Atlanta school board member Courtney English became the first of his colleagues Thursday to call on ex-Superintendent Beverly Hall to return bonus pay she received based on "fraudulent" test scores.
"Returning these funds would truly demonstrate Dr. Hall's willingness to accept responsibility for the improprieties that took place on her watch," said English, who spoke for himself and not the board in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"It's only practical and right to ask her to return the money. Long after she's left, we're stuck with this," English said.
Hall collected more than $580,000 in bonuses above her annual pay in the 12 years she worked for Atlanta Public Schools. When the board hired Hall in 1999, members agreed to provide annual bonuses if the former superintendent met some or all of the academic goals they set forth in her contract.
Academic gains played a significant part in the board's annual deliberations to award her that money, which was based on a percentage of the goals that she met and exceeded. For the 2008-09 school year alone, when suspicions about APS test scores first surfaced, the board awarded her bonus pay of $78,115.82.
She has not taken a bonus since then. She left the system June 30. By then, her regular pay and benefits equaled more than $332,000 annually.
Attorneys for Hall declined comment Thursday. Hall accepted responsibility and apologized in a statement to the AJC last week, though she has repeatedly denied she knew of or encouraged test cheating.
Gov. Nathan Deal released a searing report last week that said Hall ignored a culture of cheating, coverups and obstruction that blossomed during her tenure as she stressed meeting annual academic targets by whatever means necessary.
Investigators said Hall and her top staff ignored mounting evidence of misconduct over the past decade and willfully hindered the investigation by destroying or altering complaints.
The report implicated 178 APS employees in 44 schools for erasing and changing student answer sheets. It could result in criminal charges. More than a half-dozen of Hall's top staff have already lost or left their jobs in the scandal's wake, with more likely to fall.
Board Chairwoman Brenda Muhammad said last week that Hall had a contract and certain legal rights, which the board would have to address in any discussion about seeking a return of the money.
An additional issue is the complexity of Hall's bonus structure. For the 2008-09 school year alone, Hall earned her bonus based on 72 separate objectives that included major areas not addressed by investigators, such as student enrollment.
Muhammad said at the time that "we want to address the present, and that ... doesn't mean beating up Beverly Hall."
In a statement issued Thursday to the AJC, Muhammad indicated English was, for now, on his own soapbox in saying the bonuses should be returned. "There is no formal board decision," she said.
English, however, said the money is fair game, and he will push the board hard to go after it.
At a town hall meeting English held Thursday evening at Frederick Douglass High School, several board members and Interim Superintendent Erroll Davis listened as parents, teachers and students voiced concerns about the district and asked about plans to move forward.
About 100 people attended the event, including Atlanta parent Denean K. Smith, who said the district has always looked out for the interests of adults rather than children. Hall should repay the bonuses, she said, and the money should go to the schools most affected by cheating.
"It's simple: [Hall] was given money for performance," Smith said. "It's no longer hearsay, it's been proven that under her leadership cheating occurred."
Others talked about a desire to move forward. Former teacher Lynda Wolf Smith got emotional when recalling her time in the district and her frustration over the unethical behavior she claims was ignored.
"The mental anguish that teachers have suffered in these 10 years is still being felt," she told board members. "Some healing is going to have to take place."
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