Citizens Taking Action in School Board Crisis

From WSB-TV and reported in the Atlanta Journal:

Parents Taking Action in School Board Crisis

Attendees at a weekend meeting want to focus on children first, accreditation second.

• By Cheryl Miller

Residents of DeKalb County gathered Saturday at a realty company in Decatur to discuss findings in the report on DeKalb County's School Board issued by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in December.

SACS has placed the district on Probation. A panel of community leaders also presented highlights from a Grand Jury investigation into school system finances. Three grand juries have called upon the District Attorney to convene a special panel that would delve further into their concerns.

Viola Davis, the event's organizer and a Patch contributor, has established a new group called Restore DeKalb, intended to return the county's school system to one that is focused on the children first, and accreditation second. That is in contrast to the stated mission of the new Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond who has vowed to make accreditation his number one priority.

The meeting appeared to be a success in reaching stakeholders from all parts of the county who wanted to learn more about the dire circumstances they are facing, but some expressed disappointment that there were not more people in attendance.

"I know you all vote," stated one panel member who rose to address the crowd of close to 100, "but if you know someone who doesn't vote, please talk to them. Tell them about what is going on. We have to get more people to show up at the polls so we can vote for more responsible leadership. Our rights will only help us if we are willing to use them."

This Thursday, the state Board of Education will continue a hearing with DeKalb's board members. Once it has concluded, the BOE will have 15 days to make a formal, written recommendation to Governor Nathan Deal to remove or keep the board. Deal will then determine if he will follow the recommendation. The decision had many attendees voicing concerns about whom the Governor might appoint and what that decision might mean for the future of the schools.

Willie Pringle, a parent at Southwest DeKalb High School, has been speaking out in his community and at local school board meetings for years. He stated that the board has had plenty of time to make changes but have put their own needs and desire for money first. He believes Cheryl Atkinson has helped uncover a lot of problems and the board now wants to use her as their scapegoat to blame instead of owning up to how they contributed to those problems.

Betsy Parks, a resident of the Lakeside High School district, attended the two-hour meeting along with others from her area. She felt the system was in such bad shape that she removed her child first and then help spearhead efforts to remove the entire board from their positions. Parks is only a few signatures away on a petition she started that asks for the board's removal. She plans to deliver the final 1,500 signatures and comments to the state board on Wednesday.

One former system employee - who wanted to be known only as Barbara - admitted to knowing where missing funds mentioned by SACS are probably located. She disagreed with Pringle's accusations against the board and thought Dr. Atkinson was to blame.

To that, Davis replied, "until I see with my own eyes a principal who can hold up a brand new textbook and say 'look, we've found them. We have the books here,' then I still say the board has to go. If they can't show us the books or find the money, they are a part of the problem and they have to go."

For more about Restore DeKalb and the mission of Davis, Pringle and others who want the children to be the top priority, visit the group's upcomimg website. Davis is also a leader who has worked with Get the Cell Out - Atlanta and the Unhappy Taxpayer and Voters, two groups established to demand higher accountability from elected officials in DeKalb County.

To view the live webcast of the state hearing on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 8 a.m., click here. To add your name to the online petition, click here.

Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter Ponders Why We Should Keep the DeKalb BOE

Ten Top Reasons to Keep DeKalb Board of Education

By Viola Davis, RN BSN

The ten top reasons the citizens should keep the DeKalb Board of Education are as follows:

1 ?, 2 ?, 3 ?, 4 ?, 5?.  Wait; give me a little more time.  I am sure I will come up with at least one reason.  6 ?, 7 ?, 8?, 9 ?, 10 ?.  Well, at least I tried.  However, I am unable to come up with one reason especially when I place the needs of our children first and our accreditation second.

It’s time for us to come to the reality that our school system has been in crisis for far too long.  For parents who have children in school, we have complained for years about some of our neighborhood schools, lack of books, leaking roofs, etc. 

Now we are faced with the serious issue of losing our accreditation.  Yet, our Board of Education continues with the same excuses that interfere with the quality of education our children deserve.  Our teachers and school staff have gone over five years without raises or even a cost of living increase.  When will the crisis end and a high quality education begin?

