APS ordered to repay bonus money earned by cheating

Atlanta Public Schools must repay more than $363,000 in federal money earned as a result of falsified test scores, the first financial penalty from the cheating scandal.

Some of the 44 schools where state investigators said cheating occurred on the 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests were recognized as Title I Distinguished Schools, meaning they have large enrollments of impoverished students but made "adequate yearly progress" three years in a row.

The schools received awards ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars as a result of the recognition, according to state records.

After the investigation, state officials ruled the 44 schools had not made AYP for the years in question, thus voiding the special recognition. Now, state Superintendent John Barge said the district has 90 days to repay the award money.

"It is the right thing to do," Barge said. "These schools made AYP based on cheating so ... they did not earn that reward money."

In July, a special investigation concluded that cheating at the 44 schools involved more than 178 educators, including 38 principals. The investigation came after a series of articles in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raised questions about unlikely test gains throughout the district. The state probe concentrated on, but was not limited to, tests that play a key role in determining whether schools meet annual testing goals.

The unexpected repayment is only a small part of the school district's budget of about $600 million, but it comes as APS is absorbing other costs from the cheating scandal. In addition to almost $700,000 in legal fees, the district pulled $6 million from savings to pay the salaries and benefits of educators on paid administrative leave as a result of the investigation. Those salaries amount to $600,000 per month.

The district also is anticipating a $60 million shortfall next budget year if it doesn't curb spending or pull from savings.

Still, Atlanta Superintendent Erroll Davis said the district should not have a problem repaying the bonus money.

"We have quietly done a good job of budget discipline and cost cutting," Davis said. "So even with this unanticipated amount, I am comfortable we’ll be able to meet our budget for this year."

The Distinguished Schools award was just one of the ways school officials were said to have benefited financially from cheating. Educators from some implicated schools received about $500,000 in bonuses through the district's payout program, according to records obtained from APS.

Former Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall collected more than $580,000 in bonuses above her annual pay in the 12 years she worked for the district, based on academic goals laid out in her contract. Hall has not repaid the money, nor has the district asked her to, Davis said.

There are no plans to try to recover the payments to Hall or others, APS spokesman Keith Bromery said.

Atlanta parent Liza Milagro, whose child attends Beecher Hills Elementary, said she's uncomfortable with the idea that schools should be forced to repay money to the state. She believes there should have been checks and balances at the state level to prevent cheating.

"The money is gone; learn a lesson from it and move on," she said.

"Students and schools aren't likely to feel the pinch from repayment, school officials said. In fact, the Georgia Department of Education is kicking in extra resources to help APS recover from the cheating scandal.

A school improvement specialist has been assigned to work in the district's central office, Barge said. This state employee, who earns about $120,000 a year with salary and benefits, will help develop intervention plans for any student impacted by inaccurate test scores, among other duties.