Fulton County voters will be choosing three school board members July 31 who will help guide the system's implementation of a charter school district.
The most contested race is on the south side, District 4. There, Linda Bryant has served 17 years and is facing three challengers: Retina Burton, Anna Croley and Paula Ward. They claim the district needs a fresh voice to address its new charter system status, and other long-running issues.
"We can leverage this charter district status to improve," said Burton, who believes the board should look at a "holistic" way to meld testing, research, and the proper personnel to develop a culture in schools that engages the community, students, and parents.
The state designated Fulton County a charter system on July 1, making it the largest charter school system in the state (with 10,000 employees, 93,000 students, 100 schools and a total budget of about $1.1 billion) and giving it new flexibility in staffing, financing, and developing the curriculum.
Over the next 12 months the board will identify what schools may seek exemption from some state regulations — on teacher hiring, for example — to try to improve academic achievement.
Fulton has not imposed furlough days to compensate for budget cuts or raised millage rates, as other metro school systems have. Still, Fulton continues to struggle with the disparity between schools on the north side and the south side, where dropout rates are about 20 percent higher and school academic performance is generally lower.
"With the system going charter, it's very important all the stakeholders are well informed on the pros and cons — that's what I look for from the board," said parent Constance Morman.
The candidates are:
District 1
Linda Schultz: Shultz is running for her third term. Her two sons were educated in Fulton County public schools. She is a web consultant for the Georgia School Council Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to education reform and community involvement in schools. She was a PTA president for six years.
Rob Goodman: A combat pilot during the Vietnam War and retired Captain for Delta Air Lines, Goodman has been heavily involved with north Fulton schools while his three children, now grown, were students. He wants the school system to develop vocational schools and curriculums.
District 3
Gail Dean: She is running unopposed for the seat she's held since 2001. A former owner of a real estate brokerage and two construction firms, she also has been a PTA president and a Local School Advisory Council chairwoman.
District 4
Linda Bryant: Bryant has served on the board 17 years and cites that as an important and stabilizing influence on the board as the system transitions to charter and its superintendent is just beginning his second year. She is a former PTA president and has a bachelor's degree from Tuskegee University and a master's degree in counseling from Georgia State University.
Retina Burton: She is the director of dual-degree engineering programs at Spelman College and has a degree in electrical engineering and a master's in technical management. The mother of two children, Burton says she would work to strengthen the connection between schools and the community while raising academic standards.
Anna Croley: A former weekend supervisor for United Airlines, Croley moved to south Fulton County after living in Cobb County and, before that, Ohio. She says she is dismayed by the system's lack lack of community engagement and wants to close the graduation and performance gap between northside and southside schools.
Paula Ward: The president of the Mecca Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Ward has a background in community involvement in school systems in California. She says she wants to improve school performance systemwide.
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