Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Superintendent Lewis, Pat Pope and others indicted
From Fox 5 this evening
Crawford Lewis, three others face charges
Updated: Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 10:37 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 4:56 PM EDT
By: LEIGHA BAUGHAM | MyFOXATLANTA
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Former DeKalb County Schools superintendent Crawford Lewis was among four people indicted Wednesday on racketeering and theft charges after an investigation into school construction contracts.
District Attorney Gwen Keyes announced the indictment against Lewis and three others, including former schools chief operating officer Patricia Reid, her former husband Anthony Pope, and Cointa Moody, Reid’s former secretary. Keyes presented a 50-page long Powerpoint presentation summarizing the indictment, which was approximately 1,000 pages long.
The indictment lists approximately $2.3 million in fraudulently-received school funds, and possibly $80 million in illegal fraud as a part of the scheme allegedly conducted by the four. It’s not clear how long the alleged scheme when on before it was discovered.
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And earlier -
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- Channel 2 Action News has learned a DeKalb County grand jury has indicted 4 people, including former school Superintendant Crawford Lewis, on racketeering and other charges in connection with the district attorney's investigation into school construction contracts.
In addition to Lewis, the indicted named Pat Reid (formerly Pope), her ex-husband Tony Pope and Reid’s former secretary Cointa Moody. Reid was formerly DeKalb School's chief operating officer and oversaw the system’s massive school construction program.
Tony Pope, Reid's ex-husband, is an architect who has done work for the system.
The district attorney's office has called a 4:30 p.m. news conference.
A team of Channel 2 reporters is working this story right now and will provide more information as the story develops.
Stay tuned to Channel 2 Action News at 5 and refresh this story on wsbtv.com for more breaking developments.
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Here's a link to the AJC's report on the subject.
Former DeKalb schools' chief indicted
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DCSS Press Conference
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To download the entire indictment click this in-depth article at Atlanta Unfiltered.
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To download the Powerpoint Presentation the DA used for the press conference, click here and then click the link at the end of the article.
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Download the indictment here:
Crawford Lewis DeKalb RICO Indictment
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289 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 289 of 289"It is not necessarily blood or marriage related family members,
it is the Greek sorority and fraternity connections."
Sad but true. It's all about relationships and nothing about competence. That's why our school system is in such bad shape.
"I agree also that Don is prepared when he goes into the school board meetings. He has read the material unlike other school board members.
"
And did Don vote for a $15,000 raise for Crawford Lewis?
I guess that would be a yes.
Did he visit the schools like Cross Keys and Lakeside to see the environment that teachers are trying to teach in and students are trying to learn in?
I guess that would be a no.
I agree we need to be looking at qualifications.
I do think we need to re-think the possibility of school board members working for the school system when they are school board members.
In Kentucky, which is my home state there are some special laws regarding this. You cannot set on a school board if you have immediate family members in any administrative positions at all. The school board potential candidate also must post all members of the family who work for the school system before running and this is monitored.
I think it should be monitored. I think that getting family members jobs is a conflict of interest and unethical of a school board member.
Ella,
The State Legislature passed a bill last year that would prohibit someone from serving on the School Board if they had a family member who was employed in an administrative capacity in the district. The law is currently being challenged in the courts by sitting board members who would be prohibited from running again due to the law.
MG
Anonymous 7:43 - ""It is not necessarily blood or marriage related family members,
it is the Greek sorority and fraternity connections."
Sad but true. It's all about relationships and nothing about competence. That's why our school system is in such bad shape."
....and, unfortunately, church affiliation. How many of these folks are members of New Birth or any other megachurch...which has quite a bit of influence in Dekalb
Trust me, it's about blood relatives and in-laws too! Until something is done publicly by the BOE addressing the taxpayer concerns, NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE.
The top folks must go!
"....and, unfortunately, church affiliation. How many of these folks are members of New Birth or any other megachurch...which has quite a bit of influence in Dekalb"
Ah yes, sarcastically referred to as the "New Birth Mafia" at the school where I teach.
I thought that that law was re-looked at and revised this year.
It originally was a great idea but I think that they ammended it this year. I could be wrong. I remember seeing the ammended version during the session. I was sad. I do think more ethical issues need to be involved in this situation.
When I decided to get involved politically I moved to another school system as I did not want a conflict of interest. I do not think there should be any conflict of interest and this definitely is a conflict of interest if you have family who work directly for the school system. It definitely is a conflict of interest if they are getting jobs after the fact.
It is my understanding that the New Birth issue is a huge one in DeKalb. I think that New Birth has intervened on behalf of incompetent teachers facing dismissal.
Cere -- You'll be enlighted when you discover how many current and former BOE members (and other elected DeKalb officials) were at one time affiliated with New Birth Ministries.
A congregation of 20K+ voters who historically don't vote can carry an election. Praise the Lord -- or Rev. Eddie Long, to whom DCSS pays rent despite their abundance of empty facilities.
Amen!
When Arabia Mountain held its dedication ceremony, The Bishop was on the program. His Holiness arrived with his entourage of black suited attendants. After his driver pulled up in a black SUV with tinted windows, another passenger came around to open The Bishop's door, and - - - gasp! - - - there he was! The crowd practically tried to grab the hem of his garment as they parted to allow him to pass through. When he gave the invocation at the PUBLIC school ceremony, it was all "Jesus", etc. Dr. Lewis and Mrs. (thoughtIwas) Pope were on the stage with The Bishop, hallelujahing with the best of 'em. Constitutionally speaking, it was just wrong, y'all.
O.M.G. !!!!!
That can't be a surprise seeing how the "mandatory" back-to-school meeting for teachers was held at New Birth a few years ago. Teachers who refused to go to the church for their own political or religious beliefs were almost targeted following that debacle. Most of the county positions are held by people who only look out for those with whom they share a common connection whether it be family, Greek, or church. It's appalling.
