CLAYTON COUNTY: School board fires chief at pivotal point

The Clayton County school board has fired the superintendent brought in 11 months ago to save the troubled system’s accreditation, saying he’s now part of the problem.

John Thompson was dismissed Saturday, about a month before the 47,000-student district has one more chance to prove it deserves to be reaccredited. If it fails, the district would need to start over, a process that could take about three years.

Valya Lee, assistant superintendent of student support services, was named interim superintendent. Lee, who started in Clayton in 1993 as a teacher, said she is not interested in the permanent position.

Thompson did not attend the Saturday meeting of the board and declined comment when reached by phone. His unanimous firing is effective immediately.

Thompson, 64, was the county’s fourth superintendent in four years.

The former college basketball player dominated the scene with his outsized personality and penchant for flashy clothes. He once wore a silver leather suit to a school event.

But he rankled some people with his take-command style, such as when he ordered high school diplomas shredded because they didn’t bear his signature.

Board members said Saturday they feel Thompson is disloyal and hurt staff morale. No specifics about how the relationship went bad were cited.

“There are trust issues,” board member Wanda Smith said during the meeting that ended in Thompson’s firing. “If we can get a new superintendent, we’ll be OK.”

The board said in a statement Thompson’s dismissal “will also allow for a more open and cooperative working relationship between the board, staff and accreditation officials.”

The leader of the group that decides on accreditation, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, said the board is heading in the right direction.

“It is clear this board is committed to a fresh start,” SACS President and Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Elgart said Saturday. “They are changing the way business is done in the school system.”

Clayton County is the only school system in the United States to lose accreditation in 40 years.

Loss of accreditation affects everything about a school system, such as where students go to college and teachers’ benefits. In Clayton, it resulted in 3,500 students fleeing the district, the loss of $23 million in state aid and a drop in property values.

When it hired Thompson in April 2008, the Clayton board was being investigated by SACS for the second time in five years over problems such as micromanaging and abuse of power by board members. SACS gave them until September 2008 to meet nine improvement mandates.

Thompson —- who was hired as the “corrective superintendent” —- promised to turn around the system. He was given an annual salary of $285,000 but his total annual package was worth $400,000 and included monthly housing and transportation stipends and other perks.

“It’s inspiring to me to see little babies concerned,” Thompson said on his first day on the job. “I look at their eyes and they are looking for me to be their savior.”

But in August 2008, SACS revoked Clayton’s accreditation after only one mandate had been met: that board members live in their election districts.

“That was the beginning of our lack of belief and trust,” Clayton County Education Association president Sid Chapman said Saturday.

SACS officials criticized the superintendent’s contract —- which allowed him to violate board policies and circumvent board authority.

The contract was later amended, but only after Thompson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars without board approval. He added administrators and placed his personal attorney as a consultant to the district.

The final straw came last week when dozens of teachers were laid off, Chapman said.

“We were told certified and tenured teachers were safe,” he said. “He brought in new people and laid off tenured teachers.”

Cyd Cox, one of four parents at Saturday’s meeting, said the county doesn’t need more controversies —- or to spend any more money.

“With the way we get rid of superintendents, if I was an applicant, I wouldn’t want to come down here because you never know when your board will turn on you,” said Cox, president of the Clayton Council of PTAs.

In addition to the disgruntled teachers, Thompson has spent recent weeks feuding with some board members over how they interact with staff. Thompson prohibited all staff from talking with board members, saying he wanted to avoid micromanaging.

Yet some board members have said Thompson overstepped his bounds, punishing staff for talking to a board member about a new grandchild.

“Central office people have been written up for talking to the board,” said board Chairman Alieka Anderson said. “We want to get past this. We want a superintendent we can trust.”

Clayton is the fifth largest school system in Georgia and 75 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced meals at school.

Thompson’s contract, which expires June 30, allows the board to fire him without a cause as long as they pay the remainder of his salary —- about $85,000 —- and benefits.

OUTGOING SUPERINTENDENT

John Thompson, 64

April 28, 2008: Hired as corrective superintendent

2000-2005: Superintendent in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh board voted not to renew Thompson’s contract after complaints about his blunt, authoritative demeanor and questionable spending practices.

1994-2000: Superintendent in Tulsa

Education: Doctorate in education from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; a master’s degree in educational administration from North Carolina A&T University; bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Livingstone College in North Carolina.

Interim superintendent

Valya Lee, 51

November 2008: Appointed assistant superintendent of student support services

July 2007: Hired as Clayton chief of staff

2005: Hired as assistant superintendent in Rockdale County schools

1993: Hired as teacher at Riverdale Middle School. Goes on to serve as an assistant principal and principal at two Clayton elementary schools, along with assistant superintendent.

Education: Doctorate in educational leadership from Argosy University in Atlanta; master’s in middle grades education from West Georgia College; bachelor’s in political science from Spelman College. She attended elementary school in Clayton County and graduated from Atlanta Public Schools.