Speak Out: What Should the DeKalb School Board Do with All That Cash?

This week's news that millions have been found in DeKalb's school budget begs the question: where should the money go? Patch wants your opinion.

Burrell Ellis to Present College Scholarships at Fernbank Museum Ceremony

Scholarships of up to $5,000 will be awarded to 26 DeKalb high school seniors accepted into a two- or four-year college or vocational training program.

Twenty-six DeKalb high school seniors will be presented with college scholarships during the first DeKalb County Education Scholarship Fund Awards Ceremony on Tuesday May 14 at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the county announced Friday. The scholarships, up to $5,000, will be given to DeKalb county school district seniors accepted into a two- or four-year college or vocational training program, the county said in a press release. DeKalb county CEO Burrell Ellis, the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce and the DeKalb County School District created the DeKalb Education Scholarship Fund, an effort that raised $120,000. A selection committee formed by the chamber reviewed more than 135 applications. Award-winning students were picked based on …

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Cartoon Calls for Local Control of Schools

Check out this illustration sent to us by J.D. Clockadale.

Thanks to Brookhaven's own J.D. Clockadale for sending us this political cartoon. As you can see, it clearly calls for more local control of schools. See Also: Follow Patch's Extensive Coverage of the DeKalb Board of Education

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Former Dunwoody State Senator Starts Charter School Foundation

Dan Weber may be named executive director this week with a salary of $10,000 a month.

Former Dunwoody state sen. Dan Weber has started a foundation to lobby for charter school systems, an organization that meets for the first time this week and may approve a $10,000 a month salary for the former lawmaker. The AJC also reports that Weber, a Dunwoody Republican, has been asking public charter systems to contribute $2 per student to fund the Georgia Charter System Foundation. Weber serves as the foundation's executive director, which is governed by a board of three school superintendents whose districts are charter systems. Follow Patch's Extensive Coverage of the DeKalb School Board: New School Board Gets Active Live Blog: Nancy Jester Following the DeKalb School Board Meeting Thurmond Faces Tough Crowd at Dunwoody Meeting …

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Schools Dominate Six-Hour Dunwoody City Council Meeting

Here are some video highlights of Monday night's meeting.

  School-related issues dominated Monday night's six-hour meeting of the Dunwoody City Council. Heneghan's Dunwoody blog reports the council honored Dunwoody school crossing guards, as well as discussed Dunwoody schools.  Other topics included convention and visitors bureau budget, city staffing, paving, sidewalks, transportation safety around schools and ethics. Watch some of Monday night's meeting by clicking the video link in this article. According to the Reporter Newspapers, the city also may spend up to $50,000 to finance a study of the feasibility of operating a city school system. The council informally agreed to spend the money. The council is expected to vote on the expenditure during its April 1 meeting. See Also: Follow Patch's…

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Dunwoody Parents Form New Schools Group

The organization met for the first time on Sunday.

Groups of concerned Dunwoody parents are in the process of forming a nonprofit  to address their concerns about DeKalb County schools. Stacey Harris, president of the Dunwoody Homeowners' Association, and others have formed Dunwoody Parents Concerned About Quality Education, 11Alive reports. The fledgling organization held its first public forum on Sunday, March 3, Also on Sunday night, the Dunwoody Homeowners Association board unanimously supported state Rep. Tom Taylor's proposed constitutional amendment to allow newly incorporated cities to form their own, independent school districts. The board also asked Dunwoody City Council to pay for a state-mandated study of the new system and its effect on DeKalb County schools, according to the…

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Are Stakeholders Stacking the Deck in DeKalb?

Some parents think public comments are being used to convey the wrong message to the school board's new Interim Superintendent.

The DeKalb County Board of Education held its first public meeting on Feb. 11 since reaching a costly separation agreement with former Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson. It also was the public's first official introduction to a newly-appointed Interim Superintendent, Michael Thurmond, the former state labor commissioner.   The school board complex on Mountain Industrial in Stone Mountain was packed, despite what the camera showed to audiences watching the live webcast. The public speaking time slots were filled to capacity as well, which made up for the relatively light business agenda covered by the board.  On the agenda for the evening was the approval of AP Tests, more computers for STEM labs and a small increase in capacity for the …

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Cheryl Miller

3:29 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013

Thanks Luis, I agree.   more ›

DeKalb School Board Meeting Monday

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 Dunwoody Patch's Complete Coverage of DeKalb Schools

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Nancy Jester Responds to DeKalb Schools' Probation

Jester says that she uncovered many of the financial issues cited in an oversight report that painted a picture of a dysfunctional board, and now that report puts her postion at risk.

Dunwoody’s representative on the DeKalb School Board issued a statement for the first time regarding a recent report that put the district on probation; In it, she pointed out many of the financial problems cited by the district's oversight agency were unearthed months earlier by her, only to be met by “stonewalling and deception” by school staff. Representative Nancy Jester, in a blog post on Wednesday night, noted her whistleblower items could help in her ouster from the board, if Gov. Nathan Deal takes the action to disband the nine-member body in the coming weeks due to its probationary status. Two weeks ago, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which oversees the district, wrote a 20-page report that details systemic …

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Should the DeKalb School Board be Disbanded?

Gov. Nathan Deal has the power to do so, but should he?

The oversight body that investigated DeKalb Schools put the district on probation this week, citing numerous problems with the Board of Education. Board members - in most cases unnnamed - were accused of micro-managing the schools of their constituency. Chairman Eugene Walker, in one instance, recommended that a relative of another board member be hired to as part of the district's Teacher Alternative Preparation Program while bypassing the district's managers. The district also took out a $25 million line of credit to buy new text books - used half - but new books never showed up in classes this year that sorely needed them. Read the full 20-page report here. The review by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges puts the district…

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