Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Looks like the bishop is in trouble
Shocking lawsuits have accused a top church leader of sexual misconduct. Two separate lawsuits were filed late Tuesday against Bishop Eddie Long, of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. . . .
Two lawsuits filed late Tuesday in DeKalb County accuse Bishop Long of inappropriate sexual relationships with two young men from his church.
Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg, both in their early 20's, claim in their lawsuits that, "Long utilized his spiritual authority to coerce certain young male members and employees of defendant New Birth into engaging in sexual acts and relationships."
The suit claims the congregation is likely unaware of the practices. But it also says church money was used to foster the relationships.
Robinson, in his suit contends Long used, "monetary funds from the accounts of defendant New Birth to entice the (young men) with cars, clothes, jewelry, and electronics.
Robinson, claimed his long time bishop, who cared for him as he was growing up in the church would use "the Holy Scripture to discuss and justify the intimate relationship."
New Birth is the location of the new 180 student DCSS Leadership Academy Charter school, which pays $122,000 annually to lease the space according to this letter from New Birth to Melvin Johnson, New Birth member, board member of LPA, board member of the private school inside New Birth and former DCSS administrator.
For more on the story, read this article at the AJC.
UPDATED REPORT - A third accuser has emerged --
And now a fourth...
Another update --
Now it's national news, with an article in USA today and a spot in Jimmy Fallon's monologue. And just dang is even Bill Maher didn't use this story to kick off his "New Rules" segment. If you can stand it, listen to B.J. Bernstein describe the sexual meetings in this CNN post.
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326 comments:
1 – 200 of 326 Newer› Newest»Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't BJ Bernstein also Pat Pope's attorney?
She is.
Wow. Just wow.
Isn't Jim Dickerson the New Birth PR person as well as DCSS's PR person? Wonder how he's going to spin this?
I wondered how long it would take for everything to come to light. I have often wondered about the connection between New Birth and DCSS...
My heart goes out to the New Birth congregation at this time.
Now is the time to reveal all so that ALL OF US can get about the business of running DeKalb County and DCSS honorably, responsibly and equitably. No more secrets or backroom dealing. Let us view these controversies as an opportunity to start anew!
Once again -- if you have solid information -- Go to the DA -- to investigor Nix is handling the DCSS suits.... tell him what you know... let's get it all out there so we can start clean..... I also encourage you to copy Sally Yates with everything you do as a "check" so that inside DeKalb politics can't bury things anymore.
Looks like Tony Pope doesn't think he did anything wrong:
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-school-corruption-suspects-618571.html
How do we know Sally Yates can be trusted?
Accusations are just that. Remember these are the two young men who were caught after breaking into Bishop's office and steeling. When is their trial? I am suprised that Bernstein took this case without researching the The Longfellow Scholars Program, and how these boys are mentored into manhood. I am sure she is totally unfamiliar with the culture of the church.
We need a forensic psychiatrist to look at the good Bishop and Crawford.
Did they hunt for deer (bucks and does) together? Were Crawford's trips to parts unknown just a cover?
Anyone have any good info on "close connections" or "relations" -- you never know if what you know might help -- by either of them -- should speak with the DA (Nix) and the US Attorney.
Just when you think we've reached bottom....
What else will come to light in Dekalb County?
Lewis,stealing money, bookgate thieves, nepostism, churchgate, sexgate, it just goes on and on.
It was just a matter of time that all of this corruption would be exposed. Makes you just want to holler!!!!!!
What Would Jesus Do, Reverend Bishop? Would he fight the good fight, the ethical fight, or the fight of the just or would he do what the King of Pop do?
The 2 young men will withdraw their suits as they reach a sealed settlement a la Michael Jackson.
The good bishop will claim vindication and will go on for many more years in the pulpit.
Maybe this was what Tyson referred to last week at ELPC when she said there was a lot more ugliness that would be coming up soon. Please don't let there be even more scandal that directly involves DCSS--at least these are indirect and overlapping connections, not accusations of more malfeasance within DCSS administratin.
This is why there is a separation of church and state. State affairs should not be a part of the church thereby not allowing DCSS to (excuse the pun) get in bed with New Birth. Even if Long is found innocent this image will haunt DCSS for years to come.
BTW...DCSS should have never hired anyone who was affiliated with New Birth as a PR rep...definite conflict of interest.
Where would his loyalities lie at the end of the day...the children of DeKalb or the almighty dollar from New Birth....just saying
Why was Jeff Dickerson hired? It seems he has been a lightning rod for bad PR.
^^^
That is a pretty astute observation. You are right: City of Atlanta schools, New Birth and DeKalb County Schools. What an outstanding list of clients.
The accusations may not be true, I guess time will tell.
Knowing BJ Bernstein..she only takes cases that she can win or her clients receive a settlement. If a settlement is reached this could destroy New Birth...the Charter school and DCSS...everyone woud infer that Long was guilty...something is wrong with the world when adults prey on the innocence of choldren...I am not saying Long is guilty but I have a problem with DCSS again withholding information.
This story made the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/us/22church.html?hpw
At least DCSS isn't mentioned. On second thought, maybe the light of some national publicity would do some good.
Is there such a thing as a spiritual leader or bishop of a criminal enterprise?
