A last-ditch attempt to push Atlanta educators accused of cheating off the payroll has so far failed to convince many to resign, partly because they have little incentive to go.
That means taxpayers will be on the hook for what is shaping up to be a costly firing process. The district has spent $6.2 million paying the salaries of suspended educators, an expense that increases $600,000 a month. Legal fees have cost the district at least $700,000 and will likely climb as APS attorneys work to build cases against about 120 educators still on the payroll. Those fired may be entitled to employment hearings, which average $9,000 a person.
Last week, APS met with about 60 educators who face the most egregious allegations to put an offer on the table: Quit now and avoid receiving a “charge letter,” the first step in the firing process, and one that can stain an educator’s career. Five educators have taken the deal, according to APS.
Other employees are considering the offer, said a district spokesman. APS said expected it would take some employees time to make a decision. In the meantime, the district plans to issue charge letters on a case-by-case basis. Superintendent Erroll Davis said Friday the district will start with those who confessed, and other egregious cases.
"If in fact they have done these things, if in fact the conclusions are inevitable, I think the benefits of resigning would outweigh the benefits of staying on the payroll for a couple of months," he said.
But it is unclear is why accused educators would quit rather than challenge APS to prove the charges against them.
Educators have job protection rights, meaning they can only be fired for eight reasons and it’s up to the school district to prove their guilt. They can request a hearing to challenge the firing and can appeal the decision up to the state Supreme Court. Members of teacher advocacy groups like the Georgia Association of Educators have access to legal aid, which covers attorney fees during this process.
Most job applications ask educators whether they have resigned to avoid being fired. Once a charge letter is issued, the educator must answer "yes," said Ted Frankel, who represents at least four educators named in the report. But that same incentive doesn't really apply to teachers implicated in the APS case.
“There is some feeling that if they apply to other school systems, saying they resigned puts them in a better position than being terminated,” he said. “In this case, you have to be on another planet not to know what’s going on in Atlanta.”
Frankel said one of his clients, who confessed to cheating, decided to resign. He has criminal immunity and has fully cooperated with investigators. Teachers who have confessed may have a hard time defending themselves in an employment hearing, he said, since the APS case has garnered so much attention. In a normal scenario, a tribunal may take into account why the teacher cheated, and opt for a reduced punishment. In this case, APS will ask whether the teacher indeed confessed, and the hearing will essentially be over, Frankel said.
Other educators might want to avoid the stress and time of an employment hearing, which is similar to a trial. And others may believe they will get a lighter penalty for stepping down.
Sharese Shields, who represents about six educators named in the report, said APS last week told educators they would receive a lighter suspension from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission if they resigned. The commission monitors educator ethics and can sanction an educator's license. APS promised a license suspension of 20 to 40 days rather than one or two years, she said. Other attorneys confirmed their clients were given the same information.
Kelly Henson, executive secretary of the commission, said the agency is offering leniency for educators who fully cooperate, but "never discussed a resignation by itself falling under the definition of full cooperation." A spokesman for APS said Monday the district was not discussing the contents of the meetings publicly because they were personnel matters.
Shields said the school system is misleading educators.
"Because we have received this erroneous information, it raises a cloud of doubt and suspicion about anything the school system has told us," Shields said. "I don’t see any benefit, unless educators don’t want to go through the time and stress associated with a due process hearing."
After The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raised questions about the deal, one attorney said he received a call from APS saying they could not confirm the reduced penalty after all.
Since July, about 60 of 180 educators implicated in the state cheating investigation have chosen to resign or retire. The investigation found cheating at 44 schools, and said more than 80 educators confessed.
Unmatched Coverage
Our investigative reporters broke the story of cheating at Atlanta Public Schools. That coverage continues today as the district looks for closure.
The four outcomes for teachers
What could happen to the 120 educators implicated in the test cheating probe.
Criminal charges could be brought as result of investigations by the Fulton and DeKalb county district attorneys.
Firing by APS as result of its own investigation. Teachers can appeal such firings.
Decertification by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which is looking at cheating cases. A certificate is required to teach in the state of Georgia.
Cleared of wrongdoing and retained.
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