A former high-ranking Atlanta Public Schools official was ousted this week from a job in Connecticut after district leaders there learned she's accused of trying to cover up cheating.
Millicent Few, who once served as APS' chief of human resources, was brought in by well-known Superintendent Paul Vallas to serve as a consultant in Bridgeport (Conn.) Public Schools, a 20,000-student district. But the district severed ties with Few on Tuesday after she had two days on the job. Vallas said an Internet search revealed the extent of the allegations against Few.
"We're moving very fast to do what needs to be done in the district," Vallas, who is best known for leading public schools in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, said Thursday. "We don't need any unnecessary controversy."
This isn't the first time a former APS administrator has lost a job because of ties to the cheating scandal. Former Deputy Superintendent Kathy Augustine was fired in August as superintendent of a suburban Dallas district because of her alleged involvement in the case.
Few resigned from APS in July shortly after state investigators released a scathing report alleging cheating took place at 44 Atlanta schools and involved about 180 educators. Few, who joined APS in 1999, is accused of illegally ordering the destruction or alteration of documents and making false statements to investigators.
She could not be reached for comment, but previously denied to investigators that she tampered with documents or ordered anyone else to do so.
Vallas, who started the Bridgeport job last month, said Few came recommended by longtime human resources consultant Elizabeth Arons as someone who could come in for about a month while the district searched for permanent leadership. She was earning $500 a day, but was not being considered for the position, Vallas said.
"If people I respect recommend someone to do temporary work, I am trusting," he said. "In this case . . . I wasn’t aware of the accusations out there. I should have made myself aware. Next time, I’ll Google more."
Few is accused of destroying early, damning drafts of an outside lawyer's investigation of test-tampering at Atlanta's Deerwood Academy, according to the state investigation. Separately, Few ordered staff to destroy a case log of cheating-related internal investigations after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution requested it, the report said.
Few is one of about 200 Atlanta educators and staff being investigated by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, officials with the agency confirmed Thursday. Few has a “support personnel license” issued by the commission, which is typically given to non-educators who work in high-level administrative positions.
Few's certificate is valid through 2013, according to the commission. But if the commission finds Few is guilty of ethics violations, it could issue a range of sanctions from warning to revocation. A total of 16 Atlanta educators have been sanctioned as a result of the cheating investigation.
Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Keith Bromery said the district has no intention of filling the chief human resources officer position. The human resources department now reports to chief operations officer Larry Hoskins instead of directly to the superintendent.
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