DeKalb school board member balks at system’s background check

A newly elected member of the DeKalb County School Board has refused to submit to a fingerprint and background check by the school district, accusing the board chairman of bullying and saying he will only submit to background checks done by police.

"It is a conflict of interest to be investigated by the agency I was elected to oversee," Stan Jester, who is scheduled to be sworn in Monday, told Channel 2 Action News. "It should be done by a third party."

Dr. Melvin Johnson, the DeKalb School Board chairman, told Channel 2 that all employees, including volunteers, are required to undergo fingerprinting background checks and that he was taken aback when Jester told him he would not submit to a check by the district.

Jester emailed a statement to Channel 2 that said: “I do not object to a thorough background check or being fingerprinted. In fact, last week, I sent the chair a copy of my background check completed by the Dunwoody Police Department. Additionally, I have already made arrangements to have my fingerprints taken by the DeKalb County Police Department to address anyone’s concerns.”

Jester said in the statement that he would put his reports online “for anyone to see” and challenged the rest of the board members to do the same.

“I do reject the manner and rationale of the board chair in dealing with this issue,” Jester said in the emailed statement to Channel 2. “It has ranged from inaccurate to intimidating. Rather than try to bully or embarrass other board members, I will take great care to do what is in the best interests of children and taxpayers.”

A check of online court records by The AJC did not show any cases or liens involving Jester.