APS educators to learn their fate

By Jaime Sarrio and Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Educators implicated in the Atlanta school cheating investigation have been ordered to attend a meeting today to discuss employment, one of several signs the district is gearing up to get guilty teachers off the payroll after months of delay.

Since July, Atlanta Public Schools has been spending about $600,000 a month to pay the salaries of educators placed on administrative leave after their names appeared in a 400-plus page report on cheating. The district has been unable to fire teachers because of complicated state employment laws and a lack of access to critical evidence.

Wednesday, Superintendent Erroll Davis said the district worked out an arrangement with District Attorney Paul Howard to view evidence against about 120 accused educators still on the payroll. That means APS can start building cases to terminate those deemed guilty of cheating, and retain those who are cleared.

"My intent is to bring these proceedings to an end as quickly as possible," Davis said. "I am hopeful we can do that by the end of this academic year."

A state-directed investigation found cheating on standardized tests occurred at 44 Atlanta schools and involved about 180 educators. The investigation came after multiple articles in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raised questions about the validity of APS test score improvements.

A Fulton County grand jury has been investigating the case to determine whether the educators' actions were criminal, and charges against some are expected.

Fulton prosecutors are preparing indictments with charges such as altering public documents, a felony, relating to the cheating scandal and for alleged kickback schemes involving APS vendors, lawyers familiar with the investigation said.

District Attorney Paul Howard declined to comment Wednesday on the grand jury investigation.

Independent of criminal charges, the educators could be fired by APS. But that is an expensive and complicated process that could take months to resolve. Teachers with three or more years with employment can only be fired for eight allowable reasons. The teacher can request a tribunal hearing to decide whether the charges are warranted. The decision can be appealed several times, up to the state Supreme Court.

Supporters of employment protection laws say teachers need a shield against unwarranted accusations from angry parents, or from the political maneuvering of meddling school board members.

In the Atlanta case, many teachers put on leave after the investigative report have maintained their innocence and said they will fight to keep their jobs.

The district is under pressure to resolve the cases before May 15, the deadline for deciding whether to renew teaching contracts. Non-renewal is tantamount to firing.

Davis said he will not issue contracts to any educators who have not been cleared. He said the district will "make significant progress" on these cases before the May deadline. Cleared teachers and principals will likely be placed in substitute positions until the end of the year, he said.

"I am optimistic a number of them will be exonerated, but until then they will not be in front of children," Davis said.

An e-mail obtained by the AJC was sent to educators on administrative leave Tuesday with the subject line "mandatory meeting." It instructed educators to attend a meeting at district headquarters to discuss "employment status" with APS representatives. Not attending the meeting could be deemed an act of insubordination and could result in termination, the letter said.

School officials did not give details about the purpose of the meetings or say how many educators were sent the e-mail.

Michael McGonigle, legal director for the Georgia Association of Educators, said the district will likely lay out options for the educators -- resign or face termination.

"It’s one step closer to final resolution of these allegations," McGonigle said. "Teachers are looking forward to closure."

Documents show the district has spent at least $6.2 million paying the salaries of educators on leave because of the cheating scandal. Kirkwood resident Cyrus Parsifal is frustrated with the expense, but says taking educators out of the classroom was the right move.

"At this point, I think the city of Atlanta needs to clear out as many people as possible associated with the cheating scandal and start anew," he said. "We have to do something for the sake of children and to create a school system we all can believe in."

The four outcomes for teachers accused of cheating

-- Criminal charges could be brought as result of Fulton and DeKalb DA investigations.

-- Firing by APS as result of its own investigation. Teachers can appeal such firings.

-- De-certification by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which is looking at cheating cases.

-- Cleared of wrongdoing and retained.