The state attorney general's office sanctioned the Atlanta Public Schools board Monday, essentially putting the board on a year's probation for violations related to Georgia's open meetings and public records laws.
Effective immediately, the state's action came on the eve of a crucial state hearing at which Atlanta board members will fight to keep their jobs.
The board by unanimous vote agreed that they and key district staff members will take additional training about state law. Senior Assistant Attorney General Stefan Ritter said his office will also closely monitor the board over the next year to make sure it complies. If it does not, Ritter said his office will take the board to court.
"We are not in litigation about this but we are prepared to go into litigation if we have to," Ritter said. "We're not going to throw stones. We're hopeful [problems] will be addressed."
The extraordinary oversight agreed to by the board stems from a series of complaints from city residents and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about both the board and the administration of ex-schools chief Beverly Hall.
State investigators earlier this month released a searing report that said Hall ignored a culture of cover-ups and obstruction that blossomed during her 12-year tenure. It also detailed extensive cheating by educators on state tests.
Among the most serious of the public records violations, investigators said Hall -- who left the system June 30 -- and former Deputy Superintendent Kathy Augustine illegally suppressed a report by a testing expert last year that largely confirmed an AJC analysis that suggested test cheating occurred. The district withheld that report from the media and public.
Among the most serious of the open meetings violations happened in April,when Gov. Nathan Deal summoned the board, Hall and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to the Capitol for a private meeting. It came on the heels of Deal signing legislation giving him the power to remove board members if they did not make sufficient progress by midsummer toward regaining full accreditation.
The meeting was held despite objections from the AJC that the Georgia Open Meetings Act requires such meetings to be open to the public, because a quorum of the board was present. Senate Democratic whip Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, also filed a formal complaint with the attorney general.
Ritter said Fort's complaint was the final straw, compelling his office to begin an investigation. It led to a five-page memorandum of understanding approved Monday by the board.
The reason his office entered into this agreement with APS -- as opposed to going to court -- is that the district's new superintendent, Erroll Davis, pledged to work with it to solve its issues, Ritter said. So did longtime board member Brenda Muhammad, who the board elected last month as its new chairwoman.
The memorandum came as the board's eight remaining members will ask state officials to let them keep their jobs and continue to oversee educating the city's nearly 50,000 public school students.
The 13-member state Board of Education starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday will hold a courtroom-style one-day hearing on whether to recommend their removal for running afoul of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the primary accrediting agency in Georgia.
An immediate ruling is not expected. The state board has 15 days to make a recommendation to Deal, who by law makes the final decision.
If he decides to remove local board members, Deal will make interim appointments to fill their seats. Ousted board members are allowed to appeal for reinstatement.
Also Monday, the board called for a special election Nov. 8 to fill the seat vacated earlier this month by former Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El. They expect to make an interim appointment to fill his seat Aug. 8.
El, who served on the board seven years, resigned July 11 in the wake of the state investigative report. The report implicated nearly 180 educators in 44 schools for cheating on state tests.
Some APS employees could face criminal charges. More than a half-dozen of Hall's top staff already have lost or left their jobs in the scandal's wake, with more likely to fall.
District officials said Friday that 41 of the 179 educators suspected of cheating have vacated their positions. They plan to move ahead with termination proceedings against the rest.
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