Tom Bowen seems to think this issue of contracts is not that big of a deal:
"The board, according to Bowen, was not aware of any of it.
“We are a $1-billion institution. We are a major enterprise. What we’re talking about is a few contracts," Bowen said. "The expectation is when it comes to the board for approval, all those checks and balances have occurred.”
ajc.com:
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-board-this-is-536785.html
Has anyone ever told Tom what happens when you ASSUME?
What about the 100 Black Men of DeKalb. Do they pay for the space that they occupy at McNair High School? Do they use DCSS equipment or employees for their own use? Is this legal?
I'd love to know how this non-profit can use a public facility as a mailing address and office space while a neighborhood association can't use school property for a meeting unless they carry insurance policy. Does anyone know about this deal?
You google 1804 Bouldercrest and two things show up, 100 Black Men of DeKalb and McNair High School. Does DCSS personnel sort the mail? Do they use copiers or phones? What does DCSS make for rent?
"Most of the county positions are held by people who only look out for those with whom they share a common connection whether it be family, Greek, or church. It's appalling."
As I said it's all about relationships. It was that way before Johnny Brown came, and it proved too hard to break the habit. When Dr. Lewis came in, it became so much worse.
The district is scheduled this summer to head to court to pursue a $120-million civil suit it has filed against construction manager Heery International. Bowen was reluctant to say what impact Wednesday's indictments will have on that suit.
Pat Pope is the school system's main witness in this case. I would imagine that the champagne has been flowing at the Heery/Mitchell offices for two days.
How much have we spent on lawyers for this case so far? I've heard at least $14 million -- PLUS $3.6 million to another company for a "study" to determine how much to countersue for. I've never been able to figure out what budget these fees come from. Anyone know? Anyone want to file an Open Records Request?
What? Certified staff out of the schoolhouse received overtime? Our contracts say "minimum of 40 hours." Overtime was given to certified staff at the central office? And...many of them are able to secure specialist and/or doctorates while employed. We were told at the schoolhouse that overtime applied to classified staff only.
Sorority and Fraternity connections are all the way through the system. Many of them get their advanced degrees while on the job...supervisors look the other way because they did it too.
It is very evident that this School Board "Does not get IT!!!". Voters will have to educate them this Fall.
Tiffany Anders Davidson and her ex hubby Corey Davidson....got their swift positions in the county and AP jobs due to Dr. Anders, former DCSS Area Director.
I agree that church affliations and faternity and soriety sisters and brothers are just as strong.
Individuals should be hired due to qualifications.
Did anyone else hear Reid's attorney on Wednesday night as he was escorting her into jail? If I heard him correctly, he was saying that Reid didn't steal MORE than the projects were going to cost the taxpayers anyway...she just sent the money we were going to spend to her husband and her cronies. I think he was saying "no harm, no foul" -- the taxpayers haven't been harmed.
Very interesting defense strategy.
New Birth has deep political roots in this county and has for years. This is not new. Dr. Eddie Long has been an inspiration to many candidates in getting them elected in all political races. He is the minister of a very large church.
I think the magnitude of these indictments is being lost, partly because we know Lewis and Pope, and their actions are not that surprising.
But this is national news. Those friends and family members from out of state I've spoken to are flabbergasted. This just doesn't happen. Having a school superintendent and Chief Operating Officer to be indicted under the RICO act is unprecedented.
This school system has hit rock bottom. Our out to lunch BOE is playing the "we knew nothing about it" card, even though it's their job to know what is going on, especially with huge multi-million dollar school construction contracts. Both the BOE and the DCSS legal counsel have a lot of apologizing to do to DCSS students, parents, teachers, and county taxpayers.
I agree that the Board should apologize, and they should do so as they tender their resignations.
They should also ask all the employees they helped get jobs to resign.
New leadership must be able to start with a clean slate.
This speaks volumes to the role of the school board and I'm sure that our disaster in DeKalb County will be used in board trainings across the United States for years to come. Our school board failed in its role several ways: fiduciary, personnel, and--most importantly--ensuring the quality education of our children in safe environments.
We have school board members who are clearly out of their league. They can't keep up with the material with which they are presented. Enough is enough! If you're charged with overseeing a $1 billion enterprise, you'd better be doing your homework.
Folks, we're all going to have to help get rid of the incompetent board members. Be ready with your wallets and shoe leather. Yard signs, emails, keeping up with eduDeKalb, etc. This is too important!
My last child will graduate in 2011, but we ALL must work to return DeKalb County Schools to their former greatness. The fiscal health of the county depends on it and our children deserve nothing less than an excellent education.
This won't be easy at all. It's going to be increasingly hard to keep young families in the school system. And we're going to have to dedicate ourselves to the school houses--helping where we can, supporting the teachers and staff.
Although I hope those charged with these crimes get what they deserve, I am livid that this was allowed to happen and that teachers and students are going to bear the brunt of these selfish criminal acts.
Dunwoody Mom
This board has failed and failed repeatedly to even ask the simplest and most obvious questions.
Let's take something much more straight forward than construction contracts -- America's Choice, a program that DCSS had utilized previously and had to quit because of lack of funds. They allowed Dr. Lewis to once again purchase the program knowing that the funds (stimulus monies) would be gone in 2 years. If we wanted to continue it, there will be no more money.
I believe that in most districts we can find candidates that will indeed ask the hard questions. I think that this board is capable of more than they are doing, because to many of them have far to many pet projects and really aren't interested in what is good for students and teachers.
I am a parent and not a teacher, but am horrified at not only how teachers have been treated but how callously many on this board have spoken about them.
What is the answer?
First and foremost, we need a new interim Superintendent now. An outsider, who can start cleaning house, so that the next Superintendent will be successful.
Dunwoody Mom is correct. The only board members who have been on the board long-term and have continually rubber-stamped every move by Lewis are Zepora Roberts, Sarah-Copeland Wood, Jim Redovian and Jay Cunningham. These 4 are up for reelection in November - along with Gene Walker (who was only recently elected in a special election, and must run again this election.)
