Strife strains school board

By Kristina Torres and Heather Vogell


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall’s announcement that she will step aside when her contract ends June 30 comes at a time when the district is facing uncertainty on multiple fronts.

Feuding among city school board members, in which one faction of the board has sued the other over leadership changes, has caused the system’s accrediting agency to say the board’s capacity to govern is “in serious jeopardy.”

The two sides have a court date Tuesday.

The system also faces two inquiries — one by federal prosecutors, the other by special investigators appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue — into test cheating allegations that could bring criminal charges against school officials.

As the result of a related investigation, local officials reported more than 100 city educators to the state teacher certification body, although their cases are on hold until state investigators wrap up their work. That is expected to happen early next year.

Mike Bowers, one of the state investigators, said Saturday that he does not expect Hall’s announcement to have any effect on their effort.

But how the board responds in the wake of Hall’s decision could be critical.

Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, announced earlier this month that he would send a team to the system next month for on-site interviews and investigation related to board interaction and decision-making related to governance.

AdvancED is the parent organization of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), through which Atlanta accredits its high schools.

“The board’s ability to resolve its current challenges will greatly impact the capacity of the school system to effectively manage the transition of leadership,” Elgart said in a statement Saturday.

Both Hall and board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El said Saturday that Hall expects to be actively managing the district during her final months on the job. El said the board believes it can work with Hall for a “positive transition.”

Members, however, still have to prove they can work together to that same end.

Both sides have been meeting to try to come to an agreement, a solution encouraged by Fulton County Superior Court Judge John J. Goger. Otherwise, Goger will decide the outcome of the suit, which has four members alleging that a midyear change of leadership by the board’s other five members violated board policy and its governing charter.

Last week, APS officials met a deadline to send Elgart’s agency all policies the board has adopted or revised since July 1, as well as information about ethics violations by member Courtney English, who admitted to using his board-issued credit card for personal use.

Elgart has said previously the team visiting Atlanta will be empowered to recommend a change in the school system’s accreditation status — up to and including probation or dropping the system altogether.

Those actions could impact scholarship money for students, including Georgia’s HOPE scholarship, as well as federal funding, college acceptances and property values throughout Atlanta.