There is more to the sequel of this story. More than likely, names from the DCSS will probally surface as well.
Remember, when it rains, it pours. So donot be surprised!
The next Thriller will take place with Lewis and his crew. Names, Names, Names, will all come out.
Some of these people need to be cleansed with holy water inside and out.
Think there might be a power struggle behind all this between Beasley and Long for the position of religious power figure of DCSS?
Actually, DCSS doesn't have anything to do officially with New Birth. The charter school may have a problem, but because it is an independent charter school, it has to deal with it on its own.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/lawsuits-accuse-bishop-eddie-618573.html
Latest update from AJC
My favorite line:
"Bernstein said she has not contacted DeKalb law enforcement because of Long’s ties to DeKalb officials."
My favorite lines -
" . . . mentored into manhood. "
"I am sure she is totally unfamiliar with the culture of the church"
oh my. This is why I have become "passionately agnostic"...
anon @ 9:59 .....
Beasley has his own skeleton in the closet at Columbia High.
Skeleton? Closet? Pray tell!!!
Because I have 18 level 1 students out of 23 in my 3rd grade class.
A level 1 student is a student who is performing/testing BELOW grade level!! My job in their case is twofold....
Get them to stop doing math or English at the 2nd grade level and get them to be a 4th grade level in May!!
Let's hear it... or give it to Clay Nix at the DAs office. REALLY. It's time that anyone who knows anything for certain report it to the DA. Please - we need to move past this. We don't want a trial - we want to move on!
From the Bible, Book of Daniel, Chapter 2...
...He sets up Kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with him.
Let there be light in DeKalb County.
Ms. Tyson pull the academy out of New Birth now, please!
I knew it i knew it. This is just the start of things to come. Before this is over bishop and all that dekalb group will fall. God we need to clean house so we can get back to the education of our children. We must all pray for the children and the teachers.
Do you suppose Dr. Lewis and the Bishop were better friends than we ever suspected?
On another note - more corruption in DeKalb government (we are starting to make Chicago look like wimps)...
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25108322/detail.html
Angry taxpayers were already fed up with DeKalb County's $45,980 severance agreement for former communications director Sheila Edwards, who resigned July 30.
Now, Channel 2 Action News has obtained a memo, signed a month later, which authorized an extra $4,000 for a car allowance Edwards never received in 2009.
"This is gasoline on a fire, for the CEO to have policies like this, we need to cut this type of activity out," said taxpayer Viola Davis.
(I am a big Viola fan! Love that lady!)
wow watching CNN's AC360 and Eddie Long story is on......this story has grown wings and flying all over the nation tonight.....pray for the school system that they are not impacted by these allegations
My wife and I love Viola too! I sure wish she attended the BOE meetings, I'm sure she doesn't have the time.
We've talked to her many times, she is a great resource for county politics!
Anon 10:51
I totally agree and am very scared that things will get worse for our system in the upcoming weeks.
Ms. Tyson needs to pull that Academy out of New Birth before the media gets wind of it. Heck, even the ACLU might have an issue with the separation between church and state issues.
This is a nightmare for that congregation, we know several families there and we're praying for them tonight.
The folks we know there do not like the County politics that gets played out in the hallways there. They tell us that the congregation is a very powerful voting bloc. DCSS has seen that!
So tell them to go to a real church, not one that flies the pastor around in a private jet!
It's an independent Charter School - Ms. Tyson nor anyone at DCSS has any say-so here. Get real people.
Kind of explains Long's anti-gay stance - he was covering up.
Charter schools are under the county schools believe that...there is a governing body and we(DCSS)provide services to the schools....our taxpaying dollars....there is stae and federal money tied into those schools and they are a part of DCSS weather you believe it or not....this much i do know
Would we want our children in a school with adult workers who have these kind of allegations against them? I wouldn't. I feel the same way about the children who attend the Charter school being housed in the church.
If they are an independent charter school, why are we paying $10,000 a month in rent? That should come from the money that the charter school gets for each student-not DCSS funds.
can folks with friends at new birth please get directories for the past few years... we have lots of questions... we can figure out an anon. way to get them turned over.
Argh!!!! The school is paying that money in rent - not DCSS.
How can they afford that rent, with only receiving 3/4 of what is spent on a DCSS child with salaries, materials, and everything else needed to run a school?
If I recall the board approved an annual payment of 120+ thousand for rent and utilities with an additional stipend for food services.
Cere, am I right? I just remember our discussions several months ago about this. I do remember a 6 figure payment from DCSS.. That would be OUR tax dollars going to this church. They are providing a service to DCSS and should be paid. However, I question the tight ties with the BOE, DCSS leadership and New Birth. That's all! However, I am surprised that the ACLU has not had an opinion in this yet. I'm just saying....
wait i am confused. what does new birth have to do with DCSS? It is a church in Dekalb. Yes the charter school is there but it is not governed by new birth or DCSS. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Dick Williams, I am looking forward to The Georgia Gang this week to see to what extent you cover DCSS and New Birth. Hopefully, you will shed light instead of covering up the facts. You folks know what is going on. The wife and I are tired of seeing a bunch of folks backslapping and our future viewing of your program is dependant on a hard journalistic report on the DeKalb events of this week.
