Patch Voices

DeKalb Schools Crisis: Governor is Wrong to Suspend the DeKalb School Board

Ex-board chairman Eugene Walker responds to Gov. Nathan Deal's decision to suspend six members of the DeKalb Board of Education.

by Eugene P. Walker The Governor is wrong in his decision to suspend members of the DeKalb County Board of Education. The DeKalb School District has been placed on probation by a private accrediting institution called SACS which holds considerable sway in the education community. SACS has made a multitude of allegations, some of which I agree with, but all of them were developed unilaterally in a shrouded process. SACS' leadership is not elected by the public, does not have to conform to open meetings and open records laws, and is not subject to constitutional due process as it sits in judgment of public institutions and elected officials. The DeKalb Board of Education, like all school boards, is a public institution. We have open meetings…

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Peachtree Hope Abandons Charter School Bid

School will not re-open this fall, parents of 610 students now must find other schools for their children

Peachtree Hope Charter School will not re-open this fall, after school leaders quietly withdrew their request for permission from DeKalb County school officials to operate for an additional year. "They didn't say why they withdrew," DeKalb Deputy Chief Superintendent for School Operations Robert Moseley told a July 17 school board meeting called specially to deal with the question. "The effect is there's no charter for this year," he concluded. Rumors about the school's fate began circulating among parents earlier in the day. Kendra Shipmon, Peachtree Hope's director, did not return telephone calls seeking comment Tuesday, and the school's website is already down. Located in Atlanta's Parkview neighborhood on Memorial Drive, the elementary…

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