Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed for the first time Monday raised the possibility he might try to seek special power to appoint city school board members, as he seeks to speed reforms mandated by the city system's accrediting agency.
His comments, however, were met cautiously, and are fraught with political and legal implications.
“Full reform may not be able to be passed during this legislative session, but I do believe something can be done,” Reed said, adding that he would ask Gov. Nathan Deal to address the issue during a special reapportionment session in late summer. “If we continue to see the kinds of failures we are seeing now, he should consider adding this as a priority agenda item."
Reed said that he would ask for the temporary ability to appoint members to the school board, to help “break the logjam that exists around governance and a search for a new superintendent that is transparent.”
The board's nine members have often split votes 5-4, although that has eased some in the last several weeks. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Atlanta Public Schools on probation in mid-January.
Board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El said he was unaware of the details of Reed’s plans. He said the appointment of members “may serve an adult’s political agenda” but would not serve the long-term need of students.
“I invite the mayor in [to] join us,” El said. “We have some accomplishments we can be proud of. We’re making progress, and I have every confidence the board will do what it needs to do” to regain accreditation.
Reed did not say how many members he is seeking to appoint. The appointments would not require a citywide vote, and the remaining nine members would be elected as usual.
“I didn’t want this at all,” Reed said. “But in August, if we are where we are today, what do we do? I want laserlike focus and concrete results to reassure the public that we are on the right path.”
The seeds of Atlanta's problems were planted last year, in the wake of allegations of test cheating that continue to be investigated by state and federal officials. The cheating probe caused a rift on the board as well as a legal battle about board policies, causing SACS to first warn the board it risked its accreditation late last year.
Reed said he has not spoken with Deal yet, but has talked to members of the General Assembly to gauge support. He continued to hold his legislative cards close to his chest.
“It would be a misrepresentation to say they are on board," Reed said, "but they do agree that the problem is great and requires decisive action.”
It is not clear, however, if Reed’s request would pass legal -- and possibly even political -- muster.
“The Georgia constitution calls for locally elected school board members,” said Laura D. Reilly, spokeswoman for the Georgia School Boards Association. “It would be setting a precedent. The GSBA would be very concerned if any mayor in Georgia were to instead appoint school board members. Certainly, we would make these concerns known to Governor Deal, and we’re sure many of our members would make their concerns known as well.”
While current state law allows the governor to remove school board members if accreditation is at risk, Deal’s office has said that the law does not apply in this case because all of the Atlanta board members were in office before the law took effect.
Deal said in January that he would pursue legislative action against the Atlanta school board “only as a last resort.” In the interim, as the board worked to regain full accreditation for the city’s high schools, Deal appointed two people to act as liaisons to update him on the board’s progress.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said Monday the governor has not had a chance to talk with Reed.
“Obviously, the governor has taken steps to address the APS issue,” Robinson said, adding that Deal would not allow a scenario in which the system loses its accreditation. “The governor has said from the very beginning that he will do what is constitutionally within his power to help the children of Atlanta."
Former Gov. Sonny Perdue, at a GOP dinner Monday, said he believes that the system needs a transformation. “That having been said. When you begin appointing board members ... which I’m not aware is done anywhere in the state, I’m not sure that wouldn’t take a constitutional amendment,” he said.
On Monday, Reed said he has been disappointed in the lack of progress the school board has made since the system was placed on probation by SACS, but that impression is arguably inaccurate.
Although their work has been slow and, at times, messy, Atlanta board members have met for several hours every Monday since Jan. 18, when SACS blamed the board entirely when it placed the system on probation. It gave the board until Sept. 30 to make substantive progress on six mandates.
The board on March 1 hired an executive search firm to find a replacement for Superintendent Beverly Hall, who will step down June 30. A visit by the firm to collect public comments and insight is set for April 11-12, and a community survey is accessible on the system’s website.
Last week, members hired the University of Georgia's Fanning Institute to mediate their internal disputes. It also officially formed a 17-member community engagement committee to help with its interaction with the public.
The work, however, has not been without incident. Last week, an Atlanta parents group organized in the wake of the SACS probation said member Khaatim Sherrer El should step down in his role as board chairman and that new officers should be elected.
SACS is monitoring the board's actions, although it typically does not comment on ongoing work.
Staff writer Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this article.
About the Author