By the way, will Jeff Dickerson disclose his relationships with the various government and private entities associated with any DeKalb stories you report on? Is it time for Jeff to leave The Georgia Gang?
B. J. Bernstein is Pat Pope's attorney and I predict that she will win both cases. No Dekalb County jury is going to convict Pat Pope - at least one juror will be bought out and the case will, at best, end in a mistrial or outright acquittal. For Bishop Long, it will be long (no pun intended), ugly, complicated, media intensive, and drawn out. But as in the case of Pat Pope, no Dekalb County Jury will ever convict Bishop Long.
At the upcoming elections in November, I intend to vote against every incumbent at the local, state, and national levels. My message is one vote, but my vote is equal to any banker, member of the Dekalb County School Board, Dekalb County Commission, State Senator, or State Representative and it will be heard. I encourage you to do likewise!
Anon 12:00am. The Academy at New Birth is being funded with DCSS dollars. OUR Tax dollars. There is a Charter School there, but DCSS funnels the money to the school from local, state and federal funds which is OUR tax dollars.
Plus, the Bishop is very involved in the politics of the DCSS leadership. There are many employees that attend there, nothing wrong with that, however they do have a very powerful voting bloc there and they support their BOE candidates.
Cere, do you know of other ties between New Birth and DCSS? I know we have had several conversations about the tight relationships on this blog.
oh, great another corrupt closet case to mess things up! when oh when will the people of dekalb and the govt. of georgia cut the dcss funneling of $ into new birth and their "family"?
What is interesting is that a story that has NOTHING to do with DCSS is on this blog, allowing mindless speculation and misinformation to run rampant. If some are saying independent charters should not rent space from a church, then the International Community School and the Avondale Museum School are among those that need to find new locations.
Motivations will be questions and a credibility hit will be taken if this continues.
Has this blog become a gossip column now?
Yeah well my past principal at Riverdale High School is a New Birth member and she slept with at least one Female teacher in her office at school.
mindless? i have two gay male students who experienced harrassment/bullying yesterday between 1st and 2nd period - in two separate incidents; admins are trying to cover it up as usual; i have several gay young ladies who are taunted into fights constantly because of inaction of dcss -- and many of my students and their families are followers of "bishop" long, who has maintained an anti-gay 'healing' program and whose church get quite a bit of $ from dcss; i think this story has relation to what goes on in dcss.
Has this blog become a gossip column now?
Yea pretty much tragically..
more like a witch hunt.
While there may be some speculation about unrelated incidents, it is not gossip to discuss a factual AJC article backed up by the DA. It is also not gossip to understand that a charter school within the DCSS school system is housed in the church building where these incidents took place. I suspect those throwing accusations of gossip either work at or attend New Birth or work for someone who does. And the reason why the other two independent charter schools are not being mentioned is because the host building of those two schools is not in the news for having been the place where sexual criminal acts took place. If an independent charter school were at a secular location where an incident like this took place, there would be no question about needing to relocate the school and investigate on behalf of the school.
Well said, 7:52 AM. We're not making this up or speculating - this is actual news. The reason we shared it here is that New Birth really is very tangled up with DCSS. First, we have a new charter school housed at the church (for what was an agreed upon contract between the school and the church for $10,000/month in rent). The school only attracted about 180 students. The principal was announced not too long ago as the former DCSS admin insider, Frankie Callaway (who retired promptly after being accused of forcing a subordinate to change a student's grade). Additionally, our new PR contracted consultant is also the PR consultant for New Birth (he's busy!) and the accusers in the New Birth case have the same attorney as Pat Pope, which is just a simply coincidence, but I find it interesting.
So, it's relevant, IMO. People should know.
For more on the Callaway story, click here -
Did Frankie Callaway encourage cheating and then hurriedly retire?
The accusations against Bishop Long have NOTHING to do with DCSS. For anyone to claim otherwise borders on, if not reaches slander.
This blog has officially jumped the shark.
DCSS is paying $10,000 a month for the charter school to be housed in New Birth. If a child who attends the charter school is/was harmed in any way by Long, you can bet your bottom dollar that DCSS will be sued along with Long and the New Birth Church.
In my opinion, when DCSS is paying for a charter school to be housed in a building where allegations of this type have been made public, DCSS needs to do something to protect itself.
The taxpayers of DCSS already pay very high expenses for law suits, some warranted, and others questionable. Do we need to add to these possibilities?
I ask everyone, who doesn't think that DCSS has anything to do with this or worry about, do we take a wait and see approach, or do we put the children of that charter school that DCSS has okayed and pays for rent in a building where a possible sex offender works?
Hey Anon. 8:23,
The charges against Bishop Eddie has a lot to do with DCSS. A crime has been accused of happening on a property, by the properties leader, which houses a DCSS charter school. That property and organization collects OUR tax money to run that charter. As long as my tax money is going to a facility, where a crime has POSSIBLY been committed, then it has everything to do with me and the other DeKalb taxpayers.
This is the last thing that Ms. Tyson needs, as she tries to bring a school system mired in the mud, back onto the path. Where that path leads to is up to US! November 2nd is judgment day for the Board of Education and where WE want the path to the success at DCSS leads to. Folks, it's up to us! We must bring change to OUR community.