The title of this article should not be the ten top reasons the citizens should keep the DeKalb Board of Education, but the top ten reasons the citizens should remove the DeKalb Board of Education and place our children first and our accreditation second. 

The reasons to remove the BOE include:

1. Poor oversight, mismanagement, and bad policy.
2. Out of control practice of nepotism and cronyism
3. Acts of decreased ethics and conflict of interest
4. Unexplained budget shortfalls that place the school system in crisis
5. Board of Education engaging in micromanagement of school staff
6. High administrative staff under criminal charges and investigation
7. Inadequate budgetary plan which places our school system on “shaky” financial ground
8. Grand Jury investigations and forensic audits that warrants DA’s attention
9. Children and school staff overlooked due to waste and mismanagement by BOE
10. Board of Education and Superintendent in conflict and engaged in major media circus.

It’s time for the parents and homeowners to send a message that we want the madness to end.  The school system should focus of the needs of the children first and provide a high quality of education.  We need full forensic audits that expose the “true” financial picture and shortfalls of our school system.  We need an answer to the question, “Is there any criminal activity that should be prosecuted”?

Until we place our children and accreditation at the top of our priority list, parents and homeowners stand to lose our accreditation.  We ask our Board of Education to demonstrate the value they place in our children and school system by completing the following:

• Fully answer and complete the eleven required actions mandated by SACS
• If any of the required actions are not completed to the satisfaction of SACS, the Board of Education should resign.

If there are people that value the Board of Education over our children and accreditation, I ask that you explain to the rest of us the reason, “Why?"

The "No's" Are Stacking Up Against the Charter School Ammendment

Background:  At GTCO-ATL, we are wary of the charter school ammendment as well as the push to support it.  While we had still not formed our own opinon, some pretty hefty opposition came forward, most notably from the state Superintendent, Dr. John Barge. 

As we looked into the role of ALEC, most from what we learned on the website www.alecexposed.org, we found that a similar model bill was created by ALEC in their education task force.  The ALEC committee includes the private company (not a Georgia business) K-12 which already handles the students in the state of Georgia who have opted for a home-school, online program alternative.  It is also co-chaired by David Cascas, a Republican from Gwinett County who is in the state House of Representatives. 

As a reminder, ALEC is not a governmental group.  They claim to be a charity that does not lobby, but rather is a social organization with members of congress as well as corporate executives who wish to spend their down time toether.  In reality, these groups meet, develop model legislation that support the business initiatives and cut the voters out of the loop completely.  The state representatives and senators take the model bills back to their states and try to pass them.  It is their objective to privative education.  In other words, they want to take as many of our tax dollars and divert them toward private companies that will profit, by their stated objectives and entire reason for existence.  As the trend has been lately, that means those private companies will pay out big bonuses to their top executives and CEOs and not create new jobs or reinvest the money into the local economy.  In fact K-12 has absolutely no reason to invest in our local economy as they are not even based in Georgia.  They are based in Baltimore, Maryland.  Maryland is currently listed as one of the richest states in the U.S.

So, how does the charter school bill play into this scenario? 

Well, if we give the state the power to set up charter schools, the first one they will set up will likely be a virtual school that will be run by K-12.  So, that's fewer teachers employed here and more money to the bottom line of a Maryland business with a CEO who already makes a half a million dollars a year.  If the virtual charter does better than our current schools, then more students will likely be sent there, either from home or by watching classes on TV in school with a lower salary employee, not necessarily a teacher, watching over them. 

Our money will leave DeKalb, take a short stop at the state for a little payoff, and then exit to Maryland.  How will that help our local economy?  It won't.  How will that impact our neighborhood schools?  It will likely result in closing many of them.  What harms property values?  Closed, abandoned schools would definitely be on the top of that list.  So would cell towers.  But, if your school system is headed toward state control, state charters and virtual learning, the first step would be a cell tower so that the kids can turn in their homework while using their laptops or tablets to connect to the school intranet. 

