Fulton Schools superintendent's successor will address finances, disparities

Loe announced last week that she will retire at the end of the school year for family reasons.

Her decision makes Fulton the fourth major metro system looking for a new leader. Atlanta Public Schools, DeKalb and Cobb County school districts also are in various stages of searching for superintendents.

One question Fulton’s next superintendent may face is being asked to implement a new organizational structure, if the school board votes to convert to a charter system. In addition, he or she will be under pressure to raise academic achievement countywide.

Fulton County parents are known for their high expectations for schools and a high level of involvement, particularly on the more affluent north side. An ongoing concern is whether students on the south side receive the same educational opportunities as students on the north.

“I think there are some differences,” said James Venison, a logistics specialist for Boeing, whose youngest daughter recently graduated from Westlake High. He joined the South Fulton Council PTA to rally parents to speak up about any disparities.

There is one problem a new Fulton superintendent probably won't face.  Linda Bryant, president of the Fulton School board, said Loe’s successor won’t have to deal with inexperienced school board members, as other metro area superintendents have.

“Our board has some long tenure,” Bryant said. “We have a great team in place and I think that will be one of our biggest selling points.”

Only one seat on the all-female school board turned over in last year's election, and the new board member is "not looking for a fight," Bryant said.

Before the new superintendent is slated to come on board in June, the school board anticipates settling the debate over whether the system of 92,000 students should ask to become the state’s largest charter school system.

The school board is receiving feedback from community forums held last fall, but it could decide in February whether to submit a petition for approval as a charter school system.

A new superintendent would then have to shepherd the county’s application through the state Department of Education and work out details of how the new system will be put in place.

Another advantage touted is the system's ability to offer more online classes - a potential money-saver.

The school system to cut 270 jobs before the  current school year, far fewer than first predicted.

The new superintendent is likely to have an even smaller budget, as all school systems are expected to see funding reductions that could collectively run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I’m not sure [the school board] would be willing to increase property taxes again,” said Robert Morales, the school system’s chief financial officer. “These are very interesting times, no doubt about it, and very challenging times.”

Fulton has a good track record for academic achievement, with 78.9 percent of its approximately 100 schools making adequate yearly progress goals for students last year. Of the 21 schools that did not, 15 are in south Fulton.

South Fulton parents say something must be done to give children in the low- to middle-income area the same academic experiences that north Fulton kids get.

“Nobody moves to south county to go to school,” said parent David Shaginaw, a RE/MAX Realtor who helped to organize a charter school. Shaginaw said families were leaving south Fulton when their kids were old enough for school because  "there was no decent shot at a public education.”

Many south Fulton parents have voiced serious concerns about the performance of neighborhood schools on state standardized tests and teacher quality.

Malissie Diop put her daughters in private school because she said the elementary school they were zoned for was unsatisfactory. There was no program focusing on rigor in math, science and technology in high school, as there is in the north.

“My girls were accelerated,” she said.

Diop said several teachers in south Fulton seem to be short-timers. “The teacher retention rate appears to be better on the north side,” she said. “They come [here] because they are in a program and they have to give back [to an at-risk community] to pay back their tuition. We are not here to teach teachers and have them leave.”

Venison, a former second vice president for the South Fulton Council PTA, however, said he is satisfied with his daughters' education. Both attended Love T. Nolan Elementary, Ronald E. McNair Middle and graduated from Westlake. His eldest, Alexandria, a 21-year-old biomedical engineering major, is in her fourth year at Georgia Tech. His youngest, Erika, 19, is a freshman at Jackson State studying social work.

“There are a lot of great schools in south Fulton County; the ones my daughters went to were good,” he said. “We had some good teachers. I don’t know if we were just lucky or we just worked at making sure our kids had what they needed to succeed … That’s not to say that every teacher we had was great, but overall I think the majority of the teachers we dealt with were dedicated professionals.”

School board president Bryant said the district is taking steps to counter the “perception of disparity,” such as focusing on individual school needs and academic achievements.

Venison said more should be done to level the playing field. “There are some differences [in] classes offered … and activities,” he said

, citing swimming and foreign languages in elementary schools.

“In my opinion, if you aggressively attack the issues, you get your voices heard. I think a lot of time on the south side, we just aren’t loud enough with our concerns.”