These five can be replaced. That leaves four on the board who have been riding this train wreck together for a while. Tom Bowen has done a good job leading the meetings and attempting to stay focused on education. With 5 new - smart, saavy - board members, maybe we can begin to turn a corner.
I have faith in the people of DeKalb - there are some wonderful possible candidates around the county. We need to find them and support them!
I completely agree with "that said"
This board allowed (signed off on?) the purchase of
America's Choice
eSIS
High Schools that work
School net
etc.
These products:
Don't work.
Take teacher time and effort away form the students.
Are not necessary.
AND, they all cost $.
Lots of $$!
BTW: It does not matter where the $ came from...Fed. state, local...it is all tax money and should not be wasted on slickly marketed money makers for private contractors/corporations.
I have to agree with Anon - a new interim would be a good start. Ms Tyson was good to pinch hit in an emergency - but truth be told - she has to return to her MIS department, therefore, she could possibly make decisions based on her tendency to protect certain turfs. We need an outsider who is not beholden to anyone -- someone who can take the system as is and move it into a lean, organized structure focused on the classroom - not the administration. Someone who can gain the trust of the teachers.
Many have posted messages about the sororities (AKAs and Deltas). It is obvious that since these are the Black sororities with the greatest numbers of members,that there would be more of them in the school system,however it is obvious that the AKAs (incompetent or not)are purposely keepimg the highest paid positions in DCSS within their sorority. Some are Frankie Callaway, Audria Berry, Vonzi Phillips, Stacey Stepney, Debra White, Felecia Mitchell,Kelli Wright, Jackie Mitchell, Pam Speaks(board member), and several others in $100,000+ positions.
Dunwoody Mom,
I AM a teacher and can't say that I've felt particularly supported by the board. Can you please provide concrete examples to back up your point?
Dun Mom, I think "That" was talking about the BOE being callous toward teachers.
You said, "The word games some people play on this board is rather irritating and takes away from a valid conversation." Sounds like you are referring to this blog (not the BOE).
“This is not normal business in DeKalb or any school system,” board chairman Tom Bowen said Thursday. “The DA will take the hindsight approach and look at the allegations. Our job will be to see if there were any policies that weren’t adequate. At this point, we don’t know that.”
What??? Mr. Bowen, seriously, we the public DO KNOW that your policies were not ADEQUATE!! Please be upfront and direct with the us. We are talking about tens of millions in school contract dollars, and you have the nerve to say that "we (the board) don't know" if your policies were ADEQUATE??!! Oh my!
"The board, according to Bowen, was not aware of any of it.
“We are a $1-billion institution. We are a major enterprise. What we’re talking about is a few contracts," Bowen said. "The expectation is when it comes to the board for approval, all those checks and balances have occurred.”
"A FEW CONTRACTS"???!!! What??!!
Not good enough, Mr. Bowen. The contracts in question add up to over $80 million dollars. $80 mil!! The Board of Education is a very important part of the checks and balances. However, there were no checks and balances in place. Once in a while a board member would ask Pope or Lewis a question about a red flag, take their answer at face value, and then the issue was over. Again, simply not good enough. This BOE argues for hours over miniscule matters, like Zepora making sure all the summer intern hiring goes through her only, while $80 mil in school contracts were questionably awarded???
Ouch.
"In addition to the violating the state bidding laws, Lewis is accused of charging a vacation to the Bahamas to his school credit card, along with a trip to Greensboro, Ga. In March 2008, Lewis and “a female subordinate” spent a night at the Ritz-Carlton on school money, but no school business was conducted, according to the indictment."
How does this happen? Who approves expenditures? A trip to the Bahamas paid by DCSS while there's a $100 mil deficit??? A hotel room at The Ritz Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, at $300 per night or more?? How come it took the DeKalb District Attorney to discover $40,000 worth of overtime by an employee to do errands? $40k is a teacher's salary! So without this investigation, we would have paid for Crawford Lewis' trips to the Bahamas and Ritz Carlton??
It is going to take a few years for the BOE and DCSS upper administration to re-gain any semblence of public trust.
Mr. Bowen and the rest of the Board of Education: We demand accountability, we demand that every penny of taxpayer funds is spent efficiently and effectively (no more junk like America's Choice), we demand internal controls, we demand checks and balances, and we demand them now.
I have been reading this blog for a long time and there are many questions asked -- some more than once -- that can be answered only by DCSS or the BOE, with confirming documentation. Occasionally, Cerebration will ask if someone wants to request an answer through the Freedom of Information Act or Open Records Act. Both are costly and time-consuming avenues to take.
Clearly, no one within DCSS is honest enough and/or courageous enough to step up and provide answers. What would it take to force DCSS to appoint a stakeholder ombudsman to monitor this blog and respond promptly, forthrightly and honestly to each question as it is asked?
Anon May 28, 2010 11:01 AM said
" I have faith in the people of DeKalb - there are some wonderful possible candidates around the county. We need to find them and support them!"
I would hope that you would be right. But let's be realistic. The people of the Districts of SCW, ZR, Dr Walker and Mr Wallace, have exactly the reps that they want. DCSS needs a new take no prisoners type super that is not intimidated by the BOE. The 4 BOE members mentioned above will not let that happen. "for the children" is a lame joke
Lord bless Crawford Lewis' wife, who stood next to him during the indictment court hearing. She's battling cancer, while he's off with female DCSS staff in the Bahamas and the Ritz Carlton in Greensboro, GA, putting his bills on his DCSS purchasing card.
No one deserves to go through cancer and what he's putting her through now.
ok,,,,
So is the name of this female DCSS employee known to anyone or available through court documents...and does she have any information as a material witness that will shed more light on the misgivings of the former super????
I known it all sounds sensational (think TMZ, E! news, National Enquirer) BUT .... if this person is still working for DCSS shouldn't she come under scrutiny as possibly being complicit or knowledgeable of the validity of at least one of the charges against Dr. Lewis???
