Dr. Walker,

You and the DeKalb County Board of Education have failed our CHILDREN and you have failed us as taxpayers. You talk of Governor Deal thumbing his nose at the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions; well how do you think we feel about the Board, under your leadership, thumbing their nose at our CHILDREN? This poll, taken this past week, should give you a good idea what the people of DeKalb County think about your position on the DeKalb Board of Education: www.hegllc.org/HEG/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/DeKalb-School-Board_021913-Results2.pdf

Do the CHILDREN of DeKalb County a favor and resign your position from the BOE. Allow a special election to happen which would give the voters of District 9 another chance of selecting a voice and leader for the CHILDREN of DeKalb County.

Eugene Walker speaks of a "shrouded process." I had to re-read that part to make sure he wasn't speaking of the DeKalb School Board itself! He has long been a serious part of the problem (most of the "allegations" he disagrees with directly involve him). His lackadaisical attitude about the role and function of the school board and the seriousness of the SACS situation was on full view of everyone as he was SOUND ASLEEP during the meeting with SACS as his "job" was on the line (photographed and posted several places).

Mr Walker - clearly you have FAILED in your job. Whether you tried or not, you (and others) still failed. No one wants you there any more. Instead of taking the high road (for once in your life), you're fighting (with more vigor than you ever showed for our children) and spending even more of the children's money by suing.

For once, show some class and step aside.

Dr. Walker,

As a Dekalb parent, and former Dekalb student, I am ever disappointed in your representation of your own personal goals and your focus on YOUR rights. The Governor is acting according to the will of the voters who have been very vocal about the need for change. A change that cannot wait for a special election, and allow the 99k children of Dekalb to suffer any further at the hands of irresponsible adults.

Put your ego aside, and listen to God when he tells you that this is not about YOU. It is about 99k kids who are in over-crowded dirty classrooms, where teachers are being asked to deliver with absolutely NO resources.

And as for your comment about setting foot "west of Moreland Avenue", you prove the point that YOU are at the core of any and all racial or geographic divide that exists in our county. Every child east, west, north or south of any point in Dekalb county deserves leaders that put them first. And you sir, are not one of those people.

Finally, I would ask, as a taxpayer, what right do you have to use county dollars to fund your legal actions regarding your own personal rights? Your question of law before the courts is to protect YOU. Not the county. Not the taxpayers. Not the voters.

As a DeKalb County Parent who has long followed the actions of our highly dysfunctional school board, I would encourage the 6 board members, including Mr. Walker to resign their posts. The legal action being taken by board members is yet another clear indication that the majority of board members are not committed to being public servants, but to serving their own interests. It is time to step aside so DeKalb can begin to rebuild.

Dr. Walker,
The voters regret their choices and have been as vocal as possible to communicate their dissatisfaction with you and other board members. You have chosen not to listen. Doesn't it strike you as odd that no one is speaking out in your defense except for the ousted board members themselves?

What happened to he was stepping down last week??

Dr. Walker,
If you were as concerned about the children of DeKalb county as you are about your own ego and power, you would resign from the school board. I have watched over the years as you put the needs of students behind the desires of adults. You have used your power and influence to protect the jobs of adults rather than the education of children. By entering into the current legal action, you have made it clear that protecting your own position is more important that ensuring that our school system is focused on educating children. If you had any integrity, you would step down.

Dr. Walker, the picture on the AJC front page today of three of your board members arguing says it all. It is ugly. You as chairman failed to stop this bickering. You as chairman failed to lead the board to action. You as chairman did not address the issues raised by SACS at every meeting that has been held since their actions. You met in secret time after time to supposedly discuss legal issues or personnel issues. The issues that SACS raised boil down to your failure as a leader.

There should not BE legal issues time after time. There should not be such poor budgeting procedures that electric bills are overlooked. You have not demanded excellence and accountability from DCSS. Instead, you continue to wave the race card over your head, to again and again proclaim that the South Side is slighted.

""They" are picking on us" doesn't fly. Wake up (literally) and smell the stench of the cronyism and corruption that has permeated the DCSS and help to boot all the participants in it out.

Actually, this SB 84 is now a part of the GA constitution. He is the one thumbing his nose at this amendment to said constitution. The law is presumed to be constitutional in the eyes of the court. The burden of proof is on the board's attorney to prove otherwise.

