Atlanta Public Schools will pull $6 million from savings to pay the salaries and benefits of educators named in the state cheating investigation over the next six months.
Almost 200 teachers, principals and staff were implicated in what investigators called widespread cheating, where student answers were changed from wrong to right on state tests. Of those named, 126 are on administrative leave awaiting a due process hearing required by law. The remainder have resigned or retired.
Monday's meeting capped the first day of school at APS, as students returned to a district still figuring out how it will help students harmed in the cheating scandal, fully staff its teaching corps and improve its board operations enough so that an accrediting agency will take the district off probation.
Superintendent Erroll Davis asked the board Monday to use money from its flexible savings account to cover the salaries of those awaiting termination hearings. The withdrawal comes as the district is cutting money from other departments in order to spend an extra $25 million on instructional salaries.
“I think it is important to note to parents that their children are not paying a price for transgressions," Davis said. "This action will ensure that for next six months.”
Those named in the report could be penalized in any of three ways: criminal prosecution, termination and revocation of a teaching license, with the latter decided by the state Professional Standards Commission. The district is waiting for cues on criminal charges before proceeding with employment hearings.
The district’s chief financial officer Charles Burbridge said using the district savings for the one-time expense is a responsible decision, but he noted the board’s dwindling savings account.
The district has $43 million in its flexible savings account, a pool of money the district can use to cover expenses. The district spends about $55 million a month.
“Next year, we’ll be starting in a more impaired position,” Burbridge said.
Some parents and board members questioned the decision.
Dee Heath, who spoke on behalf of a principal she says was wrongly fingered in the report, believes the district should have let accused employees stay until further investigation.
“They are so quick to judge, and so quick to get rid of these people, I think they went about it the wrong way,” said Heath, whose daughter graduated this year from Terrell High School and is headed to Spelman College.
Board president Brenda Muhammad also voiced concern.
“As a taxpayer, I am concerned about individuals being paid to sit at home," she said, before asking if those educators who are being paid not to work could help the district in other ways.
Superintendent Davis said the district was looking at how to use those employees on leave. All are on call, but the district has to use them for tasks within their job description, he said. For example, a teacher can’t be assigned to janitorial duties.
Monday was the first day for Atlanta schools on a traditional schedule. Davis said the district still has 77 open positions, most in subjects like music, art and special education and at the high school level.
Over the summer, the district received 26,000 online job applications. So far, 176 new teachers have been hired, including 70 from Teach for America. Davis said 43 schools out of 92 have new or interim principals.
The district is filling positions by reallocating existing staff or by using substitute teachers. About 30 media specialists are being moved into classrooms, or being asked to instruct small groups of students.
How to identify students academically affected by cheating is another issue the district must deal with this school year. Davis said the district is exploring offering after-school tutoring but is still figuring out how the program would be structured and funded. More details are expected at next month's meeting.
"One the challenges is to find uses for [those on administrative leave]. But the bigger challenges is identifying students who have been harmed, finding remediation programs for them," Davis said.
In other board news, the board delayed action on a crucial policy change needed to salvage the district's accreditation. It involves the rules around how the board elects new leaders, and caused last year's leadership coup and the board's subsequent meltdown. Georgia's primary accrediting agency will send a review team to the district Sept. 26-27 to determine whether to restore full accreditation or continue any sanctions.
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