To those that believe this blog is a gossip column, you have a right not to click here, just like we have a right to express our Freedom of Speech.
The only thing that is wrong with New Birth and DCSS is that DCSS has several top administrators that are affiliated or members of New Birth Missionary Church.
DCSS just hired "Crisis Management" specialist Jeff Dickerson from New Birth as our PR Specialist for Crisis Management to the tune of $162,500 per year. For what? DCSS is a funnel of cash for New Birth and DCSS is spending $144,000 per year to rent space at NEW Birth for the charter school.
Gossip? Witch Hunt? I don't think so.
Why would the kids make FALSE accusations? Money from a settlement? Ridicule from the congregation, abandondment by the community?
International Community School and the Avondale Museum School have NO members currently working at DCSS. Nor does their congregation work for DCSS nor do they receive money from DCSS. Please respond if you have information that is contrary to this statement.
New Birth has a LARGE congregation and they USE it for their benefit. This is what a community is supposed to do. Help each other out.
The key is that they help each other without breaking half of the commandments that they believe in and are supposed to uphold!
Thou shall not steal.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's goods.
Thou shall not covet false gods.
Let's see where this goes.
So, it is the fault of DCSS that Long alledgedly had a sexual affair with 2 young boy?
You people are beyond crazy. It's no wonder this blog has become a joke.
Stick to reporting education issues - not salacious gossip that may or may not be true.
DCSS is not paying $10,000 a month rent.
Please stop with the ignorant statements.
No it is not DCSS's fault that this alleged incident has taken place. It is DCSS's responsibility to make sure that the children of DCSS when in school are in a safe place. It should protect the children in the charter school, as we are paying the rent to New Birth for this charter school to be housed in this church.
I would feel this way if these allegations were against a teacher, principal, maintenance worker, or anyone else that works so closely to children.
I see law suits in DCSS's future if we continue to pay rent to New Birth and the charter school is remains housed there.
AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, DCSS is not paying rent on this school.
To 8:39, those charter schools are housed in churches. The receive rent from the charter schools, partially from the funds that come from DCSS. Does that mean that DCSS is paying their rent? Using your logic, the answer is yes.
Also, are you saying that no member of either congregation where ICS and the Museum school are housed work for DCSS in any capacity? That is possible but I would think unlikely given that the school system is one of the largest employers in the county.
A few years ago, there was another prominent bishop in DeKalb that was charged with sexual allegations. I don't recall the school system being linked to that, especially when you consider that church had been used for graduations and the person making the allegations was a DCSS employee. Interesting how in this case an accusation has become factual without a trial being held.
If based on the information available the parents of the LPA students wish to remove their children, that is their right. At the same time, if they wish to stay, that is their right. DCSS has nothing to do with that.
Chapel Hill Harvester Church.
The information posted on this blog about Eddie Long is neither salacious nor slanderous.
Check the definitions:
Salacious is defined as "arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination."
Slander is defined as "oral communication of malicious, false or defamatory statements that are harmful to a person's reputation."
The discussion on this blog regarding Eddie Long centers around a news story, published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and presumably available via other news media outlets as well.
The discussion is relevant because a DCSS charter school is housed at New Birth. Eddie Long and New Birth are virtually interchangeable. Further, the charter school in question is a DCSS public school even though it is a start-up charter and not a conversion charter.
A critical difference between The Museum School and Frankie Calloway's charter school is that The Museum School was chartered by the Georgia State Charter Commission after it was turned down by DCSS for the most specious of reasons.
A start-up charter school receives per-pupil funding equal to the amount of per-pupil funding coming from the state. That is all, though the school system may choose to provide the full amount of per-pupil funding to all of its start-up charters. From that per-pupil funding -- plus funding raised independently -- the start-up charter is expected to pay all expenses, including rent. Charter schools are free public schools and may not charge tuition.
Frankly, I do not see how Calloway's school can meet its budget with only 180 students. If DCSS is, in fact, paying the rent for Calloway's school -- in addition to the per-pupil funding the school receives -- especially when there are vacant school buildings available in DCSS, then other start-up charters in DCSS are probably due the same.
BJ Bernstein just stated on V-103 that a politician (a member of New Birth) on behalf of the church has reached out to one of the young men to block the forthcoming lawsuit before it was going to be made public...wonder who that is...this is getting kind of messy...let's pray that this doesn not affect DCSS anymore than it already has....not passing judgement just listening to the words of Attorney Bernstein who turned the records over to the FBI for a thorough investigation.
Either theses young men are telling the truth, half truth or a lie this will impact the way WE as a nation view all leaders, especially out local leaders.
I would suggest that the whole line of comments regarding Mr Long be deleted from this blog.
Too much distraction from the REAL problems that the Board and Superintendent are causing to the DeKalb School System.
Leadership Prep which is housed at New Birth is a charter school listed on the DCSS website, so yes, tax payers like myself should be having concerns, as we do not know how far this could go and could take DCSS down with it.
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/about/schoolchoice/charter.html
DCSS is not responsible for any legal issues involving New Birth. That is spelled out in the Charter agreements:
https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=1262&AID=221865&MID=13427
https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=1262&AID=221863&MID=13427
https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=1262&AID=221864&MID=13427
You all realize that if this situation happened with a Roman Catholic priest, rather than a "New Birth" self-appointed "bishop", he would have been tried and convicted in the media and in public opinion on this or lesser charges.