We've wondered for a long time if the cell towers were about more than money.  If they were only for the money, then the people making the deal would have tried harder to get a better deal.  What T-mobile agreed to pay is less than they normally pay in commercial areas and we're actually helping them avoid paying their property tax.  If anything, they should be paying our schools a lot more!  So, if it is not for the money, as Paul Womack insisted in a public meeting last September, and it is for the coverage, then why does the school system care about cell tower coverage? 

If those things sound like they might be related to one another to you, as they do to us, then we suggest that you consider a "NO" vote on the charter ammendment.  We do not need more hands on our money or more schools trying to grab funding when our existing schools are failing.  We need to get back to basics, elect quality board members and stop spending money that we simply do not have.  Children need role models, mentors and help learning from real people.  They have plenty of time to play with their gadgets and talk on their cell phones, if they have them.  While in school, they need to be focused on learning, the same thing our school system leaders seem to forget they should focus on as well.

With that in mind, here is a recent posting from our friends at the Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter organization in DeKalb County, one of our most trusted partners in the cell tower opposition.  Knowing that they feel the same way we do only enforces our belief that this ammendment requires serious consideration and is most likely a bad idea.  If you feel differently, we invite you to please comment in our feedback section so we can evaluate both sides to this debate.

 

 

Summary of Unhappy Taxpayer and Voters' Position

on the Charter School Ammendment  Proposed for the State of Georgia.

Chime in with Your Vote in the November Election!

On August 14, 2012, State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge (R ) released a statement about the constitutional amendment (HR1162) on charter schools due to be voted on November 6th and he stated the following:

“I fully support the continued creation of high quality charter schools for Georgia’s students, but after careful consideration of what is best for all of Georgia’s students, I have decided to take a position in opposition to the constitutional amendment that will be on the November 6 ballot.

Until all of our public school students are in school for a full 180-day school year, until essential services like student transportation and student support can return to effective levels, and until teachers regain jobs with full pay for a full school year, we should not redirect one more dollar away from Georgia’s local school districts – much less an additional $430 million in state funds, which is what it would cost to add seven new state charter schools per year over the next five years (the annual average of the Charter Commission that would be revived if the amendment passes).

I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of Education, and the state Board of Education. What’s more, this constitutional amendment would direct taxpayer dollars into the pockets of out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies whose schools perform no better than traditional public schools and locally approved charter schools (and worse, in some cases).”

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/External-Affairs-and-Policy/communications/Pages/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?PressView=default&pid=54

If the Republican State Superintendent John Barge has decided to take a position in opposition to the Constitutional amendment (HR1162), why are our elected officials claiming that no money will be redirected from our local school systems. There are a large number of school systems demanding additional state funding for their local school system (such as DeKalb County); yet, the state has not provided additional funding. The state of Georgia has extra money to finance an additional commission to oversee the charter schools?

 Where is the money and who will pay the bill?

The voters will decide whether the state or the local school boards will have the ultimate authority to approve charter schools on November 6^th. The serious question boiled down to local control vs. state control. Why? The Georgia Charter Commission members will be appointed by Governor Nathan Deal (R ). If the referendum passes, the Georgia Charter Commission will make the final decision on charter schools instead of the local school boards or State Board of Education.

Why should DeKalb County parents and taxpayers care?

DeKalb County has a long history of being a donor county. Over $100 million dollars were removed from our school district since 2006 under the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula (better known as local 5-mill share) and redistributed to school districts throughout the state. Despite serious budget shortfalls, teachers with pay cuts and furlough days, as well as school teachers and personnel working without a pay raise for over five years, the state wants the taxpayers and voters to believe they can locate over $430 million dollars to fully fund the Georgia Charter Commission without causing any harm to the funding sources of local school systems. Once again, where’s the money to fund the $430 million dollar price tag for the Georgia Charter Commission?

Year Local 5-Mill Share (QBE) State Revenue Received

2011 129.0 323.3

2010 117.4 352.7

2009 120.1 357.0

2008 112.4 387.9

2007 107.4 383.8

2006 101.9 326.6

 What are our elected officials saying about HR1162?