Please DON'T dare to speculate if you have a GUESS.....but substantiate your information with a verifiable source. Thanks.
.
Ella, you have just lost any possibility of my vote with this last post if your assessment of Ms. Jackson is indicative of your ability to judge character. I was a fairly regular speaker before the board, and could watch Ms. Jackson's handling of her children as she paraded them about, and flung her venom through them. It was cute, at first, as we all stood as her daughter sang the national anthem. But I watched as her son told her that he didn't want to be there and she forced him to preform anyway. Another month he was whining that he didn't feel good, and was coughing badly--but she made him perform anyway. They never said anything that could possibly be their own ideas. In fact, they started stumbling over accusations that they could barely read and I don't think understood the meaning of.
It got to the point where we were all so sorry for those kids, yet the whole room watched her channel her hate through them. The day after the last time that they spoke--and I watched it yet again, I asked to be put on the speaker's list in order to address the topic of what would be an appropriate policy for children speaking at board meetings--and specifically Ms. Jackson's children.
Dr. Moseley called me to ask what I meant. What I told him was that I had been watching the Jacksons for a long time. What I was witnessing was bullying of children by an adult pure and simple. It makes no difference that that adult is their mother.
And the third group in any bullying are the bystanders that, by their inaction, signal to that bully that the victim and behavior are acceptable. I understood that school staff and the board may feel constrained by policy to watch those kids painfully attempt to please their mother as she forces them to so something they hate each month.
Child abuse trumps the speaker's policy. I am not a good bystander, and I intend to address the public abuse of those children as directly as I need to in order to stop it. Ms. Jackson can say anything she wants, and I don't care how uncomfortable it makes the board--they are all adults. But everyone in the room is supposedly there for the purpose of protecting and educating our children, and I am not constrained by policy to watch this.
Dr. Moseley thanked me, sincerely I think, for my opinion. I don't know what happened after that, but they were not on the next month's speaker's list--so I pulled my name off it as well.
Sorry for the confusion. I meant this SCHOOL BOARD, not this blog.
Teaching at a DCSS High School ... what a great blog moniker for someone like, say, .... Audria Berry to use if, say, Audria Berry wanted to come on and make her case ... anonymously, of course.
Proof? Well, I encourage one and all to do an Open Records Act Request on Audria Berry's personnel comings-and-goings. Find the date when Booty Call Crawford was off with his female subordinate and find out whether Audria Berry was moping around the County Office with her army of zombie instructional coaches (thank you to the person who came up with that one!).
imo...Tom Bowen and all other BOE members have FAILED to do their jobs. There is no excuse for this blatant disregard to reading & comprehension. Some line items were never challenged or if they were...Pope or Lewis would skate around the issue and try and distract the BOE with smoking mirrors. They knew a lot of this was wrong...the state even brought some issues to the BOE's attention that would have saved them millions.
This is the difference in doing your job and just riding out your job without fulfilling your responsibilities.
Stop making excuses for anyone...I am exhausted with everyone excusing one (1) or more of their favorite BOE member...they all are dumb and need to be excused from the table. These are our elected leaders...what does that say when we elect and re-elect imcompetence. The hard questions has been asked but the BOE have still failed to answer them.
"What did you know and when did you know it was a problem?" "Why did you agree to allow Pope/Reid to continue to do business as usual when you red flagged some key construction problems?"
"Why did you allow Lewis/Pope/Reid to pour tax dollars into a new mega-office complex instead of repairing all the schools for our students?"
"What is your role here at DCSS, are you self serving or are you a public servant...championing for our future?"
Earlier post said CLew's attorney, Mike Brown, was not a criminal lawyer but a labor one. Not true--his bio at Alston & Bird shows that he is a former Federal prosecutor and does white-collar criminal defense. There would be no need for Lewis to get another attorney, unless he wanted to pay less than $600/hour.
did anyone else notice that one of the p-card transactions was on the MArcus Turk card with a 3.5 million dollar limit....wth...while Lewis ared had a $200,000 limit.....did Turk report it stolen? Or was he a whistle-blower that aided the DA's office.....but the way he and Jamie Wilson are looking these days...I'd take a bet that he will be packing his boxes real soon....you see Mr Turk approved the paying of all these transactions...I do believe we had better call Gwinnett and ask for Wren and Cost back or will they be witnesses for the prosecution...I better hush now before Reid threatens me since she is out on bond.
In the AJC this morning,
From Chairman Bowen "Besides legal expenses, Bowen insisted that Lewis and Reid’s alleged actions have not financially hurt the district. Under Lewis’ termination agreement, the district was responsible for paying $100,000 of his legal fees, Bowen said.
This comment alone shows that the board is out of touch. This money could have paid for 3 to 4 people's salaries who were just laid off, the people who can directly help our students- media clerks, paras, and service center personnel who keep the schools repaired.
Bowen often speaks before he thinks in my opinion. There are so many laid off and wrongfully terminated personnel already with lawsuits against the county that thye won't be able to pay the legal fees for each case...it would be cheaper to pay them all off and give them back their jobs like they did for Harold Lewis.
Every law has a loop hole and this labor law in the state of Georgia has a huge one that Lewis and Pope just fell into.....So guess what to coin Oprah...you get a check and you get a check...etc....etc....infinity...The BOE & Ramsey blew it...they should have listened and reacted to the people who were talking and telling what they knew and there was proof and witnesses to back up the allegations...but guess who listened....you guessed it the DA. So I guess we will see how a $600 an hour attorney can keep someone out of jail...not gloating...just saying..and yes the lady he took on vacation will testify for the prosecution....it's called "Let's make a deal!"
