Atlanta ethics commission advances complaint against school board chair
The Atlanta Public Schools ethics commission unanimously decided Friday to move forward with an ethics complaint filed against Atlanta School Board Chairwoman Erika Mitchell for her role in filling a vacant position on the nine-member body.
Interim school board executive director Dina Hairston filed the complaint, which alleges Mitchell violated district policy by paying $39,000 to search firm Hazard Young Attea Associates to help find candidates to fill an empty school board seat without considering other vendors or public discussions with the board. The board previously hired HYA to conduct the search for current APS Superintendent Bryan Johnson.
“This is egregious and represents mismanagement of taxpayer dollars and abuse of power,” Hairston wrote in the complaint, which The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained through an open records request.
The complaint points out that school board members earn an annual salary of $22,500. Invoices show the district paid more than $45,000 for HYAs services. The expenses include hotel stays, airfare and car rentals.
In January, the school board selected Tolton Pace to fill the District 6 seat. The prior board member, Eshé Collins, was elected to the Atlanta City Council last year. Mitchell was not at Friday’s meeting. A spokesperson for Mitchell told the AJC her attorney has advised her not to comment because the case is ongoing.
Current district policy appears to allow the school board chair to approve purchases up to $50,000 without the consent of the full board. However, the board’s development committee agreed on a new procurement policy Friday, which would require board approval for purchases over $10,000. The proposal still needs to be approved by the policy committee and then the full board.
The ethics commission’s vote means they will gather more information from Mitchell about the complaint. They’re operating on a tight timeline, because they must act within 60 days of receiving the May 2 complaint. Another meeting is scheduled for July 3.
The commission is made up of members of the public, not board members. It was established to ensure the district is following established ethics policies.
About the Author
Martha Dalton is a journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, writing about K-12 education. She was previously a senior education reporter at WABE, Atlanta's NPR affiliate. Before that, she was a general assignment reporter at CNN Radio. Martha has worked in media for more than 20 years. She taught elementary school in a previous life.