State Representative Rahn Mayo held an informative discussion at the Community Achievement Center on August 21^st on the issue of charter schools. Several questions were asked concerning the funding of the Georgia Charter Commission (HR1162). However, no answer was given to explain where the $430 million dollars would come from to finance the re-established agency (if referendum passes Nov. 6). We must also remember that if $430 million dollars is located, how will we address the funding shortage local school districts are presently having with the QBE formula?

There was not one DeKalb County Board of Education member on the panel; however, there were two members to attend the meeting – Jay Cunningham and Donna Elder. Representative Mayo had a member from the Henry County Board of Education on the panel and a long supporter of charter schools, Representative Alisha Morgan. Representative Morgan reassured everyone that no money from local school systems will be used to finance the Georgia Charter Commission. Once again we asked, “Where will the $430 million come from?”

We also asked about the $100+ million already removed from DeKalb County School System. Would the money for the charter schools come from funding under the QBE formula or another funding source? We have yet to receive an answer. However, we have included a link to Rep. Mayo statement on charter schools in support of HR 1162: http://youtu.be/-2yOVltgU6c and Rep. Morgan statement: http://youtu.be/JMfe9DBLFXw

You Are Hereby Notified: Ballot Question on Cell Towers July 31 - VOTE NO

VOTE NO!  VOTE NO!   VOTE NO!  VOTE NO!  VOTE NO!  

CALL FOR AND NOTICE OF DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA

JULY 31, 2012 SPECIAL NONBINDING ADVISORY REFERENDUM ELECTION

TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF DEKALB COUNTY.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED

that on the 31st day of July, 2012 (Tuesday) in conjunction with the General Primary Election, a special nonbinding advisory referendum will be held for the purpose of ascertaining whether the local or independent school system in DeKalb County or charter school should place or operate a telecommunications tower on any elementary, middle or high school property; to provide for procedures and requirements relating thereto; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes, submitting to the qualified voters of DeKalb County for their approval or rejection pursuant to the passage of House Bill 1299.

The ballots to be used at said election shall have written or printed thereon substantially the following:

[ ] YES  "Should the local or independent school system of               DeKalb County or a charter school  
               in DeKalb County place or operate a 
               telecommunications tower on any [ ] NO    elementary, middle, or high school property?"

All persons desiring to vote for approval of the question shall vote "Yes," and all persons desiring to vote for rejection of the question shall vote "No."

(GTCO-ATL NOTE:  In this question, the term "cell tower" has been replaced by "telecommunications tower" as an attempt to hide the truth of what exactly is being asked here.  Also, the question asks if the school system should place or operate a tower when it is really T-mobile that will be doing the placing and the operating. Either way, you should still vote no.  Towers like these are dangerous and prohibited from going in residential communities when the local ordinances are followed.  Don't let the question trick you into approving something that might be built right next to you or your neigbors!  These towers have nothing to do with education!!)

The last day to register to be eligible to vote in this referendum is July 2, 2012.

The referendum will be held in all the regular polling precincts and election districts of DeKalb County in conjunction with the General Primary Election. The polls will open at 7:00 AM and close at 7:00 PM (Tuesday, July 31, 2012).

Those residents qualified to vote at said election shall be determined in all respects in accordance with the election laws of the State of Georgia.

This notice is given pursuant to the passage of House Bill 1299 by the Georgia General Assembly.

This 1st day of May, 2012

H. Maxine Daniels, Elections Supervisor

For: The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections

PLEASE PUBLISH: May 9, 2012; July 19, 2012 & July 26, 2012

Grand Jury Calls For Investigation of DeKalb School Board

Updated: Thursday, 03 May 2012, 10:22 PM EDTPublished : Thursday, 03 May 2012, 10:13 PM EDT
(reprinted with permission)
by: Kaitlyn Prat

Grand Jury Calls For Investigation of DeKalb School Board: MyFoxATLANTA.com

DeKalb DA Robert James announced he would not convene a special grand jury LAST TIME it was recommended.  

School Board Chairman Dr. Eugene Walker looked over his shoulder ominously.   Skeptics say that THIS time the

DA is going along with the investigation, but not truly leading it.  What is it that these board members do to

seemingly nice, intelligent, otherwise perfectly normal people who work alongside them? 