Regardless of whether Tom Bowen is complicit by virtue of being on the BoE when this happened, it seems as if he is out of his depth now. He makes "dumb" statements implying that DCSS wasn't hurt and referring to "a few contracts" because he has no real preparation to deal with the media. I hope he does not really see it that way, because DCSS has been done a great deal of harm. They are all complicit because they just let stuff go with a weak answer at best.
(I don't bet anyone else on the BoE (except maybe Gene Walker)is prepared to deal with the media, and I'm pretty sure even he might say something incendiary...)
Any intelligent Board member should be wishing they had never run right now.
Annonymous, I do not have all the facts. However, I do believe in freedom of speech. I was not aware there was any abuse charges. I would not want to be the one pressing that issue. The mother appears to love those children dearly. I have meet the children and seen them recently at a school hearing and neither one of them appeared abused in anyway at all in my opinion.
I alway thought the children wanted to speak. It appeared the young lady really enjoyed her little speeches. However, I could be wrong.
I just remember how angry was at the school board and I remember seeing her at the raid of Dr. Lewis' house. I also saw her on TV last night when the governor signed into law the bullying law. Ms. Jackson was right there on TV for the signing.
I never thought of this as abusive in nature. In fact I felt the mother taught them to speak in front of people and it will probable benifit them down the line. I would doubt any judge would see this as abusive in nature. Of course this is just my opinion.
I just believe very much in freedom of speech for all citizens. Just because you may not like what you hear is not a reason for an individual not to speak. If you chose not to vote for me because I believe in freedom of speech for all individuals then that is entirely your right. I cannot change my convictions for fairness because you disagree with me. I admit I am not always right but I am covicted to make sure all individuals are treated fairly regardless of who you are.
Just posted on WSBTV.com
Metro Atlanta School Construction Costs
Posted: 3:50 pm EDT May 28, 2010
Updated: 5:57 pm EDT May 28, 2010
DeKalb County -- Tucker High School $222.00 (sq. ft.) (Opens Fall 2010)
DeKalb County -- Arabia Mt. High School $176.83 (sq. ft.) (opened 2009)
Cherokee County -- River Ridge High School $173.40 (sq. ft.) (opens 2010)
Henry County -- Locust Grove High School $157.73 (sq. ft.) (opened 2009)
Forsyth County -- Lambert High School $138.03 (sq. ft.) (opened 2009)
Fulton County -- Johns Creek High School $136.60 (sq. ft.) (August 2009)
Cobb County -- Allatoona High School $135.67 (sq. ft.) (opened 2006)
Gwinnett County -- Archer High School $115.00 (sq. ft.) (August 2009)
Fayette County -- Whitewater High School $94.82 (sq. ft.) (Opened 2005)
Average cost of 7 non-DeKalb County High Schools $135.78 (sq. ft.)
DeKalb County’s Arabia Mountain High School cost 30% more per square foot than the average cost of the non-DeKalb schools
Arabia Mountain High School cost 125% more than the least expensive school -- Whitewater H.S. of Fayette County
Metro school systems say construction costs have come down since the height of the building boom in 2004-2007
While many posters have stated it is about relationships in DCSS, I hve found that to be true in the job market inthe Atl Metro area as a whole. Those who have worked at Bellsouth have followed others to Coke, Home Depot, UPS & vice versa. It is all about who you know. The last company I worked for pretty much hired stepford
men-- all project managers attended one of three schools, were professed Christians, looked similiar, & if you were going I intern with them you better fit the mold. It seems to me that is how it works down here for the most part it's not what you know but who you know
The takeaway from the Jackson lesson is - the board (as far as I know) implemented a new rule that you could only put children in the school in which you work, if you are out of district. Then, they proceeded to only apply that rule to Ms Jackson. Now that - is bullying.
Well Ella, I will agree with Anon that the first time I saw the kids speaking I thought that was a smart move. After the third time it was old. I fould myself waiting for the kids to finish stumbling over their prepared speech that I missed the point Ms. Jackson was trying to get across. As it went on it became more annoying.
Now I do not agree with you taking it to DCSS (Mosley) with accusations of abuse and bullying. The school system, especially Crawford Lewis did not like Ms. Jackson. Your even putting that on the table gives them ideas or ammunition to make calls that could cause a lot of hurt and pain to those children.
I think that was a bit overboard and much on your part there.
I dont agree with forcing the kids to participate in the deeds(battles) of adults, but I can recall my kids whining about getting up on Saturday morning at 7:30 to go to the Hall for community mission. They were babies! They wanted to stay home and watch the Nick channel.
If I knocked on your door with my kids in tow whining they are tired, its hot, would you acuse me of abusing my kids? Would you call DFACS on me?
DCSS is really dirty.Crawford Lewis is snake in slime clothing. I cant believe you feed that thought to them.
Ella,
Was Crawford Lewis at Final Four Basketball games and Masters?
Did he pay for the tickets with his OWN money?
He may not get convicted but he should not be in charge of money anymore.
You're mixed up a bit, Anon. Ella was not the one who took a complaint of bullying to Moseley - that was "Anonymous"... Ella was just saying that she believed in freedom of speech and wasn't as bothered by the children speaking as the board's reaction to them by kicking them out of their schools (but not EVERYONE who has a kid in the system but lives in another district). That said, I think Ella found it interesting that Ms Jackson shows up in these videos of Dr Lewis' house being searched and him being served an indictment. How did Ms Jackson know this was all about to come down? She's like Carmon San Diego - she's everywhere there's news about Lewis... I agree - that's very interesting! Perhaps Lewis made the wrong lady very mad...
Ms. Jackson was also at all of the Task Force meetings concerning school closures. She was interviewed this evening about the incident in Gwinnett schools concerning the inappropriate lesson involving the KKK.
She certainly seems to have a lot of free time.
I understand that it is hard (has been hard) to get board information (packets) too far in advance of the meetings. Members would request them but they wouldn't be provided.... then there was Ms. Littlejohn screaming her head off and trying to be a diligent fiduciary and everyone just gave her grief over it and she never got her information.
