Grand jury says DeKalb school board should be investigated
- 12/30/11
- Categorized in: DeKalb News
Describing the county’s school board as being in “turmoil,” the DeKalb County Grand Jury is calling for an investigation into the actions of the group.
One problem cited was the hiring process of county school superintendent Cheryl Atkinson. The school board “delayed and compromised the Superintendent hiring process for over 18 months,” stated the grand jury in a presentment released on Dec. 29. The panel is requesting that a special grand jury be convened to look into the school board.
In its presentment, the grand jury stated that leaks to the media about certain aspects of the selection process of hiring came “from a very limited number of persons who were mostly DeKalb County School Board Members.”
“This leads to suspicion that certain board members were on purpose working to compromise the selection process to the detriment of the DeKalb School System and the citizens of DeKalb County,” the grand jury’s presentment stated.
The grand jury also expressed concerns about the school board’s influence in the hiring and personnel evaluation process, stating that “it appears that there has been a long term culture of active or perceived influence of DeKalb County School board members on the hiring and retention of ‘friends and family.’”
The grand jury specifically mentioned the positions of parent centers and family service coordinators which, appear to have “salaries out of line with other roles within the School System.”
“While policies and procedures need to be put in place immediately to prevent issues in this area, we believe an investigation should be made to determine if past actions to hire and retain (protect) School System employees have taken place to the significant detriment to the Citizens of DeKalb County,” the grand jury presentment stated.
Other issues the grand jury wants investigated include whether senior personnel are employed in outside work that would impact their ability to perform their required duties; whether DeKalb County School funds were used to promote the recent SPLOST referendum; and whether proper procedures were followed in hiring attorneys, deciding to file a lawsuit and management of the lawsuit by the DeKalb County School Board in its case against Heery International mismanagement of projects.
In a statement, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said, “We take the recommendations of the Grand Jury very seriously and will review the information pertaining to the concerns regarding the DeKalb County School System and determine a proper course of action.”
Several people from DeKalb School Watch sorted through the seven boxes of documents produced after a grueling series of FOI requests for the audit. We posted the names and salaries of those who were found to have been overpaid. (Mainly due to 'who' they knew.) This was all buried and Johnny Brown was summarily fired (with a $450,000 exit package).
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2011/05/back-to-topic-of-ernst-young-2004-audit.html
I believe the nepotism is to be looked at due to the fact that many of these people are performing made up jobs that pay far more than perhaps they should. For example, the Family Services and Parent Coordinators. This is a nebulous 'catch all' job title which is held by several well-connected people. They make far more than most teachers without any of the associated stresses and responsibilities. We have a post on DeKalb School Watch comparing these jobs to similar ones in nearby systems - systems with fewer such jobs, lower pay and yet, much better student results! DeKalb is nothing if it's not an enormous jobs program!
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2011/11/73000-dcss-secretarial-positions-are.html
While this all "Seems Good", Let's Be CLEAR... I will NOT STOP until The FEDS TAKE OVER THIS CASEe in DeKalb County, GA - { Nothing Personal to DeKalb County's D.A. & my FB Friend, Robert James} !!!
The Children of DeKalb Deserve Better !
Our schools are failing and our pockets have holes so big in them that the hands grabbing our loose change are actually starting to pull up the foundation that our homes are resting upon.
When you say that THIS of all things will take time away from educating children then you obviously have joined in the discussion a little too late to be taken seriously - about 10 years too late.
I hope every person who has worthwhile information that might help the D.A. or the grand jury will do his/her civic duty and come forward. Individually, we all have pieces to the puzzle. Collectively, we have a massive disaster that will eventually harm us all if we do not expose it while we can.
No one cares any more about what happened over 50 years ago. If we cannot focus openly and honestly on the enormous problems in our own community, we will go nowhere but down. When my father went through OCS after Truman desegregated the military many of the candidates from the southern HBCU's could barely read and write, even though they were "college men." That was understandable then. It is hardly understandable now. The schools of south DeKalb -- and many other black schools down here in other places -- are, simply put, a disgrace (please ask around about what really happened at Arabia). Too many people have grown accustomed to profiting off of the ignorance of their own people. I know and admire Bill Cosby greatly, and I find it curious that so few people are willing to speak openly about what we all know is true. Even worse, many consider it treason to speak like Bill. DeKalb schools need to be cleaned out from top to bottom. Unfortunately, a lot of black people who are there because of who they know and not what they know should lose their jobs in the process. Our failure to speak out and demand real change while crooks run the schools and county has given the Republicans a perfect argument to use against us. We have wasted our opportunity created by the Civil Rights and Voting Acts, I am afraid. I don't anticipate that the Republicans will waste theirs, and we carry a lot of the blame for the tragedy befalling our community.
