Education
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Georgia PTA in trouble

October 18, 2016 Atlanta: Civil Rights icon and former mayor Andrew Young, center, held a press conference with MLB legend Hank Aaron, and Georgia PTA President Lisa-Marie Haygood to encourage a “no” vote on the constitutional amendment to let the state take control of failing schools. The amendment failed in November. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM
October 18, 2016 Atlanta: Civil Rights icon and former mayor Andrew Young, center, held a press conference with MLB legend Hank Aaron, and Georgia PTA President Lisa-Marie Haygood to encourage a “no” vote on the constitutional amendment to let the state take control of failing schools. The amendment failed in November. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM
By Ty Tagami
April 3, 2017

Questions about the leadership of the Georgia PTA have triggered a crisis, with dissolution of the organization possible soon after the start of school in the fall.

The National PTA placed the state organization on probation last month, threatening to revoke its charter if leadership issues go unaddressed by Sept. 29.

The internal struggles in the state organization spilled out in public in February, when the group’s board ousted President Lisa-Marie Haygood, who played a high-profile role in the defeat of last year’s constitutional amendment for an Opportunity School District.

Since then, at least one regional PTA has rebelled against the state leadership, and member complaints have led to national PTA concerns about transparency, financial oversight and observation of bylaws. The national said in a letter that it has "ongoing concerns about damage being done to the PTA brand."

Read all about it at myAJC.com.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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