Photos: DeKalb school superintendent's first year

Education

Since Steve Green took the helm of DeKalb County's school system July 1, he has seen the district regain full accreditation and begin a program aimed at lifting several schools out of the state's "failing" category. Green has also dealt with crowding on school buses and in school buildings and courted controversy by opposing school district participation in a tax-incentive plan to develop the site of the former GM plant in Doraville.

Steve Green was superintendent of the smaller Kansas City school district when DeKalb County's school board agreed in May 2015 to hire him. They gave him a three-year contract at a salary of $300,000 with incentive increases possible after the first year. He became the second-highest paid school chief in metro Atlanta, behind Atlanta's Meria Carstarphen, whose salary was $375,000.

Weeks before Green was sworn in as DeKalb County's new superintendent, he visited schools on a 'listening tour' in May. Here, he talks with Alexander Nguyen as he tours Hambrick Elementary School in Stone Mountain. JONATHAN PHILLIPS / SPECIAL

Green said he would make himself available to listen to and talk with county residents in town-hall style gatherings he called 'On the Scene with Dr. Green.' Here, he talks with Clifton Cornwall as he tours Hambrick Elementary School in Stone Mountain on May 20, 2015. JONATHAN PHILLIPS / SPECIAL

Green speaks to students on the first day of school in August. As he began his term as superintendent, 24 DeKalb County schools were on a list of those that could be taken over by the state if voters approve a constitutional amendment in November 2016 to create Gov. Nathan Deal's proposed Opportunity School District. DeKalb also had several overcrowded schools in one area, the Cross Keys cluster of schools; and in October, charter school Ivy Prep Academy closed its high school, meaning the district would probably have to absorb many of those students. (AJC FILE PHOTO)

In October, Green's administrators switched bus routes around and added some and scrambled to hire more drivers. A shortage of drivers meant some buses were covering multiple routes with some kids sitting four to a seat. Drivers' complaints at a school board meeting about pay and work conditions, including the packed buses, caught the new superintendent by surprise.

Crowding at six schools along Buford Highway, the Cross Keys cluster of schools, meant hundreds of students were attending class in trailers, called portable classrooms, like those shown. Green said addressing that problem was long overdue and proposed a redistricting plan that would shuffle students throughout the district and, eventually, build a new high school and middle school and two elementaries. After a series of hearings, the school board OK'd redistricting, in March.

Green arrives by helicopter in November at Stone Mountain Middle School to announce a partnership with Experience Aviation, The Flying Classroom and the Ford Motor Company Fund on STEM -- science, technology, math and engineering -- projects. Other changes in Green's first few months included a staff reorganization with several people hired who had worked with him in Kansas City, and the district's decision to become a "strategic waiver system," with exemption from some state regulation in exchange for more accountability for better student performance. DeKalb schools regained full accreditation early in 2016, after being on probation because of past management and governance problems. KENT D. JOHNSON/KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM

Green and staffers answered questions at a homeowners association meeting in January. Among the items he talked about was the upcoming vote to renew DeKalb's special purpose local option tax to build schools and buy equipment. DeKalb's SPLOST proposal lists broad categories for use of that tax money, rather than specific construction or other projects, drawing criticism from some.

Also criticized by some has been Green's steadfast opposition to school district participation in a tax allocation district, TAD, to pay for the proposed redevelopment, shown in the rendering here, of the site of the former GM plant in Doraville. The plan would allocate the school system's share of future property tax revenue to help pay for the project. Supporters of it say the schools would benefit from the increase in taxes the project eventually would generate. Green says that's not guaranteed and the school system's responsibility is to use its resource for educating children.

This month, Green submitted the first budget he has proposed for DeKalb schools. It's nearly $76 million more than the one for the previous school year and includes a districtwide 3 percent pay raise as well as money for recruitment and retention bonuses. Noting the increase, several board members were cautious about increased spending, mentioning past budgeting and management issues that led to a $14 million deficit in 2013. Many of the budget highlights are connected to district plans to revamp curriculum and instruction and retain the best teachers to increase student achievement, eliminating more than two dozen schools from a risk of state oversight through Gov. Nathan Deal's proposed Opportunity School District. Green's plan to turn around schools at risk of state takeover calls for a sharp focus on curriculum, heavy parental involvement and millions of dollars to get top teachers into struggling schools.

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Steve Green was superintendent of the smaller Kansas City school district when DeKalb County's school board agreed in May 2015 to hire him. They gave him a three-year contract at a salary of $300,000 with incentive increases possible after the first year. He became the second-highest paid school chief in metro Atlanta, behind Atlanta's Meria Carstarphen, whose salary was $375,000.

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