Yes there is a long culture of 'Friends and Family' and it should end if unqualified individuals are getting jobs over qualified ones. Not all family members of high ranking employees are bad employees. I called for a Salary Performance Audit before the Board rejected proposals several years ago because of the cost (about $750K). I knew that greater transparency with compensation would eliminate one of the areas of suspicion many citizens have. Heck during a Board meeting I also suggested Arabia Mountain should revert to a neighborhood school even though my children currently attend and would be impacted if that decision was made. I think these are just examples of suggestions I have made for making a better school district. You may not agree but that is your prerogative. As long as we are working for the same goal, we should recognize we may end up taking different paths to get there.
Friends and Family along with sacred cows seem to make up much of DeKalb schools. Both create an environment of distrust which ultimately redirects attention away for teaching children. Some call this 'Weapons of Mass Distraction'. We need to focus on having high quality teachers along with competent principals in every school. We also need greater levels of parental and community involvement, especially to help with discipline challenges I hear many teachers talk about. Not every child is going to college so we need to ensure they can be prepare for the workplace after high school. We did not get into this position overnight. It will take some time for Dr. Atkinson to assess the current leadership and overall infrastructure then make the changes she believes will help right our ship.
I was a big supporter of Dr. Brown as I believed he was making the tough decisions that many said they wanted. He commissioned the first salary audit for the school district, ensured there was equity with AP class offerings and was restructuring the central office. Unfortunately he was not given the support by the Board and community to what he was hired to do. I understand things are going well in his current school district. I wonder where we would be had we supported Dr. Brown.
Is that so hard to understand?
Now what can we do?
I propose a multi-tiered approach to addressing corruption and nepotism:
1. No further non-competitive hiring of relatives of current or recent board members or high adminsitration (to include DeKalb County non-school departments) officials. I think a new state law addresses this, in part.
2. Existing friends, family & sisters (FFS) hires:
a./ if the FFS-hired individual is professionally qualified and doing a good job at appropriate pay, leave him or her alone. That probably sticks in the craw for some, but we can't afford to let people who are doing good work go, even if they got an unfair leg up when they applied for the job.
b./ if the FFS-hired individual lacks the qualifications, is doing a poor job (e.g., not actually reporting for work) or is engaging in unethical activities (buy my book!) . . . there are better people available
c./ if the FFS-hired person is qualified but overpaid, either increase his or her responsibilities (and hold him or her to them with the threat of termination) or reduce the individual's pay
d./ if the job in which an individual hired as FFS was created solely for the purpose of hiring the individual and simply isn't needed (i.e., has no effect on the DCSD core business of education) either find a job for which the person is qualified (see "b" above) or let them go
This won't solve all our budget problems, nor will it address all our educational problems, but it's a start--a start to regaining the trust of the parents and taxpayers of this county.
I agree that the failure of people to get out front on these things is what is bringing us down. It took DeKalb 15 years after the Brown decision in 1954 to comply with school desegregation. This was after a few half hearted attempts to appease Blacks that lived in DeKalb at the time. It took the Pitts v. Cherry federal lawsuit to get DeKalb to comply in 1969.
On a more global level, how many laws have been passed to address the hiring of family members in government workplaces? This still goes on in many small towns around the country. We know it here as the 'old boy network'. During my lifetime, Blacks knew not to apply for certain government jobs because they did not know the right people. Some got in as laborers because those were the jobs many Whites did not want. Thank goodness for the Civil Rights legislation of 1964. It included the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that helped to bring down barriers that prevented the hiring of Blacks. Do you think this agency has outlived its usefulness?
To be clear, I want this to be the best school system it can be. Failing schools are unacceptable. Hiring unqualified workers in ANY position should not be tolerated. If qualified workers are hired within the guidelines and polices set by local, state, and federal legislation and policies, does it make a difference who they are related to if they can do the job?
Most workers have some type of connection whether it is family, friends, congregation, college or other affiliation. When DeKalb and other school districts recruit from local universities, is that considered 'friends and family'? Reading some of the comments I've seen on several blogs, this smells like a witch hunt that is intented for members of the Edwards and Roberts families. As I stated earlier, because of the long culture in hiring practices that has existed in DeKalb, I can accept this only if members of the Cherry and Freeman families, among others, are also given the same scrutiny. If it is determined that 'friends and family' were hired lacking the necessary credentials to perform their current job and they still lack those credentials, they should be fired and possible lose any retirement accrued. This sounds harsh but if you believe in sending a clear message, this is how to do it.
You want real school reform? You can't have it unless you can transform some of the communities that many of our poor families live in. The well being of the community has a direct correlation to the well being of the school. Can you have successes come out of poor communities and schools? Of course, we read about those stories every day. Unfortunately not enough from those communities realize the successes compared to those in middle and upper income areas.
The failure of people to get out front on these things is what is bringing us down. For God's sake, Atkinson was not truthful on her job application. You surely know what Gene and Jay were doing during the search. Our school houses are so poorly run and so poorly disciplined that it's no wonder that we are raising bumper crops of young people who confirm the very worst stereotypes put out there in the media. I agree that the nepotism has deep roots that predate Crawford. But we have taken it to an entirely new level, which is the exact same thing that people like Cynthia and Vernon did in the government. Plus, the schools and county are failing in ways that was not the case before. I fear that all we will be left with is local control over slummed down areas like south DeKalb and south Fulton. Strong voices for real reform should be heard now, not endless apologies. I, for one, believe that control should be given to people from the outside, with absolutely no ties -- family, racial, or otherwise -- to the status quo.If we don't fix the schools, we are truly doomed. It may be too late already (the inside reports we got about the details of what really happened at Arabia, our "guiding light," leads me to think this may already be the case).
