DeKalb school board member cleared to receive board benefits

After a four-month standoff over a national background check, DeKalb Board of Education member Stan Jester has been cleared to receive all the benefits of a school board member, Superintendent Michael Thurmond’s office said today.

Jester cleared the national background check that will allow him to receive the salary, benefits, technology equipment and security clearance afforded other members.

Jester said earlier this year he believed it was a conflict of interest to submit to a check performed by the district and had one done by the Dunwoody Police Department and the DeKalb County Police instead. He submitted a state criminal background check to the district in January, with officials saying at the time the check did not include some elements of the national background check. Jester even hired former U.S. Attorney Bob Barr to defend him in the case.