But in the end - it appears that Ms Littlejohn was very much on the right trail...
If you are a teacher in DCSS, you can only take your child to the school you teach in. If you are outside the schoolhouse in a higher position, you can place your child wherever you want. They pick and choose which school they want their child to go to. That's one of the perks of being in a non-teaching position.
Anon 9:55 PM, BOE members are e-mailed all the reports and info. they need for meetings well in advance of the meeting.
@ Anonymous 11:06 pm
"Anon 9:55 PM, BOE members are e-mailed all the reports and info. they need for meetings well in advance of the meeting."
Then they have no excuse. They had the information. Either they didn't read it or they didn't understand what they read and should have asked for clarification or they understood it and just rubberstamped whatever Lewis proposed.
You all know what happenened. The Board members believed EVERYTHING that Crawford told them as if he was telling the gospel truth. Remember when he got his raise, they reminded us of how lucky the district was to have him. They knew he was going to be indicted, which is why they let him go. They did not want the Supt of DeKalb to be arrested while serving in that capacity.
A large amount of the information they had came from employees, this is a fact. Pat started treating people very bad and the lay-offs in June 2009 was about people that she had it in for. The sad thing was that several others had to go to make it look good. Lewis knew what she was doing because some employees inform him about it. It made him so mad that he became very defensive, he new that what they were saying was the truth. HIS WORDS I AM DAM TRIED OF YOU PEOPLE WRITING LETTERS AND CALLING BOARDS MEMBERS. THEN SHE GOT UP AND SAID THAT SHE DID NOT LIKE THE MANNERISM OF SOME PEOPLE AND SHE WOULD HAVE THEM GONE BEFORE JUNE 30, 2009.
Don't be fool by anything that he is saying, he knew and i beleave some of the boards members knew. Pat came in making changes and geting rid of people. If you did not dance to her tune you were gone beleave me i saw this. In my life time i can say she is the most cold hearted person i have ever seen. Let me just say this to others you all had to be pretty stupid not to see what she was doing because the employees saw it. They were very aware, She was arrogant and what ever she said was gospel. There were some people that lost there jobs because she just didn't like then, these people were not in the lay-offs. She had a staff that she brought in and they cater to her every need. I will say this she didn't look so strong on tv the other day and having to wear the same dress for almost three days. sleeping on a cart, commode in your face, bad food, no make-up. I also notice she had to remove all her diamonds from her ears. Pat you got just what you deserve and i can't wait to see you court, yes i intend to be there and many others. Conita you call yourself a child of god, please. You have been taking money from children. I don't know how tiffany didn't get caught because she was in on it also. I have seen her out doing things for pat. You should not have that job that you have because you are pat's girlfriend daughter i heard.
Ramsey you knew and you also are takeing money from the children.
Thia is for the person that brought every thing to light. Thank you so very much and the tax payers and children thank you
If you all recall, a long time ago, "Justice in DeKalb" brought many of these facts to light - here on the blog as well as to the board, Dr. Lewis, the DA, reporters, and several others. There is NO WAY in the world the board didn't have knowledge of these accusations as well as the potential for charges. In fact, the board met privately with the DA before they cut Lewis loose.
C'mon board - give your community some credit. I find it interesting that since they cut the entire PR department, and Tyson made a point of stating that she will not speak with the media - somehow, now all we are left with is Tom Bowen's words to the community - which are few, far between and carefully chosen.
I guess they blew through that $25,000 PR contract already just last week...
I think Pope/Reid did a much better job on SPLOST management than her predecessors did (hence the Heery Mitchell suit in the first place). I think one of the things that DCSS needs to delve into is how doing a good job went to what it went to. There are some theories: number one is greed and number two is lack of controls. When you put those two together it is critical that there be controls put in place (checks and balances) so that the loopholes can't be reached again. (I think that a woman does not get very far in the construction industry without being tough as nails and alienating folks. A guy does it and his reputation is looked upon differently than a woman -- I'm not excusing criminal conduct -- she's smart and she seems to have taken advantage of opportunities she was given and the taxpayers really lost because there were no checks and balances in place -- CFO? auditor? Board of Ed? -- to make sure it wasn't possible. Perhaps they are, therefore, complicit in it as well for their acts of omission if not actual commission). Let's fix things so it doesn't happen again.
Statement from Dave Moody
Updated: Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 7:27 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 26 May 2010, 7:20 PM EDT
"I appreciate the thoroughness of the District Attorney's investigation. DeKalb County is my home and I am looking forward to continuing to focus on my family and business, along with the civic and community activities that my wife and I enjoy. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further since this is now a pending matter in the courts." Dave Moody, President and CEO of C.D. Moody Construction Company
*Please note: Cointa Moody, assistant to Pat Pope, is not related to Dave Moody.
Anon 8:34 am
I agree with you to some extent, this SPLOST has gone much better than the previous ones, but not as great as Pope/Reid would have you believe. In some instances the workmanship has been shoddy and the materials have been low quality.
The Mountain Industrial Central Office property has much wrong with it and lots of waste (more than the shower and fireplaces.)
There are smarter folks than I who believe that Vincent and Pat Pope allegedly dreamed this scheme up from the very beginning. The timing of the Columbia project changes sure makes it seem that way.
Teachers, how do you think the renovations went in your schools?
@ Anonymous 8:34
Why would you say this SPLOST went better than the last ones? Ask DSA how their renovation went? It was a nightmare for the teachers and students with shoddy workmanship, unfinished toilets, and unhealthy air all year long. And wasn't Arabia Mountain supposed to open a full year before it was finally finished?
We had a thread in another post this year asking teachers to weigh in on the renovations and their opinions were overwhelmingly that the timeframes were not met (causing negative instructional impact), work was shoddy, and the needs of students in a classroom were ignored (e.g. poles were in the way of the students seeing the whiteboard or Activboard, teacher computer desks were in awkward positions, science lab sinks were too shallow, etc.).
