Take Me To Post Comment Form At the hands of the Clayton County School District, the Georgia Department of Education recently claimed its most recent bout of "egg on the face". Clayton County has been granted the dubious honor of being the third district in the past forty years to lose accreditation; this a result of a failure to comply with the guidelines of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The loss represents the first for Georgia education and will make it difficult for students to get into some colleges and universities in addition to making it harder for them to obtain scholarships. As a result of the loss, the district will also forfeit pre-kindergarten funding and Clayton County school-sponsored professional development will no longer count toward teacher recertification. The district of over 50,000 students has already lost roughly 2,000 students to privatized education or out-of-district transfers which translates to a loss of funds; one that they will likely have to live with over the next three years.

The county has been in turmoil since November, 2007 when SACS launched an investigation into the school system’s accreditation (for the second time in five years) after receiving complaints from several board members. On February 15, SACS recommended that the accreditation be revoked unless a total of nine mandates were met by the district. This recommendation was upheld by the National Accreditation Council on March 15. Despite a July 15 report by the Clayton County Superintendent stating that the board had met all SACS mandates, the accrediting body pulled the certification effective September 1st.

In an overview of the system’s loss of accreditation, SACS officials said problems with the board were a factor. An audit produced that among other things school board members tried to intimidate school staff to get jobs for relatives and friends and unearthed a string of unethical behavior by board members. The audit found that board members went around the superintendent, violated board policies and found incomplete personnel records and "inconsistent and questionable hiring, promotion and compensation decisions." The questionable hires were administrators not teachers. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported in an August 2nd story that included in the allegations were the following:

1. Board member Rod Johnson's wife, teacher and state Rep. Celeste Johnson (D-Jonesboro) collected a paycheck from the district while she was at the Capitol, instead of taking leave. She later paid the district back $1,858. Johnson went around all board hiring policies “including the requirement for a background check and hired a bodyguard for interim superintendent Gloria Duncan. The bodyguard, Kenneth Alexander, later was fired after school officials found he had been arrested on charges he touched two female students inappropriately while working at a Clayton school.
2. Board member Lois Baines-Hunter went beyond the district's $2,500 annual travel budget last year. She spent $3,725, including $792 at the Renaissance hotel in Atlanta. She also spent $71 on one room service dinner at the hotel. State law says dinners should not exceed $20.
3. Board member Sandra Scott ordered the athletic staff at Morrow High School to clean locker rooms and weight rooms. She also publicly criticized former Morrow football coach Kennedy Holt, who was later terminated. They cited this as an example of micromanaging.
4. Board member Michelle Strong's husband, Jason Etheridge, was hired as a high school graduation coach before the board voted on his hiring, which is against state guidelines. The audit says Strong recused herself from the vote.
5. Former board member Norreese Haynes advocated for a company trying to run the district's alternative education program, which carried a contract of at least $10 million annually. He appeared at meetings that were closed to board members.
6. Former superintendent Barbara Pulliam's "houseguest," Tabatha Stephens, was hired as a part-time employee, but often was paid for overtime. She routinely was paid for times when she was not at the district. The board later paid her $3,838 after she threatened to sue for back overtime.
7. Haynes, who also served as the Metro Association of Classroom Educator's director, used his position as a board member to gain "unusual access to information." That information was turned over to his boss, union chairman John Trotter.
8. Randy Reece, former human resources chief for Cobb and Fulton County schools, interviewed 14 top employees who said board members pushed for the hiring of teachers, paraprofessionals, substitutes and coaches who were not qualified.

Employees also complained about board members changing employee termination recommendations to suspensions and creating unbudgeted positions. Trotter also pressured staff to hire teachers fired from other districts, Reece's audit found.

The Governor has since called for the removal of four Clayton County Board members. Accused Board Members have quickly fired back asserting that the decisions made to oust them were largely based on race. Board Attorney Rodney Moore argued before a state administrative judge that the only thing his clients are guilty of is being black. As the investigation into alleged wrongdoing continues, one thing appears to be final: Clayton County will be forced to apply for recertification.