PTA President Lambasts School Board Members

Jennifer Hatfield attended last week's state hearing and weighs in on the crisis.

By Jennifer Hatfield, President of the Evansdale Elementary School PTA and Tucker parent of two. Having attending numerous DeKalb Board of Education meetings, I can tell you I have NEVER witnessed the DeKalb board act in such a manner. I hope that Governor Deal watched the webcast of the hearing since he was not present. I believe that the testimony of the nine current board members painted a pretty clear picture of what is wrong. Our system is broken, though only two members, Dr. Speaks and Mrs. Jester, had the courage to express any accountability. Sadly, they are two of the most honest and hard-working members of the board. In the next hearing in February, it may be helpful to call Dr. Atkinson and former BOE members Paul Womack, Don …

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Cheryl Miller

3:56 pm on Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Here is one link: http://www.11alive.com/news/article/211104/40/Voters-weigh-education-sales-tax-with-SPLOST- You will see my quote:"We've got to do something to let the board know that we are not happy with the decisions they've made," said parent Cheryl Miller, who plans to vote no. "We don't want them to waste any more of our dollars. We don't believe in empty promises, and we need a way to …   more ›

Letters To The Editor

An Open Letter About DeKalb's School Board

Did Sarah Copeland-Woods lie during the School Board hearing last Thursday?

Greetings Governor Deal, Legislators, and State Department of Education Members, I am resident of Dekalb County with a child attending Tucker Middle School. I am very concerned about the state of the Dekalb County School District (DCSD) and the Dekalb Board of Education (DBOE). Thank you for the hearing on Jan. 17, 2013. I was very impressed with the depth of the questioning. Clearly the members of Georgia Department of Education had done their research prior to the hearing. I was significantly less impressed with the quality of the answers provided by the DBOE. One answer in particular made my heart sink. When Sarah Copelin-Wood was asked about emails that negatively affect the chain of command she replied, (I am quoting to the best of my…

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Cheryl Miller

10:40 am on Friday, March 8, 2013

She is not the only one who lied at that hearing.   more ›

DeKalb School Board Must Attend State Hearing

Board members to appear before education officials on Jan. 17.

Members of DeKalb County's school board have been summoned to a hearing on Thursday, Jan. 17 by Georgia's Department of Education. They are being asked for reasons to avoid suspension following the decision of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the district's accrediting agency, to place the school system on probation. An investigation by SACS officials found fiscal mismanagement, abuse of power and unethical hiring practices, and Governor Nathan Deal is under pressure from parent groups to fire the entire board. "Now we have millions of dollars that are missing and textbooks that didn't get to students," parent Caroline Lord of Tucker told CBS Atlanta. "When our children don't have textbooks, if that's not the straw …

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Petition To Oust DeKalb School Board Gains Momentum

Hundreds have signed an online petition. Take our Patch poll and tell us if you believe DeKalb's school board should be removed.

Less than two weeks after being placed on probation, the DeKalb County School Board is now the target of an online petition calling for their removal. CBS Atlanta is reporting that the petition has already received hundreds of signatures, including one from Tucker resident Jan Mixon, who said, "in light of recent developments, this might be the best approach. The loss of accreditation would have a tremendous impact not only on our schools but also on our property taxes. We want to keep DeKalb County strong." DeKalb resident Grace McKenna began the online petition, calling on Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to replace the entire school board. On Dec. 17, the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) placed the school board on probation …

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Letters To The Editor

Teacher Calls School Board 'Shortsighted'

A DeKalb parent and teacher addresses the issue of class size.

My name is Kristyne Seidenberg.  I am a parent, certified teacher, and practicing attorney.  I am concerned about the way DeKalb County Schools has addressed the class size issue.   Any short term savings the school system effects by increasing class sizes will surely be outweighed by the long term detrimental impact on the quality of education in DeKalb County Schools.  The legal fees the school system will be forced to allocate toward defending Due Process claims of parents of special needs children could simply go to maintaining class sizes appropriate to educating students. The current stance on increasing class sizes appears to be short-sighted. If the School Board communicates an attitude of indifference regarding Local Education …

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Meet Your School Board Candidates Tuesday

A chance to meet all the candidates this evening in Tucker.