Shoe never feels good on the other foot. The fact that people are calling for restraint while the legal process continues, even to the point of censoring the blog, points to a big double standard when it comes to different denominations in public life.
If DCSS had practiced "separation of church and state" this would not be an issue. Unfortunatly, there are too many connections between the system and Eddie Long's operation.
DCSS has nothing to do with where the school is located - please get that through your heads.
The State Charter School Commission also approved this Charter. Did any of you check to see if their members are on the rolls at New Birth?
You people friggin' unbelievable - trying to pull DCSS into an alledged sexual misconduct issue.
i would love nothing more than to believe that this has no relevance for DCSS. Unfortunately, too many people at DCSS are tangled up with the church and the minister.
^^If you have proof, provide it. If not, knock off the gossip.
Can we all agree to ignore the one or more people who are obviously linked to Long and New Birth and just discuss amongst ourselves here?
My thoughts are that 1) if these allegations are true, the school needs to be moved and 2) DCSS central office and BOE needs to be completely cleaned out because of long-standing associations like this. There aren't enough competent PR people out there needing a contract job that we can't avoid a New Birth connection?
This administration is like a house infested with roaches. You kill one, and there are hundreds more waiting to come out.
what gossip? I like so many others on this blog have not read any gossip nor has any been documented on this page.
As I recall this is only an expression of concern for DCSS taxpayers and the students of DCSS.
Not one person on this site has stated that New Birth or Eddie Long is guilty of any infractions. So please get off the blog if it offends you or any other persons out here in cyberspace.
Now until someone from DCSS PR Dept or Ramona Tyson comes forward and assure the citizens of DeKalb that DCSS will not be affected by any of this...people will continue to speculate...not on guilt or innocence but merely on;
Where DCSS stands with all of this mess...especially with the lead Attorney (Bernstein) of the lawsuit is representing a former DCSS employee being accused of racketeering...
Just a lot to wade through without making any assumptions. IF and I do mean IF anyone has concrete proof that DCSS isn't paying one dime to the charter schools please post it here so that we can clear that up.
But last I checked any documentation that was sent home to students from DCSS included those charter students as well...but maybe I am clueless.
Hey Be True to Your School, because of this particular blog topic, questions have been raised about Dr. Lewis and Dr. Beasley. By your own definition, have they been slandered?
Your post was worded very carefully, like a lawyer. You probably know that LPA is not receiving anything over and above what other charters are receiving as it is public information. The other charter schools are housed in churches and by your explanation, receiving money from DCSS for rent. If LPA does not have the finances to continue, like any organization in our free market society, it will close.
Attempts to link this story to DCSS have no merit. People are jumping the shark.....
The board recently had a discussion as to how they were going to address the state's mandate that they make vacant buildings available for charter schools to use. Zepora and Sarah seem to think this is tantamount to "giving away" our school buildings - but it is not - DCSS would still own the buildings (just the same as New Birth owns the building space leased by the Leadership Academy).
Maybe if DCSS would have provided space for this charter to exist, they wouldn't have to have leased church space whatsoever. Our original concern with this arrangement was the fact that New Birth also houses it's own private Christian school. The state is very clear about the mixing of public funds into private schools - no can do. We had our eye on this just to make sure they didn't use public money for dual/shared programs with their private school (that would have gone to our DCSS home schools had this charter not been formed and peeled off our students).
The State Charter Board approved this petition...Where is your questions for them?
You are clueless. There was no information sent home by DCSS for this school. LPA has their own application and admissions process.
Leadership Prep is listed along with all of the other DCSS charter school options on the webpage -
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/about/schoolchoice/charter.html
Charter schools are nothing like private schools. These are public schools and still have to adhere to a lot of government regulations, just not as many as the regular public system - for example -
Required Statements in Appendices Please state in the main text of your petition:
• The charter school agrees to unannounced visits and announced instructional audits
conducted by the DeKalb School District’s Instructional Audit Team as needed and as
determined by the Charter School Office.
• The charter petitioner agrees to submit monthly financial statements to the Charter
School Office.
• The charter schools will observe a brief period of quiet reflection in compliance with
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1050.
• The Charter School is subject to all laws relating to unlawful conduct in or near a public
school.
Guidelines for Start-Up Charter School Petitions
We've posted on this topic many times before - the charter schools are pretty confusing...
the lawsuits have been posted on myfoxatlanta.com if anyone is interested in reading them.
http://media2.myfoxatlanta.com/PDF/ROBINSONDraftComplaint.pdf
http://media2.myfoxatlanta.com/PDF/FLAGGDraftComplaint.pdf
Look at the School Choice Brochures that areon the website - none of them list LPA or the other startup charter schools.
DCSS leadership needs to come out ASAP and say they have no affiation, whatsoever, with Long or his church. We can speculate and argue all day long about whether this story is relevant for DCSS, but the fact is that our school system is in big trouble and is also suffering from a huge image/PR problem. Any relationship with Long, perceived or real, just fuels more bad press, bad morale, and distraction from the education of our kids. Read about Long - he is homophobic and anti-gay. DCSS must make it clear that leadership is not associated with this guy in any way, shape or from.