Unfortunately, the employees who sit on the new school and renovation committees are not necessarily the ones the classrooms are designed for. DCSS needs more teacher input - as usual.
The vent hood in the new DHHS chem lab cannot be turned on, the alarms and PA for the new addition did not work for several months, the wooden bookshelves in the media center offices and storage room were replaced with metal ones half the height of the old ones, the work area in the back of the library that had a sink and storage shelves for school function materials (special tablecloths for Beta and NHS inductions, serving platters for receptions, etc.) was demolished and replaced with an office, one art room still does not have furniture and the construction went on all year (distracting to students) and is still going on (project was supposed to be done August of 2009).
Maybe now that everything is out and available, DCSS will stop hiring friends, cousins, greek members, and inlaws, children of DCSS elite. This is how we got into this mafia mess.
PAT's is only a formality. Jobs really donot exist on this job site for common people.So donot be fooled when the upcoming administrator positions are posted. Greeks are putting their people in position now. so common folks, donot apply, you will not be hired.
RE: A public charter school housed at and paying rent to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
We already know, I think, how stupid and gullible DCSS, the BOE and people like Frankie Callaway think we all are. The following just confirms it:
On July 1, 2009, HB 555 took effect. This bill, which was passed by both the Georgia House and the Georgia Senate in March 2009 and signed by the Governor in May 2009, enables charter schools to use school system surplus facilities rent-free. Further, it says that school systems must maintain charter school facilities in the same manner as they maintain their traditional school facilities.
Read passages from the bill below:
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/versions/hb555_HB_555_AP_7.htm
“Each local board of education shall make its unused facilities available to local charter schools. The terms of the use of such a facility by the charter school shall be subject to negotiation between the board and the local charter school and shall be memorialized as a separate agreement. A local charter school that is allowed to use such a facility under such an agreement shall not sell or dispose of any interest in such property without the written permission of the local board. A local charter school may not be charged a rental or leasing fee for the existing facility or for property normally used by the public school which became the local charter school. A local charter school that receives property from a local board may not sell or dispose of such property without the written permission of the local board."
“Local boards are required to renovate, repair, and maintain the school facilities of charter schools in the district to the same extent as other public schools in the district if the local board owns the charter school facility, unless otherwise agreed upon by the petitioner and the local board in the charter.”
HB 555
Passed by the House on 3/10/2009
Passed by the Senate on 3/26/2009 (that sorry Ronald Ramsey did not vote)
Signed by the Governor on 5/5/2009
Effective 7/1/2009
Great find Anon -- that's fascinating. I'm sure the Museum School and the International School would have loved it if the board had exercised this law for them. Heritage school, for example, could have been a good choice for a charter.
How can Frankie Calloway leave the DCSS in a quick hurry after it was disclose about a grade change.
Then resurface again as a pricipal over a new charter school. Well, well. Let us see if she is going to hire her children, sorority sisters, friends, inlaws and cosins. Time will tell. Just sit back and watch this.
woresDr. Shannon Williams was for children. Yvonne Butler was for her self. Children and staff members suffered under Yvonne Butler. Shannon has a PH.D earned. Butler has no degrees in health. Now ,explain, how Crawford Lewis could hire Yvonne Butler a Director over the program? Surely, Shannon was passed over. Butler has never written a grant in her life. If a grant is written, someone else will write
it for Butler.
As a former principal, how can you use taxpayers money to travel and make money on health using students.
How can you use school time to allow your personal makeup artists to apply makeup on you while school is in session and her aim was to be famous. View Butler on the Martha Stweart show where she is preparing chicken salad.Use Open Records and see how many days she missed during school promoting her personal cookbook.
Teachers were made to purchase her cookbooks even we're told during PTA, she had parents to purchase cookbooks. Is this legal, NO.
Then, she used the Arts Gala monies for her personal use. Cooking and baking pies, turkeys during school hours, how can one say, that Yvonne Butler was great for kids.
Now, if Carol Theford is called in for selling books during school hours, will we investigate Lonnie Edwards's niece, Yvonne Butler.
I bet she is going to smile and butter up the people working under her to get them to do her job. Shannon never would stoop that low!
Yvonne Butler has no credentials to be over the program. As a matter of fact, Yvonne Butler was never really a principal. Only on paper. Donot buy into her cookbook or the publications that were printed. This lady is a fluke and a fast talker that needs to be out of the DCSS. Or, in jail. If Carol loses her job, then, Butler should be in front of her. Compare Butler's degrees to Shannon. Butler's cookbook has recipes from other cookbooks, but no formal educational training. So, if writing a cookbookbook and spreading tales of her heatlth makes you an expert over foof, then i guess we all need to be promoted as a cook not a Director.
Would you want to work under a cooking channel host or a person with training from a college?
Let us see if Yvonne Butler will go down with the principal at Miller Grove. i bet not. Yvonne is not equipped to be over any program. But,we bet, others will do her job as so many have done for her to ge thus far.
Ronald Ramsey works fully for DCSS. He is told how to make decisions from Area Directors when they want to make their point across. He will not listen to the opposite side because he is out to make the Area Directors happy when they are trying to discipline employees. Everyone who had dealt with him has a very low opinion of him. He Really Needs to Go!
Have you ever wondered where Ronald Ramsey was when Lewis, Pope and others were wrapped up in their money scheme?
Probally somewhere trying to discipline a poor teacher or some other DCSS not high on the totem pole.
Hmmm. Interesting item sent to us. It seems Ms Butler was honored with one of those "Resolutions" at the state by Senators Miles of the 43rd, Tate of the 38th, Jones of the 10th and Reed of the 35th
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/pdf/sr834.pdf
In it, we learn that her company is called Ennovy, Inc.
I guess someone needs to ask the school system if they have any outside contracts with this company.
Ennovy, Inc.
