The Clayton County, Ga., school board remains dogged by criticism that it lacks the leadership to do its job, months after the 50,000-student Atlanta-area school system was put on probation.
At issue are the actions of some of the nine members of the school board, which the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools says has created a 鈥渃ircus atmosphere鈥� in the district.
The association placed the district on probation after an investigation by the accrediting agency last spring found that some board members had meddled in personnel issues and failed to follow policies.
If the district doesn鈥檛 make strides, it could lose its accreditation next June, which would mean that its students would no longer be eligible to receive Georgia鈥檚 HOPE Scholarships for college. Students also could face hurdles in admission to colleges and universities, because many require graduates of unaccredited schools to be tested in specific subjects or to pass Advanced Placement exams to assure the rigor of their high school classes.
Many parents and community members are outraged over board members鈥� behavior and argue that their conduct has tarnished the district鈥檚 reputation so badly that the board鈥檚 leaders should step down.
But school board members have refused to step aside, charging at times that they are being unfairly targeted because they are black. They have also questioned the authority of the accrediting agency.
Neither Nedra Ware, the chairwoman of the board, nor its vice chairwoman, Connie Kitchens, responded to requests for an interview. Both are veteran teachers in the neighboring Fulton County school system. None of the other board members would be interviewed, and district officials declined to discuss the situation.
鈥淭his matter has truly torn at our county in ways that no one could have imagined,鈥� said Tom McBrayer, one of several parents who formed the Clayton County Coalition for Quality Education. 鈥淎ll you have to do is drive around the county and look at the number of real estate signs.鈥�
Racial Tension
Race is never far from the surface when the school board is brought up.
Clayton County, located just south of Atlanta, has experienced significant demographic change over the past few decades, moving from a predominantly white district 20 years ago to one that is now 71 percent African-American and 11 percent white.
With the election a year ago of a fifth black board member, the Clayton County school board became the county鈥檚 first political body with a black majority.
In January, Ms. Ware and Ms. Kitchens were selected by its members to lead the board. Its first action was to fire the district鈥檚 white superintendent in a 13-minute meeting. Soon after, the board appointed an African-American woman who had lived in the district for only four days to fill a seat vacated by a white member who had resigned. The board currently has six black and three white members.
Some local residents say they are tired of what they see as divisive racial politics being played at the expense of children.
鈥淓verything is about race for them,鈥� said Michelle Jackson, a parent of two students in the Clayton County schools. 鈥淚鈥檓 black, and I鈥檓 so upset with our community because we vote for people just because they are black without knowing what they are really about.
鈥淲e have a dysfunctional school board, which creates dysfunctional schools,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care what color you are. If you鈥檙e incompetent, you鈥檙e incompetent.鈥�
Mark Elgart, who oversees the investigation for the accrediting agency, said board leaders鈥� assertions that race was a factor in the decision to put the district on probation were mistaken.
鈥淭he racial element that has been alleged is not accurate,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he bottom line is people must assume full responsibility for their roles, and that hasn鈥檛 happened.鈥�
鈥楽lim Progress鈥�
A follow-up visit last month by investigators from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools concluded that the board must make substantial progress before the probation can be lifted. The school board this month began drawing up a written plan for complying with improvement measures outlined by the accrediting body.
Mr. Elgart said the visit revealed 鈥渟lim progress,鈥� but noted signs of improvement, including a national search for a superintendent and board members鈥� participation in training from the Georgia School Boards Association.
The initial investigation, in May, was prompted when officials received complaints from employees that the board was micromanaging school operations.
Several staff members who were transferred by interim Superintendent William Chavis told a review team that Mr. Chavis had said he was instructed to make the moves by board members.
According to the report, the interim superintendent told investigators he was 鈥渏ust a figurehead for the board.鈥� The report concluded that the board鈥檚 leadership had fostered a 鈥渃ircus atmosphere鈥� in the district.
Daniel Colwell, the superintendent fired abruptly by the board in January, defiantly showed up for work to find locks on his office door. About 700 people turned out at a school board meeting to show their support for him a few days later.
Mr. Colwell, who sued the board, accepted a $232,000 settlement in January.
His firing helped set off an investigation of the school board by a Clayton County grand jury. The two-month examination resulted in a six-page report that found no illegal activity, but encouraged the board to take steps to regain public confidence.
The firing of Mr. Colwell was the 鈥渟park that lit the fire,鈥� according to Mr. McBrayer, who is white. 鈥淭here was a sense by the new chair and vice chair that they had infinite authority to act for the entire board and dictate actions within the school system.鈥�
The Clayton County Chamber of Commerce, the Clayton County Educators Association, the Metro Association of Classroom Educators, and the Clayton County Municipal Association鈥攁 group that represents the county鈥檚 six municipal mayors鈥攁re on record as calling for the board鈥檚 leaders to resign.
Sis Henry, the executive director of the Georgia School Boards Association, said that district board members have improved in working together as a group. But they鈥檝e been under pressure, she noted: At a two-day retreat in the spring arranged by the association, four television reporters and other journalists were a constant reminder of the fishbowl the board operates in now.
鈥淵ou have people who are well- intentioned and who are right now operating under a microscope,鈥� she said.
Gloria Adams, a former middle school principal who spent more than a decade in the Clayton County system, said the board controversy persuaded her to take an early retirement in June.
鈥淚 have never seen anything like this where I have worked,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven my students began asking me about the board. That鈥檚 a horrible thing for kids to have to worry about.鈥�
Elizabeth Armstrong, a community resident who is African-American and has confronted the board at meetings, believes some members care more about wielding control over a school system with a $300 million budget than in working as a group to improve education.
鈥淭here have been power struggles over who is going to run this and who is going to run that,鈥� Ms. Armstrong said. 鈥淓veryone has their hidden agenda.鈥�
But unlike some residents who have moved, Ms. Armstrong is sticking around. 鈥淲e are not going to leave,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to stay and fight.鈥�
