we were behind? What are we providing? Simple access ..."
http://www.getthecelloutatl.com/2013/04/fourteen-schools-now-completely.html

And, here is an announcement made by a dancing and elated Dr. Atkinson regarding the ebooks last year:

Here’s a TV report about the e-books with Atkinson: http://bcove.me/codyuo7h
We also found some explanation about a Pilot Program that might be the same/similar to what Sarah heard about here: http://vienna.patch.com/groups/schools/p/online-math-textbooks-rankle-teachers-parents

And here is a link to Thurmond’s address to the parents in Tucker. He was asked about the overcrowding situation, cell towers, SACS as well as the vast refugee population that has been moved by the state into DeKalb County, near Clarkston. (Video available) http://factchecker.stanjester.com/2013/05/280/



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