Educators accused of cheating in Atlanta Public Schools could be notified as soon as next week of the district's plans to fire them, Superintendent Erroll Davis said Friday.
Two have resigned since the district put educators on notice Thursday that terminations were imminent. A state investigation released in July accused 180 Atlanta educators of cheating; about 120 remain on the payroll at a cost of $600,000 a month to the city school district.
More educators are expected to resign or retire in the coming weeks, Davis said. After that, the district plans to pursue the most egregious cases first.
"Where we have confessions, we want to get them out of the way and off the payroll," he said.
The report said cheating took place in 44 schools. More than 80 educators confessed. All of those named in the report were placed on paid administrative leave by the district, although many have chosen to resign or retire as months have passed with almost no action by APS.
That changed this week when APS sent emails ordering about 60 educators to attend meetings at the downtown headquarters. At the meetings, which took place Thursday and Friday, the educators were told to resign or risk receiving a "charge letter" from the district, the first major step in the firing process.
Davis said the district is now ready to move forward because attorneys have access to the evidence needed to build a case against the accused. The Fulton County District Attorney's Office, which is conducting a criminal investigation, has agreed to let the district view evidence. Davis said he expects the first charge letters will go out next week.
"We believe we are at a place ... where we can successfully prosecute these cases," he said. "We have not been at this point previously.”
The district is under pressure to resolve the cases before May 15, the deadline for deciding whether to renew teaching contracts. Nonrenewal is tantamount to firing.
Firing teachers is an expensive and complicated process that could take months to resolve. Teachers with three or more years of employment can only be fired for eight allowable reasons. The teacher can request a tribunal hearing to decide whether the charges are warranted. The decision can be appealed several times, up to the state Supreme Court.
Supporters of these protections say teachers need a shield against unwarranted accusations.
Friday afternoon, attorney Nick Dumich sat on a bench for about an hour talking to one of his clients immediately after her meeting with school officials. Dumich, whose firm represents “30 to 35” educators, said some of them feel as if they haven’t done anything wrong but want closure.
“They would like to get reinstated or have a final decision,” Dumich said. “There are a number of teachers who say things in the report are not accurate and APS is looking at it as being accurate, while there are still some questions out there about it.”
Since July, Atlanta Public Schools has spent $6.2 million to pay the salaries of educators placed on administrative leave after their names appeared in the 400-plus-page report on cheating. Almost $700,000 has been spent in legal fees, and in January APS found it must repay more than $363,000 in federal money earned as a result of falsified test scores.
Those still on the payroll include some of former Superintendent Beverly Hall's top lieutenants. Sharon Davis-Williams, Michael Pitts and Tamara Cotman each earn six-figure salaries. Their attorney, George Lawson, told Channel 2 Action News that each was issued a charge letter months ago, but no hearing has been scheduled. They deny any wrongdoing.
Educators named in the report also face criminal prosecution or loss of certification. The Professional Standards Commission, which certifies and monitors Georgia educators, has sanctioned 16 educators in the scandal.
Quinton G. Washington, an attorney representing two educators, said he was happy so far with the system not using a “one size fits all” approach.
Leaving APS offices with one of his clients, he said the former second-grade teacher at Finch Elementary was told her case would be reconsidered because she notified the system about possible corruption and cheating. APS says some teachers could be cleared once the investigation is complete.
“They said they were not prepared to move on my client,” Washington said.
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