The DeKalb County School District has little chance of regaining full accreditation this year, but the threat of accreditation loss seems less likely now, according to the man in charge of accreditation decisions involving the district.
Mark Elgart, whose organization placed DeKalb on probation last year, met with the school board Wednesday and told the nine members they have a lot of work to do to regain full accreditation.
Last year, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave DeKalb until December to address 11 “required actions,” or face possible accreditation loss.
“You will probably either remain on probation or possibly warned” status in December, said Elgart, who runs AdvancED, the parent company of SACS.
The probation decision sparked parent outrage and led Gov. Nathan Deal to replace two-thirds of the school board. The turmoil between the probation decision and Deal’s action paralyzed the old board and, said Elgart, resulted in three months lost. DeKalb will not be penalized for that, he said.
He also questioned the long-term prospects for improvement because of a key problem: leadership instability. Over the past decade, Elgart noted, DeKalb has had five superintendents and the school board seats mostly changed occupants. Meanwhile, the current superintendent’s contract expires in less than a year, and all the DeKalb board seats are up for election next year, raising the prospect of ongoing instability and putting long-term plans at risk.
“I have deep concern right now for November of 2014,” Elgart said.
DeKalb must establish a community-based strategic plan that informs budget decisions, he said, yet lacks the time to do that before the next budget must be adopted this summer. The district has devised such plans in the past, but they were “null and void,” he said, because they were based on small segments of the population and driven by the racial and geographic politics of elected board members.
DeKalb must harness the full diversity of its residents, including Hispanics and Asians, when crafting policy and making big budget decisions, Elgart said. Some decisions, though, should be obvious, he said. Elgart recommended that the new board reduce administrative costs and drive more money to classrooms, which he said were “gutted” by the old board. The board should start by reducing legal costs, he said.
That’s something Superintendent Michael Thurmond agrees with. He “absolutely” wants to cut the legal budget, he said after the two-hour meeting. “We will not spend in 2014 anywhere near the amount we spent in 2013.”
Michael Erwin, one of the board members appointed by Deal, said being appointed by the governor allows him to make tough budget decisions without fear of political ramifications. He also said the board should use the 18 months it has. “Basically, lead while you can.”
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