Interesting that Dr. Walker and the Board continued to pay SACS for their services year after year after year - with NO concerns such as those listed in this editorial. Obviously, it's all "good" until it comes home to roost at Dr. Walker's door.

Mr. Walker,

If the democratic process was in effect during 1492, Columbus might not have made that journey. What the majority of a group of people think may or may not be correct as history well points out. Our own Federal Government does have Check and Balances too. In this case, Dekalb is part of Georgia and we all have to live and work under some standards that the State of Georgia has to have to function.
In this case it is working. Dekalb County Schools and Board do not live in a vacuumn. If there is something wrong, it has to be fixed by people who are competent to fix what is wrong. Many people do not think the current board members can do that, because they have not done that so far.
Many of us have Faith in God also and we all know that with Faith there is Action.
Real faith demands we act on the faith, otherwise it is wishful thinking.

No one has seen anyone thumbs noses. What elitists? The only elitists I have seen are on the School Board.
There are probably many streets the State Government members have not walked down. Do they really have to?

Where in the above posted comment do you mention the high quality of education for the children of Dekalb County? Where is the concern for the citizens of Dekalb and the accounting for budgets?

boo hoo.

"thumbs his nose at the U.S. and State constitutions, and he knows he is wrong. I place my faith in God ... "

Nonsense and shame on you.

You were quoted as saying you 'WORK FOR GOD.' What kind of sanctimonious crap is that? You have one set of bosses- Dekalb voters. They come first.

It's sad that in a district that has agnostics, muslim, christians, jews, atheists, you invoked the Lord's name to support your incompetence. Shame.

A 14 hour hearing, multiple documents, SIAC likely loss of accred, and you saw Deal "thumbed his nose?"

Walker you have given the taxpayers something, but it's ain't a thumb- its the finger.

Resign

Amazing how many people here are assuming all the accusations against the school board are valid. That's why state politicians have so little respect for you. All they have to do is blame the local school board for a myriad of problems and they know you will follow suit and soon people who care little for Dekalb county will be running your school board. It has worked over and over again in Georgia. There are just too many people willing to blame and not enough who will dig deeper to see what the underlying issues are. Very sad.

All -

Tom Taylor introduced legislation today to allow new cities to have their own school systems. This is what I have been telling you guys to push your legislators for all along. You all need to get on the phone / e-mail and petition every legislator (not just your own) at the gold dome to support this resolution.

The solution to our issues is to form a Chamblee - Brookhaven Charter School System ... Dunwoody is all about themselves, and they don't want Brookhaven in their system.

We don't need to see our tax dollars go to buffoons like Walker. Get busy calling!

-- The Maven

WOW - guess you get a sense of the outrage now! Bet you thought you could rally support. Bad move!

Brook Maven, There is no "we" in this school thing. Dunwoody is going solo on the school district. You, Chamblee,and Doraville can have your own district.

DunwoodyWorkingMan- spoken like a true know nothing. The 3 schools have great buying power; more ability to retain teachers, hire, and work through items like security, classroom size, etc.

Let's bet that Dunwoody does not go "solo" ??

But you knew that.

DeKalb County has made a grave strategic error in judgment on this current school issue. The fact that 62% of DeKalb voters supported the Charter School amendment shows that parents abhor DCSS, with many good reasons.

High property taxes may not resonate with all DeKalb citizens, the issue becomes less important as either the home value decreases, or becomes moot in the case of apartment residents. That's not to say apartment owners don't pay school taxes, they do, and school taxes are passed down to residents as a percentage of their rent.

The real driver is when parents become outraged at the idea of their school losing accreditation. That is a universal concern, and that is why DeKalb is going to face serious challenges.

The current Board may dig in it's heels, but in the end, nobody will stand for a Clayton-esque loss of accreditation.

Many good points by Dr. Walker, yet the State will not let DeKalb fail. And Dr. Walker is as much to blame as anyone, sadly.

TomMiller, so funny. Dunwoody has the property values in place to have much more than it does now. Dunwoody does not need the "buying power" of Brookhaven and Chamblee. Brookhaven however could barely support a daycare on its own. Best of luck to you. Pass the yellow mustard

DWM

Right, And no one who lives in brookhaven works in Dunwoody. This is not a decision on what fraternity or college you pledge allegiance to, DW, its schooling.