Maybe we should fear the school board and elect the cell towers? 

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County grand jury is calling for a special investigation of the county school board. It's the second time the recommendation had been made in recent months and this time the district attorney is pursuing it.

The grand jury report focuses on how the school board managed money. It questioned why tax payers are paying more than $100,000 in legal fees for former DeKalb Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis, who was indicted on racketeering charges.

The report also points to an expensive civil suit against a former construction company, Heery/Mitchell.

“The ongoing fiscal irresponsibility of the DeKalb County School Board has caused tens of millions of dollars to be wasted,” the grand jury indictment states.

DeKalb County Schools spokesman Walter Woods said the board would welcome the investigation.

“Everything we’ve done is legal. We observe the law. If we’ve violated the law then let them bring that to our attention,” said DeKalb Schools Chairman Dr. Gene Walker, who said he had not seen the grand jury report.

Ten Superior Court judges will decide on the investigation.

Georgia Green Party Wants You to Know ...

(click headline for the full story)

Check Out the New Link at the TOP of our Page for Upcoming Events, Meetings and Dates relative to opposing cell towers on school grounds countywide, not just for those with the financial resources to demand change.  RF Radiation doesn't discriminate, so why should our elected officials and lawmakers?

Are environmental hazards putting the health of our families at risk? Is the health and well-being of our children for sale in DeKalb County? 

The Georgia Green Party Lists
Its Ten Key Values that include such
radical statements as "Every human being
deserves a say in the decisions that
affect their lives and not be
subject to the will of another."
Surely, they must be from
another planet, right?

Saturday, Feb. 11, 1 - 3 p.m.CHASE Meeting (Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment)
TOWN HALL MEETING
Georgia Piedmont Technical College
495 N. Indian Creek Drive
Clarkston, GA 30021

The Dangers of Cell Towers on School Buildings

Hazards of Biomass Incineration (Gasification)

Clean Energy Alternatives

Citizen Action to Demand a Safe Environment

INVITED TO ATTEND: All residents and residential property owners in DeKalb County who have an interest in learning more about these topics and what you can do to help.  

Special invitation is made to the families near Smoke Rise and Jolly Elementary Schools as they are in close proximity to the meeting location and have not been able to vocalize their objections as loudly as the other communities with more affluent populations backing their efforts.

Click on Map to enlarge to see the schools that the DCSS agreed to lease
our public property to T-mobile for commercial gain.

Parents of children within the DeKalb County School District are also invited to attend, however it is advised that you make daycare arrangements if possible as the subjet matter will be complex and children may become bored and restless. Also, please be advised that the subject of cell towers on school grounds may be upsetting to children if they hear discussion about the dangers and health hazards associated with this topic. 

If you do bring children to this meeting, please plan to bring activities that will keep them quietly entertained as no on-site daycare will be avialable.

For further information, please contact:

Richard Searcy and Dr. Jewel Crawford, MD

dekalbgp@georgiagreenparty.org

Co-Chairs, Green Party of DeKalb County

GTCO-ATL Involvement: We are working on a list of questions that we would like for the organizers of this event to put forth to the panel of speakers. If the questions are asked and answered, we will post them here for everyone to read. At this time, we must follow the advice of legal council and will therefore be unable to participate on the panel of speakers.

Dr. Darren Harper - dharper1of5@netzero.net

Janice Harper - jnh2005@netzero.net

For more details about these topics and the Georgia Green Party's position, please visit their website at:  http://georgiagreenparty.org/content/dekalb-greens-co-host-urgent-town-hall-meeting

GTCO-ATL March on T-Mobile

(click headline for full text) 

The community members of Margaret Harris Comprehensive School for the disabled children of DeKalb County led a march today that started in their community, ran up LaVista Road and ended at the T-mobile sales location at the corner of Northlake Highway. 

This area of DeKalb County was first featured in our GTCO-ATL You-Tube video back in August 2011.  When we fought to have Brockett Elementary removed from the school board list, there were 86 cell towers in a 4-mile radius of our school. 

