Letters To The Editor

Eugene Walker: 'Accusations, Allegations and Innuendos'

The former chair and suspended school board member has his say.

The Governor made the unilateral decision to replace six duly elected officers of the DeKalb County School Board. As our constitutional challenge makes its way through the courts, these appointees, along with the three elected officers allowed to stay, are in charge and everyone should be supportive of these stewards until the matter is resolved. I agree with the Governor that there is a lot at stake and I urge the public and the media to stay involved as we move forward. Going forward, we should all be aware that the SACS/AdvancED analysis and subsequent probation created the perception of many of the problems the system is facing today. SACS and its agents distorted the actions of the school board and intentionally diminished the level …

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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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DeKalb CEO Makes Statement on Schools System Probation

Burrell Ellis worries about the impact of SACS' decision.

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis reacted today to news that the county's education system has been put on probation for a year by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. "There is nothing more important in any community than the availability of high quality education for our children...I am greatly concerned about the potential impact of this decision by SACS on DeKalb County as a whole, and will continue to monitor the situation and to work with the BOE and the Superintendent to address these concerns. To that end, I am requesting a private briefing with DeKalb School officials for myself and the leadership of the DeKalb House and Senate delegations," said Ellis. The district is required to comply with SACS' demands by Dec. 31, …

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SACS Is Not a Thermostat

School Board candidate writes about the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SACS, is the organization that holds the accreditation process for DeKalb County School System, DCSS. As a candidate for DCSS District 4 Board of Education, I am studying the rules and regulations of board membership and ethics are a particular area of interest given the recent history of DCSS. Current board members have made comments, in conversation and in a campaign forum, that made me sit down hard and think about what they said: "A school board member is not allowed to enter a school without the express permission of the superintendent." I've been searching on the SACS website now for the rule that states that, or an explanation, or even if it exists. For an organization whose sole …

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Cheryl Miller

10:52 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012

To make matters worse, parents with complaints are urged to email their PTA board members who are told to "hold all complaints" and "let them vent if they need to," but they do not ever intend to actually do anything about it, keep any records or contact anyone in the school, much less the board, about it. They are a buffer between the parents and the school, so the only issues that do get …   more ›