Clayton schools regain accreditation

Clayton County schools have regained accreditation but remain on probation for the next two years — a hard-earned first step on what remains a long road.

The announcement Friday by officials with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools comes a year after the association yanked its affiliation with the suburban Atlanta system — making Clayton the nation’s first school system to lose accreditation in nearly 40 years.

Phil Skinner / pskinner@ajc.com

Clayton school board member Jessie Goree (left) and State Rep. Mike Glanton applauded as the announcement that the system would regain its accreditation.

Clayton County schools headlines:

• Photos: Timeline of Clayton schools' woes

[an error occurred while processing this directive] • AJC editorial: Less hope

• Read the full report to SACS:
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• Read SACS' report (PDF)

Clayton County news

The decision means SACS will back the 48,770-student system but require it to keep working on ongoing issues including leadership and governance — major problems cited by the association when it took action last year.

“You have an opportunity here. The opportunity is to improve,” SACS president Mark Elgart said. “This community cannot rest right now.”

SACS will monitor the school system for continued improvement. It will require Clayton officials to report every six months on their progress. At the same intervals, SACS will send its own people to independently assess what the system has done.

After any of those reports, SACS could give Clayton full accreditation. Or it could again yank it if Clayton officials reverse course.

By Friday, board members including Chairwoman Alieka Anderson said they were ready to look ahead. “We will not take this lightly,” Anderson said.

Friday’s announcement allows this year’s seniors to graduate with accredited diplomas.

School officials also hope it quells uncertainty about the system’s future.

More than 3,500 students have fled the unaccredited district, causing it to lose $23 million in state aid for next school year and 300 teachers.

Accreditation by a nationally recognized association such as SACS essentially validates a school or system and affirms its policies and procedures to educate students.

Colleges and universities often look for students to have graduated from an accredited school when considering admission. State officials have also factored in accreditation when making students eligible for Georgia’s HOPE college scholarships.

Elgart said SACS remains concerned even as he noted the system’s school board, which was at the center of its problems, has made strides in following the rules.

Probation means the system still faces “significant challenges,” he said, including the need for school board members to stick to its new ethics policy, implement proper financial practices and hire a new superintendent.

Still, the announcement caused school board member Jessie Goree to jump up at the news conference to hug and kiss Elgart on the cheek.

“If you’ve got to write me up, then write me up,” Goree said, a huge smile on her face that contrasted with the tears she shed last year when SACS announced it no longer backed the system.

Local officials who attended the announcement, including state Rep. Mike Glanton (D-Ellenwood) and Clayton commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, clapped.

Gov. Sonny Perdue — who last year removed four school board members for violations of the state’s open meetings act and ethics code — issued a statement lauding “a huge step in the right direction.”

In the wake of Clayton’s accreditation loss, Perdue has pushed for legislation to allow the state to exert more control over local school boards. On Friday, both he and Elgart said they remain committed to getting it passed.

SACS began its investigation in November 2007 after receiving complaints from five of Clayton’s nine school board members alleging unethical behavior by fellow members.

By February 2008, the association outlined nine strict requirements for the system to govern itself . Many of the problems were similar to those that landed Clayton in trouble five years earlier and which also led to a SACS investigation.

SACS officials at the time said they found “the effectiveness of the Clayton County board of education is fatally flawed.”

It cited the system for unethical behavior including micromanaging, misuse of funds, conflict of interest, abuse of power and bid tampering.