After the July 11 vote, we decided to stay involved with this issue and help other families who were likely not informed about the decision to place a tower near their home or school.   We released a YouTube video that we had originally expected we would need to continue our Brockett protest in front of the DeKalb County Office of Planning and Sustainability.

In May 2011 the Millers (pictured above as they went door to door
to gain petition signatures) were very much alone
on their road to uncovering the truth surrounding the
controversial decision by the DeKalb County School Board
to place cell phone towers on school grounds.

But, we were fortunate and several board members responded to our email and petition and voted yes on an ammendement that removed us from the list.  They also removed Medlock and Meadowview Elementary Schools.  The Medlock community had already been approached by T-mobile several months before the other schools and they were enticed with all kinds of promises like turning the tower into a monumnet with their mascot at the top  or making the tower look similar to a large pine tree.  Medlock's neighborhood association members were not interested and that likely led to the next approach T-mobile took  in this process.

At the end of the 2011 school term, when parents and kids are very busy, there are lots of papers coming home everyday, activities to attend at school and vacation plans in the works, the DCSS threw a monkey wrench into things for a lot of people.  A flyer came home in the backpacks of the kids that announced meetings about cell tower coverage that would be held at several school locations. 

"It was not until after the meeting that we learned the true intent was to place a tower at our school," says Cheryl Miller, GTCO-ATL co-founder.  "And every day since I learned that fact I have been involved in some way in this whole cell tower nightmare."

Today, they were joined by hundreds of protesters from all over the county who marched from their schools to
congregate outside a T-mobile location near Northlake Mall in Atlanta.

A big concern for Miller and her husband Paul was that the meetings were obviously intended to garner low attendence.  The Millers say that threw up red flags for both of them, so they set out to figure out what the school board thought they would have objected to, if they had actually attended the meeting.

"If one single person would have approached us to say this is why you should not be concerned about the cell tower and here is a list of the good things it will do for your school, I think we would have both been relieved and said 'Thanks.'  And that would be the end of it," said Paul Miller.

Instead the Millers have reported a plethora of conflicting stories and explanations that they received to their questions that range from officers of their PTA on up to the county commissioners and the DeKalb Office of Planning and Sustainability and CEO's office, which should normally be overseeing the zoning regulations on issues like these.

"With every step we took to try to figure out what was going on, we just found out more and more bad news," said Cheryl Miller.  "Bad for the parents, bad for the children and bad for the taxpayers of our county.  It has to end somewhere."

Local communities have printed signs to mark their
communities as being clearly against the cell tower
decision which has helped bring even  more awareness to
others in the county who may not have heard about the
issue or how the residents feel about being left out
of the decision-making process.

In the meantime, Miller stated, they will continue to follow the issue until the end, whatever that may be.  So, today's march was more of a step in the process than it was a victory for the Millers.

"We've wanted to hold a march to draw attention to T-mobile's poor citizenship and greed almost from the very beginning.  So, we were very happy to finally see that part of our mission realized today with the help of the awesome communities who are fighting on behalf of their schools."

Paul Miller says it is unfortunate that the towers may start going up as early at Jan. 12, the due diligence deadline assumed if there were inital contracts signed under Ramona Tyson back  in July as was indicated would be the case at the time.  He said it has been the most difficult to reach some of the South DeKalb schools who may not have as much ready access to computers and have unfortunately been overlooked by the more organized groups like the PTA-driven Briarlake and neighborhood association-driven Margaret Harris. 

Even Lakeside High School, which reportedly initiated the request with the school system to provide them with better cell phone reception, has a community action group assembled to protest the towers.  The issues surrounding the Get the Cell Out mission have been documented and discussed in a popular blog that has muliple contribors and invites discussion and feedback.  It is located at www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org.  From there, you can acess the countywide petition: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GTCO-ATL,  to protest the cell towers slated for these public schools, along with Martin Luther King, Jr. High, Narvie J. Harris, Princeton, Jolly, Smoke Rise and Flat Rock.

The cell tower battle in DeKalb County has remained in
front of the public for months on end as the protest
continues to gain more momentum and the D.A. is reportedly
investigating the School Board for criminal activity.