Join the DeKalb Chamber, Leadership DeKalb, eduKALB, PRISM, Junior League and Greater Lithonia Chamber for a school board candidate forum at Westwood College from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10. The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Maureen Downey, author of the daily blog “Get Schooled”, will host the forum.   Westwood College is located at 2309 Parklake Drive in the Northlake area.

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Job Cuts at DeKalb Schools Facility in Tucker

WSB reports that some people lost their jobs at the Sam Moss Service Center Friday.

WSB reports that on Friday, some DeKalb County school employees at the Sam Moss Service Center in Tucker found out their jobs will be cut by month's end. In June the DeKalb school board, faced with a budget deficit of $85 million, voted on a final budget which included job cuts, leaving the district with an $8.3 million reserve fund. Employees at the Sam Moss Service Center were told that they can reapply for other jobs in the district, according to WSB. See also: DeKalb School Budget Approved

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DeKalb School Board Meeting on Budget Today

The DeKalb County Board of Education is scheduled to vote on $85 million in spending cuts and a possible tax increase. Tucker Patch will be live blogging the event. Join us.

The DeKalb County Board of Education will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday to potentially finalize a budget for the upcoming school year. The school board planned to vote last week on a spending plan that would cover a $73-million deficit. The board delayed the vote after they learned from district financial officials that there was an additional $12 million in cuts the board would have to make because the county's tax digest was lower than first anticipated. The board has a list of cuts on the table that includes eliminating transportation to magnet programs, gutting the Fernbank Science Center, increasing class sizes and reducing benefits to district employees. The board is also considering a recommendation from Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson to…

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Lisa Carlysle

4:36 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Keeping magnet as of today with $700,000 cut in efficiency.   more ›

Fernbank: Open Letter to School Board

Teacher confronts the DeKalb School Board on Fernbank Science Center funding.

Patch was very helpful in reporting the DeKalb School Budget Crisis from the Board Meeting last June 4 especially as it pertains to Fernbank Science Center. I would like to submit this open letter (below) I sent to the Superintendent and School Board in response to the Superintendent returning FSC to the chopping block (after removing FSC) by asking the board to eliminate 2/3 of the FSC Budget and then having spokesman Walter Wood tell the public that FSC would remain a "fully functional Science Center." It's like saying a basketball team can remain "fully functional" when the three tallest players are removed from the court. Open Letter to DeKalb Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson and the DeKalb School Board: I am one of the teachers who work…

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Maria Beal-Parker

1:18 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Good Day Cerebration, All children benefit from FCS, those that attend day to day and those who receive outreach; and yes that included one of my own. I stand by my statement that FSC has the means to support students in conducting active research. I charge you to visit our local school(s) middle and high and compare the facilities, supplies and equipment with those of FSC. I charge you to ask …   more ›

Jim Kinney Running For School Board

Tucker resident wants to put the focus back on education rather than "a totalitarian focus on discipline."

I was first introduced to the idea of running for the school board when the parent of a tutoring student, then DeKalb County Commissioner Judy Yates, suggested it based on my enthusiasm for teaching. As time went by and I was exposed to the school system as a parent, I began to realize that my physics and math background provided the analytical skills that seemed lacking in the decision process. The ongoing and current budget crisis, the egregious ethics violations in the central office, the cover-up of a known pedophile in the schools all were the final points that made it clear a change in leadership was required. The apparent focus on education being replaced with a totalitarian focus on discipline first is not productive of an healthy …

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Cheryl Miller

4:58 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012

to review the comments from around DeKalb, see: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GTCO-ATL   more ›