BTW - is Ms. Tyson a member of New Birth?
Does the GA Department of Education need to come out and say they have no affiliation with Long or his church as well? It was the GADOE that gave final approval to allow this school.
I am going to laugh when this all proves to be false if the case.
the accusers dont have a lot going for them and they arent exactly the prime example of a good citizen
@ Anonymous 10:14 AM and 10:39 AM
The State Charter School Commission did NOT approve LPA -- Frankie Callaway's School. LPA went through the regular application process for charter schools. It was approved by the DCSS BOE and then went to the state BOE for approval where it was approved.
The State Charter School Commission is a state-level, independent charter school authorizing entity. It is essentially a place where charter school applicants may appeal a denial by their local education agency (LEA) -- i.e., DCSS. It was created by the Georgia General Assembly because of so many frivolous denials by LEAs who felt threatened by the possibility that a charter school could do something they (LEAs) were failing at: educating students.
Below is a list of the charter schools who were denied by their LEAs, but approved as independent charters (a really gutsy move!)by the State Charter School Commission. These schools are known as "commission charters."
Charter School Commission Approved Schools
(1)Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts and Tech
(2)Fulton Leadership Academy
(3)Heron Bay Academy
(4)Ivy Preparatory Academy Charter School
(5)Pataula Charter Academy
(6)Peachtree Hope Charter
(7)The Museum School of Avondale Estates
Truthiness -- "the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts" -- will bite you every time! Stop spreading untruths and do some fact-checking before you post again.
None of us want DCSS to get wrapped up into the fiasco. We are fearful that in some way DCSS will and we do not want this for our already tarnished school system.
Having a charter school that was approved by DCSS housed in New Birth is disconcerting to us, as we know how litigious our society is. We also know how DCSS is about lawsuits.
We have every right to be concerned. I hope that Tyson is looking into this matter right now. Maybe this will be a transparent time. Then again, maybe not.
What are you babbling about again "Be True"?? LPA was approved by DCSS and the GA BOE. That is the normal route taken for Charter approvals.
Doesn't help that the picture the AJC is running with the Long story today is labeled -
"Bishop Eddie Long addresses students of Southwest Dekalb High School in 1997."
11:18.....sigh...really....let's not go there here by mocking the accusers...BJ is not an ambulance chasing attorney...let's see what happens...the truth whatever it is will come out....BTW how did Maurice Robison know that all that expensive jewelry and electronics were in Long's study. Did other members, children or staff know?These questions are beginning to raise the most questions...we won't begin to ask why does the church have diamonds, etc...again not blaming or accusing just raising some questions...the questions that members of the church should also be asking.....
Did you read the documents I posted? DCSS is not liable for any "shenanigans" that goes on at LPA.
LPA is not even involved in the legal troubles at New Birth.
Geez, you people need a life and this post needs to be deleted, or this blog will lose what little reputation it still has left.
@11:29
The problem with Charter Schools and why it's so confusing is that there are 3 types of Charter schools in GA. It's confusing, so I simplified what Be True was explaining to you.
1. A conversion Charter School-when an existing school becomes a charter school. They must follow both the school rules and what their charter states.
2. Charters that the School Districts Approve-These are the charters that are located on the DCSS web site. DCSS has said that these charters are good to go. (Leadership Academy)
3. Charters that are approved by the state-These charters went to the school district, were denied, and approved by a state commission. These schools are truly independent. (Museum School)
completely aside from the charter issue -
DCSS and its leadership has had a strong and public relationship with Long.
Long is known for his anti-gay messages (read CNN).
Now, Long is in the news, for even worse acts.
DCSS MUST make it clear, to the public and its students, that is has no relationship with this guy, period.
I love this Anon. person who continues to claim DCSS has nothing to do with New Birth.
How many posters have to explain to this person DCSS is paying New Birth for rent?
I am looking for the minutes to the BOE meeting when they approved this expenditure. I think it was the meeting that happened on the first day of school or a couple of weeks prior to that.
As soon as I find it I will link so that person can crawl back into his pew at New Birth. My wife and I are praying for the congregation, we know several there and they are very worried.
You can try to trash the guys that are making the accusations as thugs etc... However, I can't believe they would file a lawsuit like this unless they had irrefutable evidence.
I for one want DCSS to be on the proactive side on this one. We cannot let something like this effect our school system, we have enough problems already!
DCSS looks involved when pictures of Long that are being shown are taken at DCSS.
It's sad to see what this blog has become. When it started it was truly dedicated to trying to make elected officals accountable and making education better for our students.
Now, it has become a National Enquier. From posting Sandy Spruill's invective full of lies to posting alledged sexual escapades....How far this has fallen.
Sonny Perdue had his picture taken at a DCSS school last year. Should that be suspect?
Unfortunately, there are people so filled with hate for DCSS, that they will take any little thing and pull DCSS into it.
Anon. 11:44.. Suspect of what? I don't think Sonny Perdue is a pastor of a church, which houses a school that is supported by DCSS and has been accused of sexual misconduct.
So I ask again, suspect of what?
This poster must be a Jeff Dickerson employee. I love how he continues to state how we are not telling the truth and reporting rumors.