The findings seem geared towards Zepora Roberts children. If it is found that the daughter got her job solely because of her relationship with Board member AND she is not qualified for the job in which she is serving, heads should roll. I still contend the 'culture' started under Jim Cherry and has continued to today. That said, ALL employees that are related to a former superintendent and former or current Board members should be reviewed for possible nepotism. Zepora Roberts has another daughter that was an employee prior to Z being elected a Board member. Unless the daughter got promotions that she was not entitled to, she should be immediately cleared. There are several 'legacy' employees that fall into this category and can probably be cleared immediately.
Well, just knock me over with a feather !!!
We do agree my friend.
That is why I ask for transparency, so we can ALL understand the motives behind what is happening within the school system.
That is why I ask for accountability so that we make people aware that they have to be accountable for their actions or lack thereof.
(Lack of actions as in NOT teaching our children.)
The black / white perception has been in this state and county for too long.
It is time that we shed race as a motive and look at results or the lack of results.
If someone stood by and watched someone wrong another then their lack of action should be held accountable also.
Now that you mention Marcus, he should be held accountable for his lack of action in approving the illegal "P-card" expenses by our former super and Bahama Berry!
Why he is still part of the system, I have no idea.
It is this type of accountability that will bring justice too our children and community support for the school system.
Let's keep on fighting for the children Fred.
I'm ok with employees who are "Connected" or "Related" to a high ranking official just as long as they do their job successfully!
I am ok with relatives earning a living within the school system while educating children. People who work hard, do their job and teach children as a profession have NOTHING to worry about.
I am NOT OK with relatives getting paid for NOT serving our students!
If an employee feels concerned over their job, then they should be concerned!
It is the inflamatory speculation of a WITCH hunt that is absurd.
You say this will create a "Slippery Slope", then let me help grease the slope!
I know hundreds of employees within DCSS that WELCOME the evaluations!
They WANT accountability! They want transparency! Good teachers are NOT going to be FIRED! Good administrators are not going to be FIRED!
I am saddened once again by the protectionism being portrayed by both of your comments. It sounds like "Entitlement" babble that has decimated this country and it lives within DeKalb!
I hope you agree that there is much waste within the school system.
I hope you agree with me that failing schools and failing students within DeKalb is unacceptable.
The culture within DCSS has been a MISERABLE failure for 2 generations!
Get on board with accountability and transparency or get out of the way!
There is much work to be done and I appreciate the DA and the grand jury taking action!
HNY.
Did you recently become concerned about the bloat in the DeKalb County School System? Everyone knows this began under Dr. Freeman in the mid 90's then continued under Dr. Hallford. Ernest is simply pointing out that this is not new in DeKalb County, it is the way things have been for a long time. I don't think he said we should keep poor employees just because this is the way things are around the country. He probably knows you could create an atmosphere that reduces productivity because employees hired because of a reference might become more concerned about losing their job over daily performance. For some reason, some of you don't want to acknowledge that the cheating scandal was caused partly by fear of losing a job because of poor student achievement. How did that affect the education of children?
The grand jury said that “it appears that there has been a long term culture of active or perceived influence of DeKalb County School board members on the hiring and retention of ‘friends and family.’” Everyone knows that the first school superintendent Jim Cherry has relatives still working in the school system. If this investigation starts with them, perhaps this could be fair. If it is determined they got their jobs solely on their relationship to Cherry rather than their own abilities, will they be dealt with? Did hiring any Cherry relatives compromise the hiring of a more qualified candidate? The question about Cherry applies to most superintendents and Board members over time. Pardon me if I seem suspicious of the intentions of this grand jury finding but I've seen things in this school system over the years that would make your eyes go wide.
Like Ernest asks, how much time do you want to spend on this? If you have hard evidence of unqualified employees in the school system, share it. I'm sure he would support you on getting rid of that employee because it ultimately costs the tax payers in the long run. It could get ugly if we begin 'outing' employees for how they got their jobs, especially if they are doing a good job.
Does anyone wonder why the sole remaining finalist also withdrew from consideration while resigning from his then current job?
If there is a poor or non performing employee, there should be mechanisms in place to get rid of them. This should apply to ANY employee. Citizens should have clear expectations that ALL employees are qualified for the job they are tasked to do. Enact policies that make it easier to non renew a contract based on clear and realistic performance measures. Let's not make this a witch hunt against good employees that happened to either know or be related to someone in the county or school system. Witch hunts don't serve the citizens of DeKalb nor the students in the school system. They can take the focus on what is important if employees are looking over their shoulders wondering if someone is out to get them, especially if they are doing a good job.