An investigation that could threaten the accreditation of the DeKalb County public schools will take place next month, when a team visits to assess allegations of school board mismanagement.
Mark Elgart, the president and chief executive officer of AdvancEd, decided late Monday that an investigation was warranted, and sent an overnight letter to Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson telling her to prepare, AdvancEd spokeswoman Jennifer Oliver said Tuesday.
The team will review documents and conduct interviews for three days starting Oct. 17, according to the letter. The announcement comes less than a week after Atkinson responded in writing to a letter from Elgart that contained allegations of “undue” interference by school board members in administrative operations and of a failure by the board to “be good stewards” of taxpayer dollars.
Rather than addressing the allegations against her board, Atkinson’s response outlined more than a dozen initiatives that she has undertaken since the board hired her just over a year ago.
Elgart’s letter Tuesday had this assessment of Atkinson’s response: her initiatives hold promise, but the alleged misbehavior by her board “could have a significant, negative impact” on their implementation.
The investigative team will make a recommendation on accreditation status. DeKalb is “on advisement,” which is less than full accreditation. The team could recommend continuing the status or propose a lower one or even recommend dropping accreditation, Elgart’s letter said.
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