The Atlanta Board of Education will face big tests in coming weeks and its quarrelsome members must come to see them for the final exams that they really are.
If the struggling board can’t coalesce around the imperative to govern better, then their failure should have consequences. By that we mean state officials shouldn’t hesitate to begin the new process that could result in removal of school board members if the district hasn’t regained accreditation by July 1.
That’s an extraordinary step, but a necessary one if rapid progress is not seen during the next month and a half. The governing body for Atlanta Public Schools needs to quickly get past the factional strife that has kept it from effectively addressing serious accusations of widespread cheating and other systemic failures of leadership.
This board, no matter who its members are, must flee past squabbles and begin to focus squarely on the future and the work required to get there from here. That requires moving beyond personality conflicts. It includes choosing well the next superintendent who can lead the district out of the current mess. Public trust in the city’s school system must be restored. The ongoing scandal of possible cheating on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests must be seen through to a clear, just conclusion. None of this can happen as things now stand.
More importantly, a battling board sets a poor example for the district’s 49,800 students who are supposedly being prepared for lives as productive citizens. Worse yet, the long-running focus on issues other than learning does nothing to improve the district’s academic performance.
Students and taxpayers deserve better. They can only get that if the current board straightens up fast — or is replaced in whole or in part. Whichever gets the job done.
Coming weeks will reveal which tactic is best for pupils, Atlantans and even the entire metro area, which will suffer economic harm if the district’s well-deserved and widely traveled poor reputation persists much longer.
The time for meaningful change is now, given that the Atlanta school board faces dates certain whereby major milestones must be met. The first is only about 45 days away. Thanks to a new state law, the board must regain full accreditation by July 1, or face a hearing process not long afterward that could end with board members being yanked from their posts by Gov. Nathan Deal.
This prospect has raised howls in some quarters that it disrespects the decisions made by voters who put the current board in office. That’s a matter for the courts, perhaps, to decide. That possibility shouldn’t lead the board and its supporters to discount the threat of removal in the belief that it won’t come to pass. Rather, the nine-member board should see Senate Bill 79 for what it is — a plainly written statement of frustration at the antics that have adversely impacted the work and progress of Atlanta Public Schools and the region of which it is a big part.
The board should consider the distant future to be a Sept. 30 deadline from accrediting agency SACS. That’s the cutoff date for there to be significant improvement on six governance areas. If that hasn’t happened, the district may lose accreditation.
That cannot happen.
The board’s progress report to SACS earlier this month notes the big six areas are all considered to be “in progress,” rather than “completed.” That’s better than the unacceptable rating of “have not addressed,” but not by much. Not for a board where one member not long ago accused another of making a vulgar gesture during a meeting.
At the end of last week, the school board was immersed in two daylong sessions with a mediator hired to help them work through issues. For the board’s sake, we hope the peacemaker performs well and that the board quickly absorbs and acts on needed lessons.
Otherwise, Gov. Deal should start lining up a diverse slate of replacements to serve until the next election.
Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board
Atlanta Forward: We look at major issues Atlanta must address in order to move forward as the economy recovers.
Look for the designation “Atlanta Forward,” which will identify these discussions.
