The conflict between city leaders and Atlanta Public Schools officials over millions owed by the Atlanta Beltline has intensified in recent weeks, with no signs of imminent resolution.
Former Superintendent Erroll Davis has said “all options” are on the table to settle the $162 million problem, including a lawsuit.
That didn’t sit well with Mayor Kasim Reed, who said he was “troubled” by the remarks because he’s a longtime supporter of Davis and the school system.
“The person who took on the challenges facing APS was me,” Reed said in an interview last week. “I’m the person who when the system was on probation and the board was fractured, was working with the business community to get a new leader and turn it around.”
Reed said the conflict isn’t personal, but that didn’t stop him from taking direct aim at both Davis and APS Board Chairman Courtney English.
English recently announced hiring Davis as a consultant to manage the Beltline conflict for a $1 fee.
“Courtney English praising Erroll Davis was terrific news to me given the fact that when Erroll Davis’s contract was up for reauthorization, I had to persuade him not to fire him,” Reed said.
The mayor then compared English to former APS board chairman Khaattim El, who resigned following the test cheating scandal.
“I think he is going to reach a similar fate,” Reed said of English. “If he doesn’t change his behavior he is going to have a deeply fractured board.”
English, who had the mayor’s support during the 2013 election, called his comments a “distraction” from the issue.
“This issue isn’t about me or my leadership style or the mayor. This issue is about the 60,000 kids in the Atlanta Public Schools system who right now are entitled to $19 million dollars and $162 million over the life of the Beltline TAD,” he said, referring to the tax allocation district APS helps fund to build the project.
“My priority is making sure we do right by them,” he said.
Davis, who left APS this month to make way for incoming Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen, has said he has “great respect” for the aid Reed has given APS in recent years. But contract is a contract.
“I’m not going to second guess his comments or conversation. He will do what he believes is appropriate for him to do. I will do what I believe is appropriate,” Davis said. “…We have a contract and want our money. It’s that simple from our perspective.”
Reed said taking legal action would drive a wedge between the two entities and harm the city as a whole. The Beltline, he said, is driving growth in the city, which benefits the schools.
Davis said APS has no immediate plans to file a lawsuit, but that the option isn’t off the table, either.
“Like a dutiful engineer, when you ask me if all things are considered, we certainly will consider all things,” he said. “But we’ve made no filing, and we have prepared no filings for a lawsuit.”
The men are set to resume negotiations later this month. The Atlanta City Council, however, is meeting with the APS board Tuesday over the issue.
To learn more about the Beltline battle, visit MYAJC.com for an indepth look at the conflict and its history.
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