If DCSS has their check register online, like many school systems around the country I would be able to find the payment from DCSS to New Birth. However, I am mired in a data base that is impossible to search through. I was able to find out that the lunch program at Leadership Academy is being furnished by DCSS. I am also sure DCSS is paying funds to New Birth for use of the facility by the Charter School, Leadership Academy.
I will continue to search so we can ignore this poster who seems not to like this blog but continues to visit it. if you don't like it LEAVE! I for one find it very informative since DCSS likes to make it impossible for the stakeholders to find any information about the spending of OUR tax dollars!
If you have proof that DCSS has nothing to do with New Birth then show it to me.
LPA is paying DCSS for those services - please get our facts straight.
You're such a bully - why don't you prove DCSS has a connection to New Birth.
This blog keeps stats. The stats tell us that we have some very new visitors to the blog who have been commenting quite a bit (one in particular made 43 entries - another is from Brooklyn.) I don't know who these people are, I just know their service provider, IP address and city. (A judge would have to demand that the provider release the account owner's name.)
Coincidentally, these comments have spiked the most in the last 2 days, and overall since DCSS hired their new "crisis" manager, Mr. Dickerson, who also happens to be the PR manager for New Birth. In fact, since Mr Dickerson has been hired, the board members have gone on public attack of this blog. That's encouraging to me -as it shows that we really must be hitting a nerve. Keep up the good work people!
Just sayin' -- as always, double-check our posts and comments with real data and info - as well as other comments on this or any other internet blog you visit. Also, think: motivation. (Check out what people say on the AJC blogs - some of their conversations make ours look like we're pansies.)
*Unfortunately, there are people so filled with hate for DCSS, that they will take any little thing and pull DCSS into it.*
This is so true! There are also many people that would rather believe a lie regardless of the facts presented to them.
On the August 4th blog, 'Oh Boy, This Could Get Ugly', Cerebration posted the LEASE AGREEMENT beween Leadership Prepatory Academy, Inc. and New Birth. Leadership Prepatory Academy, Inc. in the holding corporation for LPA, registered in GA since 2007. As discussed in that blog, if this corporation recieves per pupil money from DCSS, it can go towards school operating costs. This is no different than any other charter school in DeKalb, even those based in churches. Any church can rent space out at fair market value. Any charter school can be a client.
This is not a separation of church and state issue. This is a legal transaction.
Anon 12:04 PM -- it's very easy. Write a Freedom of Information request to Marcus Turk asking for all payments to New Birth church and all funds paid on behalf of the Leadership Prep Academy. (There's a link in our "Favorite Links" column on the home page to an online resource that will help you write the letter in minutes!)
Yes, it's true, this is a charter school and the funds are technically not DCSS funds, but they are public funds. DCSS should not be paying a dime out for LPA. Additionally, Dr. Lewis most certainly promoted this school and pushed it's approval (while others were not approved by DCSS and had to appeal directly to the state). He also placed his personal choice Frankie Callaway in as principal. (Her husband is already principal of Destiny Academy - another DCSS charter.)
Anon 12:09...careful with the name calling....Bully should be refrained from use when not actually happening...we are all adults pleae be respectful of others thoughts and opinions...just breathe we are all in this together and we care about the Children...
DCSS has no choice in paying LPA - it's the law.
How are charter schools funded?
Charter schools are public schools. By Georgia law, a charter school is included in the allotment of funds to the local school system in which the charter school is located. The charter school is to be treated no less favorably than any other public school in the district with respect to funding for instructional and administrative programs.
Frequently Asked Questions about Charter Schools
Cerebration, I bet with your posting at 12:11, the comments will slow down :). A necessary reminder given the tenor of some of the posts.
A slight correction on your 12:16 post, Dr. Lewis did not select Dr. Callaway as the principal for LPA. This is a startup charter and those hiring decisions are made by its board of directors.
This particular blog article is just so unnecessary. It has little to nothing to do with educating the students of DCSS.
My own opinions, here - not a shill for anybody!
It is my understanding that the charter schools in DeKalb had/have no choice but to lease space, because DCSS will not offer any of its school buildings (it seems as if they are sticking toes in the water lately about - Heritage and Hooper Alexander were declared excess at the 9/7 BOE meeting, but no discussion of what to do with them).
Often, churches will rent out space in their education wings during the week, when the church is not being actively used. I am sure this is why ICS and the Museum School are in churches. I see no inherent conflict there. Strictly speaking, there is no conflict with Leadership Prep being at New Birth either, as long as there is ABSOLUTELY no interaction between the church and the school. The multiple connections between DCSS and NB muddy the picture more than the other schools.
HOWEVER, the problem I have is with DCSS owning properties that might be used by the charters (remember how ICS begged for Forest Hills ES?) and refusing to let them use them, choosing instead to let them sit empty or use them for storage of excess property - btw, could we not look at selling some of that stuff if we don't need it?
why don't you all get a life
Yes, this story is definitely DCSS related.
DCSS is paying approx. $10,000 of month to New Birth to house DeKalb Leadership Prep, WHEN THEY ARE MANY DCSS-OWNED PROPERTIES AVAILABLE TO HOUSE DLP!!!!
DCSS oftens rents New Birth for graduations and other ceremonies. albeit because it has the largest seating capacity in the county.
