Dallas school district votes for Augustine removal

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By D. Aileen Dodd

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A suburban Dallas school board on Monday night voted 3-2 to remove Kathy Augustine, its newly hired superintendent who had been implicated in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.

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Dr. Kathy Augustine, new superintendent of the DeSoto Independent School District in Dallas, was placed on administrative leave in July while the school board looked into her involvement with Atlanta Public School test cheating.

John F. Rhodes, Staff Photographer Dr. Kathy Augustine, new superintendent of the DeSoto Independent School District in Dallas, was placed on administrative leave in July while the school board looked into her involvement with Atlanta Public School test cheating.

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The DeSoto Independent School District board of trustees chose to cancel Augustine's three-year contract and negotiate a buyout with the embattled educator, making her the highest-ranking Atlanta administrator to lose a job because of the scandal.

The board bypassed monthly business to take up the matter in a closed session, and deliberated more than 90 minutes before voting. Augustine's contract stipulates that in case of termination, she and the board must mutually agree on the terms.

“This is nothing personal,” said Sandra Wheeler, a DeSoto school board member who had cautioned against hiring Augustine and voted for her ouster. “This is about leadership in this district. It’s about ethics and integrity. At this time, I don’t feel the leadership ability is there. I have chosen to support the severance. I think our children are owed what’s best.”

Board member Aubrey Hooper, while acknowledging he found the investigation of the APS scandal "troubling," said DeSoto had to move forward and get its students prepared for college.

“I don’t feel 100 percent that the leader we have chosen can make that happen,” Hooper said. “I have some questions there."

Augustine was placed on administrative leave in July after only one day of work in her $188,000 job while the board looked into her involvement with APS cheating. A photo of her in a collegiate robe standing with the DeSoto board remains on the Texas district's website. Yet she spent little time actually working on DeSoto Schools business with her board.

Augustine, a former APS deputy superintendent, was the No. 2 administrator behind former APS superintendent Beverly Hall. Augustine was among the candidates recommended for the DeSoto superintendent vacancy. She advised board members about the pending investigation of allegations of APS state exam cheating, but board president Warren Seay Jr. said there was no indication she would be named in the special investigators' report.

She was accused of illegally withholding public documents, making false statements and "aiding and abetting" Hall in "falsifying, misrepresenting or erroneously reporting the evaluation of students" on the 2009 CRCT, according to the investigation. Augustine denied any wrongdoing.

The DeSoto board began early discussions of her exit agreement last month, but tabled the matter because all of its members weren't present to vote. This time, the board proceeded with five of seven members present.

Before the board disappeared behind closed doors to negotiate a buyout, Jeff Sherels, a parent, called for members to "galvanize forces and move forward." He also voiced his concern about the investigation of Augustine.

“When I started reading the report, I couldn’t put it down,” Sherels said. “It saddened me. I do wish Dr. Augustine well and I pray that her legacy as an educator will be weighed on a scale that is just.”

Others said that the money spent on “buying out” Augustine would negatively impact the district in tight economic times.

"Four of you all voted to bring her here; there must have been something that you liked,” said George Bolton Sr. "Stand behind your vote. ... If the state of Georgia should file charges against the superintendent, you have an avenue to dismiss her, then there wouldn't be a need for a buyout. We are going to take money our kids can be using in classes.”