Theres a company across from Perimeter Mall with more than 100 people, and the company owner and top staffers live in ... Chamblee/Brookhaven. Go figure.

Book it- you will see all 3 cities join a school system together.

I knew it. Wouldnt take my bet. Tells me all I need to know.

TommyMiller, We appreciate the tax dollars your neighbors contribute to Dunwoody. We will put them to good use in our very own school system. If south Brookhaven was not filled with liberal loons perhaps things would be different. Blame Napoleon for drawing the district too far south.

Let me ask, why do you so strongly want to partner with Dunwoody on a school district?

Mr. Walker, This nation was founded on a system of checks and balances. That the Board epically failed its primary objective, gives the Governor the legal right to remove you from office. That any of you would use taxpayer dollars to defend yourself, just shows how little you care about the children of Dekalb County - the money you use is money that could be going towards the already stretched budget of the schools.

DWM.

It's not a question of what "I want." I don't have kids but grandkids. It makes organizational sense as in my prior post to have at the very least Bhaven and Dwoody in a unified school system. Go back and read the post again.

I had to laugh when you refer to brookhaven people in the southern districts as "liberal" loons. Remember, you started the name calling, not me.

BTW, how many schools in that part of Bhaven? Any guesses? And no cheating, this is a school thread after all.

I see realities. Whether you think the idea is a good one or a bad one, there will be a combined set of city schools on the north end.

PS - I made the best with someone else, cheapskate.

By the way, Tom Miller is a pretty common name. I'm a Tom Miller, my handle is TomMiller1 (having been hacked at the Decatur Public library, was Tom Miller), anyone have a problem with it be TomMiller2.

And that's my real name. Maybe. (Tom could be a nickname, or middle, or my dog's name)

TomMiller1, I withdraw the loon comment as my grandmother was an avid ornithologist. Insulting the great loon of the North American skies was not appropriate. If we do a unified district, let's include Doraville and the south section of Sandy Springs inside the perimeter highway.

HamBurger, your mayor needs us to pay for a fire department study because you BHaven do not have yet the pot for the proverbial pee. Pass the yellow mustard.

DWM,

So lets say Brookhaven approaches dunwoody abt shared Fire Departments

Also you say no?

Since these goofballs have been suspended by the Governor, they should not be able to use our children's taxpayer dollars to try to keep their jobs - but should pay for it themselves. To do so is stealing, and they should be arrested.

Not a fan of the inter-government agreements. Dunwoody's love affair with Sandy Springs got us in a mess with 911 ChatComm that still does not work. Two many cooks in the kitchen with having a unified school district and a unified fire department. If you can afford to do it alone, then go it alone. becoming a city was a move to stop relying on others so much - my how some have forgotten. Pass the yellow mustard.

http://tinyurl.com/bld4kz4

Please pass the yellow mustard!

http://tinyurl.com/d9b8g6s

Want a special hamburger while you read?

This has really deteriorated to childishness. And you're complaining about the school board? Let's bring it up to an adult level, everyone.

Peach, please pass the peach-flavored mustard

DWM, I asked about the fire departments because DUNWOODY's city manager suggested that Dwoody, Chamblee and Brookhaven develop a unified FD. Read the Dunwoody Crier article.

BTW, citing one example on 911 to support the argument that all such shared services won't work is not a logical argument.

take some get ready pills, b/c schools and FD's will be together with more than one city.

yes our city mgr likes to come up with ideas that expand his Kingdom. ChatComm and the regional SWAT team come to mind. We hope to bring the city mgr back to reality soon. i dont blame you for wanting to partner with dunwoody on schools. it will raise the bar a good bit for the BrookHaven kids, sure 'nough. but be careful because our city mgr will want to take over those pitiful fields behind Montgomery Elem and put in a walking trail or skate park. I have enlisted my friends at Save Dunwoody to put an end to this joint fire department chatter.

And folks, this is my final post on Dunwoody patch. I got a contract on my home.

pass the yellow mustard one last time. And goodbye to you Rob.

Still no bet.

He still doesn't get it! BOE chose to pay the defense bill of Crawford Lewis instead of giving Teachers a raise. They chose to give away $114,000 dollars for an ineffective superintendent. They are not showing good judgement in their hiring practices, money mgmt or leadership abilities.