Judge Jerry Baxter asked an attorney for former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly Hall for an update on her health because he had heard she was out and about, despite having Stage IV breast cancer.
“We need to try her,” Baxter said just before the morning break Thursday. “Somebody said they saw her out eating the other day so I need to know how she is doing.”
Baxter made the comment to one of Hall’s attorneys who has sat on a back bench virtually every day of testimony in the trial of 12 other educators charged with racketeering in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating case.
Baxter wants a written update within 10 days.
Hall is charged with racketeering for allegedly conspiring to change students’ answers on Criterion Referenced Competency Tests to boost test scores and make educators eligible for bonuses. Hall is not being tried because of the seriousness of her cancer and treatment. She could be tried later.
Although Hall is not in the courtroom, the “no excuses” culture she instituted regarding test scores and performance targets has been recounted repeatedly in testimony.
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