Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Karen Carter, Jim McMahan, and Michael Thurmond will face the public this week.
Questions for school superintendent Michael Thurmond or your local school board representatives? Come hear them speak at this Thursday's Northlake Community Alliance Annual Meeting. It's this Thursday, May 23, at 7pm. The meeting will be held in the back lot building located at Briarlake Baptist Church. The address is 3715 LaVista Road. Speakers for the event will be Jim McMahan, Board Vice Chairman, representing District 4 which includes Tucker; Dr. Karen W. Carter representing District 8, and school superintendent Michael Thurmond. What would you like to ask the board? Tell us in the comments below.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Wednesday is the deadline to apply for DeKalb school board membership.
If you are interested in applying for the position of appointed member for the DeKalb Board of Education, send the following information to dekalbschoolboardnominations@georgia.gov: 1. Legal name, contact information and home address 2. District seat for which one is applying 3. Resume or brief biography 4. Statement of interest The panel will accept applications until Wednesday, March 6 at 5 p.m. Tucker schools are part of District 4, represented by Jim McMahan, who is not affected by Governor Deal's suspension move. Related items on Tucker Patch
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The three DeKalb school board members who remain state their point of view.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, February 26
As elected representatives on the DeKalb Board of Education, we find ourselves in a unique and confusing situation. We are the three members of the Board of Education not subject to the State Board of Education's review process because we joined the DeKalb Board in January 2013, and the State Board's action concerned the nine Board members who held office prior to January 2013. We, along with Superintendent Michael Thurmond, are committed to restoring full accreditation and focusing our efforts on the academic achievement of DeKalb's 99,000 students and the professional well-being of the people who teach and serve those students, and we pledge to restore making outcomes for children the priority of the DeKalb County School District. We …
Friday, February 22, 2013
The move was made late Friday afternoon, in hopes of stopping Gov. Deal from suspending any school board members.
Gov. Nathan Deal's office announced on Friday that he, along with members of the DeKalb legislative delegation, will hold an 11 a.m. news conference Monday to respond to the state Board of Education decision. The state board recommended to the governor that he remove six members of the DeKalb school board. However, in a legal move late Friday afternoon, the school board filed an emergency motion in federal court, hoping to stop the governor from taking any action. According to Channel 2 Action News, the emergency motion was filed just before the close of business on Friday. “I have closely followed the situation in DeKalb County schools since their accreditation was put at risk, and I paid special attention to the state Board of Education…
Friday, February 15, 2013
Interim head of DeKalb's school system will make his first appearance next week.
Michael Thurmond, Interim Superintendent of the DeKalb County School District, will appear at Oak Grove Elementary on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. This will be his first public appearance, aside from school board meetings, since being appointed on Feb. 8. He will make a speech and take questions from parents. "He understands people want to be assured that the board is going in the right direction," Board Vice-Chairman Jim McMahan told Tucker Patch by telephone Friday morning. "I appreciate his willingness to get out there." Related items on Tucker Patch: Jim McMahan Michael Thurmond
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
For the second time this week, the board was unable to pick a new chairman.
The embattled DeKalb Board of Education has a new vice-chair as of Wednesday, but the position of chairman remains up in the air. Jim McMahan, who joined the board a month ago as District 4 (Tucker) representative, was voted in this morning as vice-chair. Eugene Walker, however, will remain as chairman at least for the next 30 days - or until the next meeting - because no candidate received the five votes needed to win the post. Not only was there lack of concensus, but the board struggled with the voting process itself and seemed confused as to which rules were applicable. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools currently has the district under probation after finding the board guilty of mishandling funds and poor management.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
McMahan's district includes several Tucker schools.
DeKalb Board of Education District 4 member Jim McMahan and District 6 member Melvin Johnson were sworn in Monday, Jan. 7 at the school district's headquarters, along with newly-elected member Marshall D. Orson. McMahan beat Paul Womack in a run-off last last year. Pamela Speaks, who was re-elected to her seat, was also sworn in Monday. District 4 includes much of Tucker, while District 6 is primarily the Stone Mountain area, as well as some portions of Tucker. Related articles on Tucker Patch
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Jim McMahan and Marshall Orson will take over the DeKalb County Board of Education's districts two and four seats in January.
Incoming DeKalb County Board of Education member – and Tucker's District 4 representative – Jim McMahan said the board, moving forward, must have a unified vision to solve the school system's challenges. This is from a Thursday story in Neighbors Newspapers: One of the reasons he ran for the board position was that he was tired of the infighting. “I want the board to have a single unified vision,” McMahan said. “I want the board to come together and be one supportive team.” McMahan will take over for outgoing school board veteran H. Paul Womack. McMahan said he believes one of the biggest issues the school system faces is balancing its budget. He said he hopes his experience in the financial industry, as a residential mortgage loan officer…
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Candidates talk about Tuesday's runoff election.
Tucker voters are faced with two DeKalb school board runoff elections on Tuesday. DeKalb District 4 school board incumbent Paul Womack faces challenger Jim McMahan, while Melvin Johnson and Denise McGill square off in a District 6 runoff. District 4 includes much of Tucker, while District 6 is primarily the Stone Mountain area, as well as some portions of Tucker. McMahan sent Tucker Patch a clear message about where he stands, saying: "For the fourth year in a row the school system has spent more money than the school board approved. If you feel like the school system is on the right track for academic success, vote for the incumbent. If you want your board member to get your school a cell tower, then vote for the incumbent. But, if you …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Womack received less than 50% in Tuesday's primary.
Three contenders were vying to unseat District 4 incumbent Paul Womack in Tuesday's election for the DeKalb County Board of Education, but it looks like a runoff in three weeks will decide the issue. Womack, who was first elected in 1981, received 6,705 votes and 46.60% percent, compared to his closest challenger Jim McMahan, who received 4,019 votes. All 189 precincts have reported, and early, in-person votes have also been counted. The Board of Elections has started the process of counting more than 5,000 absentee-by-mail ballots. Speaking to Patch after the results came in, Womack said, "Well, there's going to be a runoff. On the whole, people sort of voted for 'out with the old, in with the new'." He also faced challenges from Tom …
Cheryl Miller
9:15 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
And, as we have seen, Tucker and every part of our county can be affected by the decisions of the board as a whole, so even if you are not going to apply, please think of every qualified and available individual you can and ask them to please consider submitting their resume for consideration. It can only help to know we have qualified applicants and a qualified, common sense board to replace the… more ›