The Millers have also worked with several groups in an effort to spread the word in South and Central DeKalb such as Unhappy Tazpayer and Voter, Concerned Citizens of South DeKalb and CHASE (Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment).
"We believe the key to stopping these towers is to unite the county in protest and show solidarity for the cause regardless of how any of the schools may feel about each other or how they think about various other issues," he says.  "We have studied how these deals go down in other parts of the country and the basic tactic that wins every time is 'divide and conquer.'"

He says they have tried to stay a step ahead of T-mobile, but that effort will not be successful if the DeKalb Planning Department or CEO does not get more involved.  The immediate concern is the claims being made that the school board can exempt T-mobile from our local zoning laws.  The next conccern is that the permit they plan to issue is one that does not require public input. So, the neighborhoods that were already overlooked by the school boad will again be ignored by the county.

"It kind of makes you wonder what you pay taxes for, or why we are fighting in a war to protect our rights if we are willing to give them up so easily, doesn't it?" says Miller. 

Miller states that through their group Get the Cell Out - Atlanta Chapter, they have been able to notify and reach out to all the affected communities and have assisted many of them with the process of sharing information with each other.  The result has uncovered a lot of information and conflicting stories that may even catch the attention of the District Attorney or Special Grand Jury in light of their recent announcement that they are looking at the DeKalb School Board very closely.

Children at elementary schools across DeKalb County, who are likely too young to really know what a cell tower is, are getting an early education on the right to peaceful protest.  Parents say they are saddened that they have to teach their kids this lesson with an issue that involves their own school.  These children at Briarlake Elementary School in Decatur will likely lose their playground or their outdoor classroom as a result of the school board's actions.

While the Millers say they applaud the efforts of the schools who participated in the demonstration today, they want to remind every school to be vigilant in keeping an eye out for any activity on the proposed sites and continue to hound the zoning office until they get some answers about the permit process.

The next step?  The Millers say they can't reveal all of their game plan, mainly because it can change from day to day depending on what is learned or what T-mobile does next.  But, they have suggested that the fight will continue and is actually gaining credibility. 

There might be legal battles ahead for some communities while the Millers are hoping to make positive contributions to the future. 

"We hope to work together with our state legislators to enact some type of law or referendum either locally or statewide to stop this process from repeating itself," says Cheryl Miller.  "We're seeing more progressive states like Californina and admired the progress they are making in order to protect their children and that's what we hope to be able to do here."

For more, see this story at CBS Atlanta:  http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16469365/dekalb-co-parents-protest-against-cell-towers-on-campuses

CHASE Steps Up to Oppose Cell Towers on School Grounds

Dr. Darren Harper Addresses the State Legislators -
Warns of Cell Tower Cancer Risks, Especially for Children

http://youtu.be/OS7WWoDwTZk 
(full video.  Thank you to Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter)

Dr. Darren Harper and Johnae Davis (elementary student) speak up for DeKalb County children at the DeKalb Legislative Delegation 2nd Public Hearing at Porter Sanford Community Center on November 15.

Harper is the Health Professional Committee Chairman for the group known as CHASE (Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment).  He is also a medical MD and a professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta.  In his presentation, Dr. Harper urges legislators to take a closer look at the issue of placing cell towers near schools in DeKalb County, explaining how our children are the most vulnerable to the forms of cancers that can arise with continuous and cumulative exposure to RF radiation, even at low levels.

Please sign our petition to stop cell phone towers on school grounds:  www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GTCO-ATL. 

And, if you are concerned about the future of our county, please contact your state legistators by phone, email or in writing to ask them what they plan to do to ensure the cell tower companies, like T-mobile (a German company), do not continue to bully and sneak their way into our neighborhoods and onto our school grounds.

The grounds are being cleared RIGHT NOW, so the sooner you can let them know how you feel about this issue, the better.  In other states, legislators have issued a state-wide moratorium to HALT ALL CELL TOWER CONSTRUCTION until they could get more information and a better understanding of the needs of the industry vs. an all-out race to put as many towers in as many locations as quickly as possible to beat their competition in the race for 4G marketshare, tax breaks and more corporate profit.

