Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The county's school district has a $728 million budget for next fiscal year.
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Wednesday, April 24
The DeKalb County School District will hold three public hearings on the district's estimated $728 million budget for the 2014 fiscal year. The hearings will be held at 6 p.m. on April 29 and May 8 at the district's headquarters at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Stone Mountain. The third date will be announced later. The hearings will be broadcast live on PDS-TV24 and on the DCSD website. The public is encouraged to share feedback by emailing budgetfeedback@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us From a press release by DeKalb County School District Will you be attending, or watching? How do you feel about the way the school district handles their finances? Tell us in the comments-
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Superintendent Michael Thurmond will address the Tucker Parent Council on Tuesday evening.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, April 21
By Kirk Lunde The challenge of repairing the DeKalb school system and restoring it to its former designation of “premiere” will require strong leadership from its superintendent, Mr. Thurmond, and his successor, as well as competent central office employees who are committed to doing their jobs. This means resolving the concerns of parents, students, and teachers who rely upon central office staff to respond quickly and competently to issues as they arise. Central office staff must recognize their roles as public servants and act in the best interest of the all the stakeholders they serve. The question now becomes whether or not Mr. Thurmond can lead his staff, guiding them to excellence and eliminating staff where there is, incompetence, …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A Tucker parent attended Wednesday's Emory LaVista Parent Council meeting and has a few thoughts.
Mr. Thurmond, Thank you for your honest back and forth with citizens at this morning's Emory LaVista Parent Council meeting. I attend a lot of meetings and your willingness to stay in the conversation is a refreshing change. Many of your subordinates have a record of walking out instead of dealing with difficult questions. Every time I hear you speak I become a more ardent supporter. You may be the right person to be superintendent at this time. I particularly appreciate your attitude of getting to know how things work before attempting to make any big changes. Hopefully, you are a fast learner. That said, I have to tell you parents are well aware you are not answering many of the questions asked. I repeat my question, are salaries of …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Interim superintendent of DeKalb schools Michael Thurmond spoke to a local crowd on Sunday.
Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond met with a crowd of about 100 parents and taxpayers in Dunwoody Sunday evening to discuss the state of the school system and assure stakeholders that he was listening to their concerns. Of those concerns, many voiced similar sentiments to those heard in other parts of the county on previous occasions and Thurmond stuck to the same answers about accountability, efficiency and commitment to doing what's right for the children. He stated that he has often heard from people that they feel sorry for him for what a big job he has ahead of him. He said that he does not see it as a negative, but as a positive because he has trained his entire career for an opportunity like this one. He said that failure is …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Holcomb, whose district includes Tucker, writes about impending suspensions on DeKalb's school board.
U.S. District Judge Richard Story has denied a motion by the six members of the DeKalb School Board who were suspended by Governor Deal last week. Absent other legal action, this means that the suspension will proceed as planned, and the Governor will replace the six members. I agree with Judge Story's decision and commend him for acting so quickly since time is of the essence. In my opinion, the key line in the Order is his statement that the ''interest of the public in a healthy public school system outweighs the interests of board members in serving in their positions." That's precisely why I supported suspension. Unfortunately, this decision does not mean that all legal questions are answered and I suspect we may see more litigation. …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Tucker parents have been watching the school system's travails for months. Now, Patch wants your opinion on Cheryl Atkinson.
It was a hot topic on Twitter this past Friday, and speculation continues that DeKalb School Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson might soon resign her position or be replaced by the embattled DeKalb Board of Education. The DeKalb Board of Education was set to choose a new chair and vice chair on Monday, but adjourned without doing so. Its next meeting is on Wednesday, Feb. 6, and Atkinson's tenure with the system may come up during the meeting. Tucker parents have been following DeKalb's school system troubles for months, and now Patch wants to know: do you believe our local school system needs a new superintendent? Is Atkinson the best person for the job, or is new leadership needed?
Monday, February 4, 2013
Board members will meet at 1 p.m. today.
The DeKalb County Board of Education is holding an afternoon meeting today, Monday, Feb. 4 at the organization's headquarters in Stone Mountain. The agenda does not provide a lot of specifics, but a likely topic is the future of Dr. Cheryl Atkinson, the school superintendent appointed by the board in Sept. 2011. There has been speculation in recent days that she may resign, but this has yet to be confirmed. Current board members are Sarah Copelin-Wood, Jay Cunningham, Donna Edler, Nancy Jester, Melvin Johnson, Jim McMahan, Marshall Orson, Pamela Speaks, and Chairman Eugene Walker. Related Items: Follow Tucker Patch's Complete Coverage of DeKalb Schools
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Trellis Davis has been promoted to seventh grade assistant principal, among other changes.
Henderson Middle School announced several personnel changes Monday. From the PTSA's weekly email: Due to the retirement of two staff members in November, HMS recently added new members to our faculty. Please welcome Ms. Meia Love, 8A Language Arts teacher and Mr. Darron Shell, 7A Math teacher. In addition, congratulations are due to Ms. Trellis Davis, former 7A Math teacher, who was promoted to the 7th grade Assistant Principal's position. On a sad note, we will be losing Angela Mickle, 8th grade counselor, as a result of a Reduction In Force (RIF) by the District. Ms. Mickle will begin in January, 2013 as the counselor for Hightower Elementary School. Ms. Leslie McMillan, Head Counselor, will resume the role as 8th grade counselor.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
A Tucker parent has some questions for the county's school superintendent.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Dr. Atkinson, With the administrative offices of the school district being closed until Jan. 7, will the public have access to the next revised "proposed school organization" plan before the next BOE meeting? Not having access to the most current revision could make the public comments at the next BOE meeting irrelevant. Also, with the first public information meeting scheduled for Jan. 8, there will be very little time for people to analyze and digest the next revision before being their input is given. Based on the "Victory in Every Classroom Newsletter" it looks like public input is not being sought. "In January, DCSD planning staff will revise its briefing to focus the community's understanding on DeKalb's list of schools and minimize…
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Parents were agitated as neither the Regional Superintendent nor board members appeared to have answers.
The Tucker Parent Council (TPC) met Monday, only hours after the release of the report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the division of AdvancED responsible for the accreditation of schools in the South. There were approximately 25 parents and community members at the meeting held at Midvale Elementary School, just off LaVista Road in Tucker. Most of those in attendance represented Livsey Elementary School. The TPC's guest was Cynthia Brictson, Region II Superintendent for DeKalb County Schools. Also present were Marshall Orson and Jim McMahan, two of the three incoming board members who are scheduled to take their posts Jan. 7, 2013. Brictson mainly took notes and made offers to carry the sentiment of the …
Cheryl Miller
3:31 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013
Thank you to Kirk Lunde for writing this letter. I agree with everything stated and appreciate that others are still involved in the process of fixing our schools. We can't just assume that the Governor, or Mr. Thurmond or an appointed board will handle everything so that we no longer need to be concerned. We must watch and listen to the things they are doing now and make note of HOW they are … more ›