Atlanta Public Schools executives on Friday handed over subpoenaed records to a Fulton County grand jury, which is investigating the test-cheating scandal and could ultimately decide whether criminal charges are warranted.
Three APS officials turned over to the grand jury 95 volumes of DVDs, CDs and cassette tapes, responding to a sweeping subpoena issued Aug. 12. Because the school system was unable to fully comply with the grand jury's request for information, it is asking for three more weeks to compile all the records and bring them to court.
District Attorney Paul Howard, through a spokeswoman, declined to respond to a number of questions about the case, such as the focus of the grand jury investigation or how long he expects the probe will last.
There are a number of felony charges the grand jury could consider. These include making false statements -- either orally or in writing -- and the altering of public documents.
On Friday, the three APS officials who appeared before the grand jury were Interim Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Eric Rosser, the district’s records custodian for the APS investigation; Assistant General Counsel Michael Walker; and Sharron Pitts, who is interim general counsel, Bromery said. They brought the documents sought by the grand jury.
Brenda Muhammad, board chairwoman of APS, said the district was working hard to satisfy the grand jury's request. “It is our hope at the board level that the administration has followed through,” she said. “We as board members have also gone through documents to make sure everything got in.”
Decatur lawyer John Petrey, a former prosecutor, said it is highly unlikely the grand jury will look through all the documents turned over by APS, no matter how dedicated it is and no matter how much time it has. The district attorney's office, Petrey said, is likely using the grand jury as a way to get the documents to begin its investigation in full.
APS spokesman Keith Bromery, in a statement, said the district attorney has indicated he will support the school system's request for an extension of time. But Howard, through a spokeswoman, declined to say whether he will grant the school system's request for more time.
Jeff Brickman, the former DeKalb County district attorney, said it is not unusual for parties to seek more time to comply with subpoenas. Once prosecutors review the information turned over by APS, he said, they could ask the grand jury to request more documents or ask individuals to come and give sworn testimony.
The subpoena sought information dating back to 1999 regarding teacher transfers and demotions and the reasons behind them; bonuses paid to employees for improved test scores; personnel files for any APS principal implicated in the scandal; personnel files for all APS employees holding the position of School Reform Team executive director and above; and copies of complaints from parents, teachers or students of possible improprieties related to Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.
The subpoena also sought signed copies of "any and all oaths of office" taken by Beverly Hall when she was superintendent. The subpoena did not specify why the grand jury was seeking documents dating as far back as 1999 -- which was Hall's first year at APS.
The subpoena instructed APS, if it had any questions, to contact Assistant District Attorney Tanya Miller, who has prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, or Scott Clemens, an investigator for the district attorney's office.
The Fulton probe follows an investigation by special investigators appointed a year ago by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue into test cheating. Their report found that 178 educators were linked to cheating on standardized tests. The investigators accused top school officials of destroying or altering complaints about misconduct, trying to hinder the investigation and lying to investigators.
The state investigation, the findings of which were released last month, also concluded that cheating occurred at 44 schools and that Hall knew or should have known about it. She has strongly denied that allegation.
All 3,000 teachers at APS were under orders by school Superintendent Erroll Davis to review all records and material in their control and to turn over any documents they believed were relevant to the grand jury's request. Bromery, the district's spokesman, said Friday he did not know how many teachers had turned in forms.
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