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 …
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."
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Public hearings on DeKalb commission and school board redistricting may begin within the next one to two weeks.
An East Atlanta lawmaker will play a major role in the effort to redraw DeKalb County commission and school board districts. State Rep. Simone Bell, D-Atlanta, is chair of two House DeKalb caucus committees that will be determining the new boundaries. The redistricting is mandated by the federal government every 10 years when a new Census is completed and released. Bell's District 58 includes several East Atlanta communities, including the Whitefoord and Burgess-Peterson elementary school neighborhoods and the Piney Grove area. Bell said public hearings may begin as soon as the next one to two weeks. “We’ll be working with representatives from both the county commission and the school board to determine the new lines, and then bring those…
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 ›