DeKalb superintendent takes temporary leave

Lewis, a DeKalb schools employee for 33 years, didn't attend the meeting or return phone calls.

The board's vote came after investigators with the DeKalb district attorney’s office spent 5-1/2 hours searching Lewis’ Stone Mountain home, seizing three computer hard drives and six boxes.

District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming would not say what investigators were looking for, but confirmed that prosecutors executed search warrants at Lewis’ home and three school buildings as part of the investigation into the district’s construction program.

“This is all part of an ongoing investigation which was started at the request of the school system’s administration. After reviewing the information we gathered today, we anticipate bringing this matter to an appropriate conclusion,” Fleming said in a statement.

The district attorney’s office has been investigating whether the school system’s then-chief operating officer, Patricia “Pat” Pope, broke the law by allegedly steering contracts to her architect husband and construction companies with whom she has connections.

According to search warrants obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, investigators were looking for Lewis' personal finance records, along with documents concerning him, Pope, Pope's husband and the couple's associates. Investigators also searched for records of gifts Lewis, Pope and school employees received from contractors, car purchases and information on seven school construction projects.

The investigators were looking for documents and computer files in connection with 10 different potential criminal charges, ranging from theft of federal funds and mail fraud, to bid-rigging and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, according to the search warrants.

A lawyer for Pope has denied the allegations. Pope since has been reassigned to special projects.

The board did not talk about the allegations publicly Thursday night, but spent four hours behind closed doors meeting with attorneys.

The board voted to appoint Ramona Tyson, the district’s deputy chief superintendent of business operations, as interim superintendent. The board also voted to pay Lewis' legal expense and allow him to maintain his $255,000 annual salary during his leave.

Bowen said Lewis is cooperating with investigators.

Board vice chair Zepora Roberts abstained from the vote, saying she didn't want Lewis -- who has led the district for five years -- to leave.

“Our superintendent has not done anything wrong,” she said. “I am in support of him and would like to see him come back to work tomorrow."

David Schutten, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators, praised Lewis' decision and said it would help improve morale. "It's probably the best thing for the school system," he said. "We want the school system to move forward."

Lewis himself is the one who sparked the criminal probe that has now turned on him. In November 2008, while being questioned by a district attorney’s investigator about his purchase of a county car and questionable gas purchases on his county credit card, Lewis revealed a slew of allegations about Pope. The superintendent reported discovering a trend that those close to Pope were profiting off school projects, and that Pope’s husband had worked on school construction projects against his direction.

“We’ve been cooperating with the Pope investigation. So it’s a bit alarming and surprising to have something of this nature going down,” Bowen said.

The AJC was the only news organization on the scene at 7:30 a.m. Thursday when district attorney’s investigators, police officers and a prosecutor descended on Lewis’ brick home.

A surprised Lewis, dressed in shirt and tie, opened the door and allowed the officers in.

Several neighbors came out to question officers, alarmed by the swarm of patrol cars filling the cul-de-sac in the Southland subdivision.

About 9:15 a.m., Lewis drove out of his garage and sped off in his school-issued black Ford Five Hundred, leaving officers alone to search.

Meanwhile, school employees arrived at the district’s headquarters on North Decatur Road to find several police cars in the parking lot. Investigators seized boxes of documents from two buildings at the central offices, along with the Sam Moss Service Center on Montreal Road in Tucker.

DeKalb police spokesman Jason Gagnon said the officers are not involved with the investigation and only providing “uniform presence” for the district attorney’s office.

In October, the district attorney’s office seized thousands of documents while searching Pope’s home and office. They also searched the homes and offices of Pope's husband, architect Anthony “Tony” Pope, and the couple's friend, construction company owner David Moody.

School officials insisted on Thursday there was no interruption to operations, despite a hand-written sign posted on the district headquarters’ front door that said offices were temporarily closed.

“It is important for our community and parents to know that teaching and learning have not been interrupted. Our students are in the classrooms and teachers are teaching,” district spokesman Dale Davis said in a statement.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredited DeKalb schools, said it also is monitoring the investigation. SACS President and Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Elgart said he has received several letters about concerns in the school system.

“We’re not going to take any action that would interfere with the state and local investigations,” Elgart told the AJC. “I hope the legal process will reveal to what extent and who is involved, and that the appropriate steps are taken to make repairs.”

Annette Davis Jackson drove from her Gwinnett home to Stone Mountain to watch the police search. Jackson, who said she left the district after her two children were taunted for speaking out against the administration, said she wanted to see a forensic audit and federal investigation into the school system’s finances.

“I don’t wish bad on anybody, but they don’t care about giving these children a quality education,” she said. “But this is a great day. Don’t stop with him. I wish the DA would go into every board member and top administrators’ house.”

Also on hand was Tasha Walker, whose daughter attends a DeKalb magnet school. She said she has seen years of fiscal mismanagement in the district and is happy to see action being taken.

“I'm a concerned citizen, a taxpayer and a parent. I'm here because I want accountability,” she said. “Nothing surprises me with DeKalb County.”

DeKalb school board Chairman Tom Bowen said he is concerned about Thursday's searches halting the district’s budget process. Superintendent Crawford Lewis was scheduled to outline a series of budget cuts to the board on Friday to help meet an anticipated $88 million deficit. Bowen canceled Friday’s board meeting, saying central office administrators could not complete that budget proposal because of the search at the district’s headquarters.