1201 Panola Road
Ellenwood, GA, 30294
(770)322-3529
I'm so glad that light is finally being shed on long-time DCSS employees who have never put children first. For years Dr. Y. Butler has been about personal gain and recognition. It was a fact known by all who had to work with/under her. The well-being of students and teachers who were directly in contact with Dr. Butler was never a consideration. Those years of climbing the ladder regardless of whose fingers were stepped on are coming back to haunt her now. The frustrations of those who were affected are surfacing, as is evidenced by this blog.
You are so correct about Y.Butler. It is very interesting to know that others in DCSS have being watching how she abused her powers to gain personal priviledges on DCSS time. Just the other day, she was on the Tom Joyner show sharing false information and gloating about how CRCT test scores soared under her leadership. It is appalling that this lady is still trying to convince taxpayers about her health program. I would love to see her company-"Envoy" investigated. I would love for someone at the county level to go back and investigate how many days she missed as a former principal.All the times the school ran itself, she mandated that teachers purchase her cookbooks, she used the lunchroom on weekends to prepare her foods for her shows and etc. What principal would use school time to allow her makeup artist to come into her office to apply on makeup for her upcoming book reviews during instructional time on DCSS time.? This principal was vindictive to anyone who didnot buy into her personal health program. She used her smiling personality to charm people like Crawford lewis and Francis Edwards. Yes, it is time that someone investigate how she sold cookbooks during instructional time when she should have been assisting teachers and students.
During her first years, she used the Arts Gala to produce money that she claimed was used for school purchases. Poor teachers were forced to purchase twenty five dollar ads for the Arts Gala Booklet or more,if they didnot, she put them on her hit list and gave them nothing but grief until they left her school. In some cases, she made it difficult for some to get other jobs by giving unfavorable reports about the teachers to others in the system.She is very vindictative and is still using the DCSS to portray herself as the first sugar free school in the United States, not Georgia, but the United States of America. Now, if you believe that story, then surely if you buy into her story, then surely you would believe that Rome is located in the United States. Let us see if she is going to be investigated for selling cookbooks, using DCSS travel time, using the lunchroom on weekends to bake and cook for her shows, charging speaking fees when she was suppose to be at work for DCSS. Check open records if you need to.
FWIW, I have no idea where exactly this case is in the court docket but I found an article about a similar case online.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Former Perimeter College Student Life Director Pleads Guilty In P-Card Case
Patrice Wright, a former Student Life Director at the Clarkston campus of Perimeter College, pled guilty this morning in DeKalb Superior Court over her misuse of her state-issued purchasing card (P-card). Wright entered a guilty plea to ten counts of theft by taking, and she was sentenced by Judge Robert Castellani to ten years intensive probation and 160 hours of community service. In addition, restitution in the amount of $3,463 was ordered to be repaid to the state.
Part of Wright's duties at Perimeter required her to make certain work-related purchases, including the purchase of gift cards for use by the school. On January 22, 2007, Wright used her P-card to purchase four mall gift certificates with a face value of $500 each which she used to make payments on her car loan. On February 7, 2007, Wright purchased several gift cards with a face value of $340, one of which she appropriated for her own use to reserve a hotel room in Hawaii. In addition, the state investigation discovered that Wright had used her P-card to make personal purchases while on a trip to Disney in September 2006 and while on a trip to Las Vegas in over the New Years holiday in 2006-2007. The total amount of Wright's thefts totaled $3,463.25.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Laura Pfister, and the case was investigated jointly by the State Audit Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Ok - apparently, the trials (yes, as in more than one) will begin August 31.
Trial set for ex-DeKalb schools' chief
Former DeKalb County schools superintendent will be on trial at the end of August.
A DeKalb Superior Court judge granted Crawford Lewis’ request for a speedy trial, the district attorney told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Lewis and the district’s former chief operating officer Patricia Reid were indicted in May on charges of running a criminal enterprise at the school system. Reid’s former husband and her secretary were also charged.
The four are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 9. The trials will start Aug. 31, said deputy chief assistant district attorney John Melvin.
The four are charged with a total of 10 counts, including violating the racketeer influenced and corruption act, theft by a government employee, bribery and falsifying a public document.
Lewis' attorney, Mike Brown, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.
I look forward to the day when we simply get to forget all about this terrible saga and move on.
Butler was no crusader for children in DCSS. It was about time that DCSS moved her out of her former school. She did nothing to help children. As a matter of fact, she took from the children by never being at work. She broke the record for selling books during instructional time and used DCSS to bring in her personal make up artist to make up her face and eyelashes when this time should have been spent doing what she was paid to do. The Board should have moved Butler right out the door to continue her motivational speaking tours without any medical expertise on sugar.Butler will never be able to replace Shannon. First of all, everyone knows that she was an incompetent principal who (groupie) who used her fake smile to win people over. Butler was never at work I am told. Most of her time they say was spent touring and making money in other places with her motivational speeches about when she use to be this chubby little girl who weighed almost 200 pounds in elementary school. So what? That is just her personal story. Shannon actually had the degrees in health education and should have been the Director. DCSS only posted the job for Assistant Wellness Director. Butler was shooed in to the position using the Family and Friends Plan. Look at Principal Under Investigation and read all of the comments about her unethical behavior and honestly needs to be with Pat Pope and others for using students to benefit her wallet. Wouldn't you love to see her taxes to see what she is claiming.DCSS allowed this incompetent lady to head a program based on her motivational speaking tours and not degrees. I didnot know that Georgia had a certification test for motivational speaking. I hope the people working under Butler will read the blog and know that she knows nothing and will use them like she did with her former students. Oh, donot forget to view her on Martha Stewart/yvonne Butler/chicken salad. It is sad to hear her mispronunce words and lie to Tavis Smiley about how her program increased test scores. check her out on Tavis Smiley if you an stomach watching her.Hopefully, once her grant money runs out (Kaiser ) I think, maybe DCSS will let her leave and go on the television circuit lying about nutrition. Again, Butler was a crusader for herself.
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