Here is an easy way to find out who represents you in our state government.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/state/main/?state=GA

Just enter your zip code and you will have a list of the names and their contact information.  Let them know that you intend to vote in all elections, pay taxes in this county and are concerned about the sudden sprouting of cell towers all over our "greenest county in America" - especially the ones on our PUBLIC SCHOOL PROPERTY.  This is property that taxpayers are paying for and have intended for it to be used for the educational purposes of children, not for a profit-center for T-mobile. 

Here is a great example of public notification done the right way. 

And, this sign was posted right outside Jolly Elementary School

in Clarkston, GA, one of 9 schools  expecting to get a new 150' cell

tower with a 60' x 60' base by March against the wishes of the

community and even the city's Mayor!

It is your constitutional right to be heard by your government on issues that affect your health, safety and way of life and infringe upon your enjoyment of your residential community.  And, our children have rights to receive an equal education, funded by the taxpayers, without fear that their health and safety might be at risk.  Parents must send their children to school by law, but no one can force a parent to assume a KNOWN health risk and shoulder the financial burden that could go along with providing medical treatment for their child.

Help us hold our elected officials accountable for this bad decision. 

Thank you, Dr. Harper and CHASE for helping spread the word about the dangers and risks associated with cell towers so DeKalb residents can speak up about what they want or do not want in their own neighborhoods.

Early Voting for DeKalb County

From the Voter Registrations Office 404-298-4020
(click headline for the full story)
Early voting for all DeKalb County voters has begun for the municipal and
countywide special elections that will be conducted on November 8, 2011.
The voting will continue weekdays through Friday, November 4 from 8:30 AM
until 4:00 PM. The location is the Voter Registration office at 4380
Memorial Drive. There will be no voting on Monday, November 5.

For a review about the E-SPLOST and why we advocate DeKalb County to vote "no," please refer to the following links:
"Wake Up and Smell the SPLOST" on the Tucker Patch.
"School SPLOST has Opposition," on the AJC.com.

The educational special purpose local option sales tax (E-SPLOST) is to
continue a 1% sales tax for educational purposes for the DeKalb,
Atlanta and Decatur school systems. This 1% tax has been collected since 1997 and must be voted on every five years to continue.

For more details on the E-SPLOST, go to the following websites:

DeKalb School System website at http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/splost-iv

Atlanta Public Schools website at http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/site/default.aspx?PageID=1

Decatur City Schools website at http://www.csdecatur.net/SPLOST/more

In addition to the E-SPLOST, each municipality in DeKalb is conducting
elections for city officials, to approve Sunday liquor sales and to
approve special referendums.

Refer to the DeKalb Votes website at http://www.dekalbvotes.com to see sample ballots and to locate your polling place for Election day.

Questions may be addressed to the Voter Office, 404-298-4020.

Cell Towers on School Grounds: 5 Medical Reasons for Concern

By Viola Davis, RN BSN
(click headline for the full story)
“The first rule of medicine is ‘First, do no Harm.’ Wise words no matter what the profession.”

-- By Brian A. Kuzik MD, MSc, FRCP

Concern 1: Independent research shows an increase in brain tumors – malignant glioma.

Concern 2: Consistent Epidemiologic evidence of an association between childhood leukemia and exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields has led to their classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.”

Concern 3: Children are in particular danger from these emissions as their head sizes are smaller, their skulls are thinner and their bodies are still growing. A study is underway that will further evaluate the effects of cell phones on children. It can be reviewed at: http://www.mbkds.net (results due in 2013)

Concern 4: Those who live near cell phone towers are exposed to radiofrequency radiation 24 hours a day. During that time there are higher and lower exposure levels. General symptoms include headaches, fatigue, concentration problems, dizziness, insomnia, depression, appetite loss, skin rashes, and discomfort.

Concern 5: Cell phone radiation damages DNA, an undisputed cause of cancer and male fertility is damaged by cell phone radiation. For medical research articles visit www.getthecelloutatl.org.

Any financial gain DeKalb County School System hopes to receive in return for the cell tower lease would clearly not be worth risking the lives and health of our children and community. If cell phones are now rated as “possible human carcinogen,” then we need to be concerned about cell phone towers.