Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The plan for DeKalb's schools came out late Tuesday.
DeKalb County Schools Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond unveiled a 90-day plan of action on Tuesday. Shortly after the plan went out, Patch met with Thurmond, who said: "Did you see the plan? Every day things get a little better, but every day you find something else that's wrong. It took years to get that way, and will take a while to fix." Dear DeKalb County School District Stakeholders, My first two months on the job have provided a unique opportunity for me to engage a cross section of DeKalb County School District (herein DCSD) stakeholders in open, honest and frank discussions. I have listened and learned. Now is the time for leadership. Working in partnership with Chairman Melvin Johnson and the members of the DeKalb County …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The new members will be sworn in at 1 pm on Wednesday.
Gov. Nathan Deal announced six new DeKalb school board members on Wednesday morning: Deal announced that the new school board members will be sworn into office at 1 pm on Wednesday afternoon at the DeKalb Board of Education offices. “I have reminded these individuals that we were brought to these circumstances because of issues of governance,” Deal said. “I have implored they work together cooperatively. I’ve also reminded them that we have a new school superintendent and I have every confidence that he will lead the school system forward.” Deal said he examined whether to reinstate any of the six suspended board members, but decided “it would be best to enter into this new process with a clean slate.” Deal also said Interim School …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Gov. Deal had called a Monday press conference, announcing whether or not he would suspend six members of the DeKalb Board of Education.
A federal judge has issued a restraining order that prevents the suspension of six DeKalb school board officials by Gov. Nathan Deal. Over the weekend, Judge Richard Story issued the order, according to Channel 2 Action News. The order does not prevent Deal from suspending the school board members, but does prohibit their actual suspension until a hearing is convened on Friday. Deal had scheduled a Monday news conference to announce whether he was suspending six members of the DeKalb school board. After a 14-plus-hour meeting on Thursday, the State Board of Education voted to recommend that Deal remove six members of the DeKalb school board. The board voted unanimously to recommend that Sarah Copelin-Wood, Donna Edler, Eugene Walker, Jay …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Replay Patch's live coverage of Thursday's marathon hearing.
The State Board of Education voted late Thursday night to recommend the removal of six members of the DeKalb School Board to Gov. Nathan Deal. The board voted unanimously to recommend that Sarah Copelin-Wood, Donna Edler, Eugene Walker, Jay Cunningham, Nancy Jester and Pamela Speaks be removed from the DeKalb school board. If Gov. Deal follows the board's recommendation, Jim McMahan, Marshall Orson and Melvin Johnson would remain on the board as newly elected members. The recommendation came after a meeting that began at 8 am and ended at 10:15 pm. The meeting was the latest in the DeKalb school system's ongoing battle to avoid losing its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools, which has already placed the …
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Contentious meeting yields "a budget we can work with."
The DeKalb County Board of Education now has an $8.3 million reserve fund, following a heated debate Thursday evening at the district's headquarters in Stone Mountain. The final vote on the new budget was 5-4. The board faced an $85 million budget deficit. "It was a hard decision. There were hard choices across the board," said DeKalb School System spokesman Walter Woods. "We've been deliberating for weeks, and now we have a budget we can work with." The main points of the budget are: "If this is what they can do to operate the budget, we still have to put the children first," said Lucinda O'Neal, a social studies teacher at Redan Middle School, where she's taught for at least ten years. "As an educator, I'm committed."
Friday, January 20, 2012
Public hearings may be announced within the next couple of weeks.
Public hearings may be announced as soon as next week in the effort to redraw DeKalb County commission and school board districts. The redistricting is mandated by the federal government every 10 years when a new Census is completed and released. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, who represents a portion of Druid Hills, is also attempting to reduce DeKalb’s school board size from nine to seven members. Oliver’s HB671 “addresses the issue of just how we go about reducing the board’s size,” she said. “We can’t just decide to suddenly shorten the term of office of someone who has been duly elected by DeKalb citizens without taking the proper steps. So this bill is designed to work out all of those questions.” Oliver’s proposed …
Tom Doolittle
8:29 am on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Daily Beast Rankings heavy on Grad Rates--kills GA schools due to new 5-year disallowance and not tracking transfers. Total Bullcrap. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/05/06/america-s-best-high-schools.html more ›