Dekalb County Public Schools, Georgia
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Website evaluation
The good
- The budget is posted online, with a detailed explanation.[1]
- School board meeting information and minutes of past meetings, both prior to and post-approval, are available.[2] Meeting agendas are also posted.[3]
- Elected officials are listed with individual contact information.[4]
- Contact information for the superintendent and assistant superintendents, along with other top administrative officials, is available.[5]
- Information on bidding and vendors is available, along with a list of current contracts.[6]
- Test scores for all major student academic assessment tests are available.[7] Academic assessments are also available by grade level.[8]
The bad
- Tax rate information is not available.
- The district has an office for audits and compliance[9] but has no audits posted online.
- No information for how to submit a public records request is provided.
- Background checks are not available.
Leadership
DeKalb County Public Schools are governed by a nine member Board of Education (seven district representatives and two at-large representatives) who are elected for four year terms.
School Board
| Member | District |
|---|---|
| Thomas E. Bowen | Chair (District 6) |
| H. Paul Womack | Vice Chair (District 4) |
| Nancy Jester | District 1 |
| Donald E. McChesney | District 2 |
| Sarah Copelin-Wood | District 3 |
| Jesse "Jay" Cunningham | District 5 |
| Donna Edler | District 7 |
| Dr. Pamela A. Speaks | District 8 |
| Dr. Eugene P. Walker | District 9 |
Teacher Contracts
The DeKalb County Public Schools human resources department provides a salary schedule for teachers in PDF format.[10]
Administrative Officials
Ramona Tyson is currently serving as interim superintendent, effective February 25, 2010. The school district board approved an 18-month contract, $76,000 raise, and $24,000 in expenses for Mrs. Tyson in December 2010.[11] At the same time, the board approved a minimum salary of $275,000 for a new superintendent, with a goal of hiring someone for the position by July 1, 2011. WABE 90.1FM reported on June 22, 2011, that the district's search for a new superintendent was not over, and that the board said the search could take a couple of more months.[12]
| Region | Assistant Superintendent[13] | Coordinator | Admin. Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Terry Segovis | Jose Boza | Margie Chandler |
| Region 2 | Angela Pringle | Annette Maclin | Sandy Pitz |
| Region 3 | Debra White | Marie Norman | Darla Gilstrap |
| Region 4 | Horace Dunson | Linda Neff | Lorraine Sanford |
| Region 5 | Ken Bradshaw | Pat Patterson | Pat Madry |
Unions
Collective bargaining is illegal since Georgia is a "right to work" state[14], so typical union activity is absent from DeKalb County Public Schools. Teachers are allowed to join professional organizations. In Georgia, those include:
- Professional Association of Georgia Educators
- Georgia Association of Educators
- Georgia Science Teachers Association
- English Teachers Association of Georgia
- Georgia Classical Association
- Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
- National Education Association
School Budget
The total general operations budget in FY2012 is $774.60 million. It represents a decrease of 0.01% over the current FY2011 general operations budget.[15] The special revenue fund expenditures, made up of budgeted state and federal grant expenditures, including Special Education and Title I funds, are planned to be $96.19 million for FY2012. This is lower than the amount for FY2011 due to the loss of American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA or federal stimulus) Funding. Enterprise fund expenditures are budgeted for $50.73 million for FY2012. This fund is comprised of athletics and school nutrition operations; school meal prices will increase in FY2012 due to the rising cost of food, the first such increase in two years.
In FY2012, $27 million in additions will be added to the original FY2011 budget. As part of the $27 million, the budget includes $7 million in improvements for:
- Funding the pre-kindergarten program for the full school year and absorbing the state funding reduction for pre-kindergarten classes.
- Hiring the school crossing guards being eliminated by the DeKalb County Government.
- Funding the cost of Advanced Placement exams and absorbing the state funding reduction for the exams.
- Purchasing the current rotation of band uniforms.
- Purchasing band and orchestra equipment.
- Hosting the AdvancED district-wide accreditation team.
- Funding the cost of employee fingerprinting.
- Procuring additional necessary parts and supplies for the bus transportation fleet.
- Increasing the budget to match actual legal expenditures.
According to the budget summary provided by the district[16], these additions come from the partial restoration of work calendar days to the General Operations budget in the form of salaries and benefits and other improvements. Specifically, the budget restores prior year work calendar reduction days with the exception of four work days for 10-month and 11-month employees and seven work days for 12-month employees.
The district does not anticipate a millage (property tax) rate increase for FY2012.
Academic performance
Academic performance in DeKalb County Schools is largely assessed using standardized test scores. The district's office for assessment and accountability keeps links to each of the major scoring systems used by the state.[17]
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on June 20, 2011, DeKalb County Public Schools failed to improve test scores on the Georgia High School Graduation Test, falling behind on math scores compared to other districts in the state.[18] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has also posted a complete database of results from the 2011 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), tests administered in Georgia to students in grades 3 through 8 in April and May. The results for DeKalb County Public Schools can be found here.
Reform
DeKalb County Public Schools gives information to parents on public school choice options available under Title I "Part A" of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965.[19] The district also offers paid public transportation for eligible residents who cannot afford transportation after taking advantage of public school choice options.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled the 16 charter schools operating in Georgia unconstitutional in May 2011.[20] DeKalb County had approximately 200 students attended Ivy Preparatory Academy. According to the Norcross Patch on June 6, 2011, officials were working on an intra-governmental agreement to allow those students to continue attending the school while a Georgia State Senate subcommittee addresses possible solutions.[21]
References
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ Meetings and Minutes
- ↑ Board Meetings
- ↑ Board of Education
- ↑ Superintendent Assistants
- ↑ Purchasing General Information
- ↑ Test Scores
- ↑ Assessment and Accountability
- ↑ Audits and Compliance
- ↑ Teacher Salary Schedule
- ↑ Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dec. 17, 2010 - "DeKalb OKs $76,000 raise for interim school chief, plus $24,000 for expenses"
- ↑ WABE, June 22, 2011, "Dekalb Superintendent Search Continues"
- ↑ Assistant Superintendents
- ↑ Education Commission of the States Report 2002
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ Assessment and Accountability
- ↑ AJC, June 20, 2011: "Maureen Downey: Is DeKalb radioactive?"
- ↑ Public School Choice
- ↑ Wall Street Journal Blog, May 17, 2011: "Georgia Supreme Court Deals Blow to Charter Schools"
- ↑ Norcross Patch, June 6, 2011: "Special Subcommittee to Study Short-Term Solution for Charter Schools"
External links
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