And a large number of DCSS Central Office administrators have leadership positions at New Birth.
Sorry Eddie Long apologists, this stroy is clearly relevant to DCSS> Wonder how Jeff Dickerson will comment on it on Sunday's Georgia Gang, while he fails to disclose his contract with New Birth and DCSS.
Perhaps DCSS staff remember the system-wide address held at the New Birth campus three (or four?) years ago. That is not necessarily proof of suspicious connections, however, it was pretty controversial at the time. The teachers who opted out (citing religious reasons) watched a simulcast of the address at their school site. The option to remain at the school site during planning was NOT made known to everyone.
Again, not proof of anything, but definitely cause for a pause.
If you all would spend more time watching after your own children you would not have to worry about who's teaching them nor who's preaching to them sweep around your own front door and leave these people alone. Mr. and Mrs. anonymous who ever you are put your name on this page and I will do the same.
DCSS is NOT paying $10,000 a month.
This guy is a piece of work. But DeKalb taxpayers are paying him $120k per year to house one of our schools there. Ouch.
---
The following year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a charity Long created -- Bishop Eddie Long Ministries Inc. -- made him its biggest beneficiary, supplying him with at least $1 million in salary over four years, a $1.4 million home and use of a $350,000 Bentley.
Long defended the compensation.
"We're not just a church, we're an international corporation," he told the AJC then. "We're not just a bumbling bunch of preachers who can't talk and all we're doing is baptizing babies. I deal with the White House. I deal with Tony Blair. I deal with presidents around this world. I pastor a multimillion-dollar congregation.
"You've got to put me on a different scale than the little black preacher sitting over there that's supposed to be just getting by because the people are suffering."
Yes, DCSS pays $10,000 a month for rent for DeKalb Leadership Prep to be housed at New Birth.
No, they are not. Please provide proof.
I really don't want to continue the discussion about Eddie Long, but a brief explanation of how start up charters work seems to be in order.
Charters get their money in lump sums. They pay their own bills.
So technically while the money comes to the school from DCSS, the rent money is paid by the school.
Yes, the new public school charter, Leadership Prep Academy will be paying over $122,000 in rent to New Birth Church for use of the "West Wing". Below is a photo of the letter to Melvin Johnson of New Birth (Melvin is also on the boards of the Leadership Academy and the private Christian school also located in the church building). Click on it to print it or view a larger version.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-nsJd8jc7Bw/TFzAGwSGYiI/AAAAAAAABjo/RcU_TQUIHqs/s1600/LeaseCommitment.jpg
Eddie Long has donated at least $2,500 to DCSS BOE member Gene Walker's various BOE campaigns (his first general, then runoff with Ernest Brown, now another general).
$2,500 is a HUGE amount for any individual to contribute to a local school board race. HUGE. I mentioned this to one of the top Georgia Democratic Party officials, and he couldn't believe that amount for a school board race.
Eddie also liked giving Vernon Jones huge money:
http://www.crossroadsnews.com/view/full_story/1442238/article-CEO-fined-for-campaign-violations
On his July 8, 2004 campaign disclosure report, Jones documented $16,000 for an Aug. 10 primary runoff and $9,000 for a general election he did not have, since he won the primary outright. Among the contributors making excessive contributions were Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, GTT Inc., Tarpon Development, and Wilmot Williams, who each gave Jones $5,000 contributions split over primary, primary runoff and general elections.
Eddie Long must have crazy money:
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/candidates-tap-familiar-sources-567756.html
Barnes, meanwhile, tapped several unions in Georgia and Washington, D.C., for at least $22,000 during the quarter. He also received $5,000 from Bishop Eddie Long, the influential pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia.
Lots of info. on DLA
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx?PageReq=PEACSProposedCharterSchools24
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/LeaseCommitment.bmp?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6E6E5DB0E1CEB8519FAE86FB409593A097486EBEE0953F0A1&Type=D
Dr. Melvin Johnson shows up to work every day at the Mountain Industrial Central Office to work at the unofficial No. 2 for Ram Ramsey's Office of Internal Affairs.
He donated $200 to Gene Walker's 2008 (15 days out) special election campaign for school board. Johnson is listed there as simply "retired" and his employer as "none", despite pulling in a DCSS paycheck for his whatever Internal Affairs position.
We now know that Johnson, a former DCSS Area Superintendent is on the founding board of the Leadership Academy, the existing board of the Christian School already in New Birth, and a member of New Birth.
The connections between New Birth, DLA and DCSS are vast. Eddie Long's issues are definitely of note to DCSS.
THERE IS INDEED A STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY 'international business' and DCSS that will UNRAVEL and is far more intricate than charter schools and rent. As an example,this 'church' is a strong contributor to DCSS ATHLETICS... The basketball team at Miller Grove High School sports white jerseys and jackets with the **New Birth logo** and had stunning team photo banners paid for by New Birth; WHAT OTHER PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS PROUDLY DISPLAY A RELIGIOUS LOGO? The 'church' has also paid for much more than people realize. The proof of his entanglement with DCSS will all come out and be made public as Eddie Long is investigated. I just feel sorry for those who worship the preacher rather than God. and are blind to the truth.
An old post:
Gather together Melvin Johnson (former DCSS administrator and New Birth member as well as board member for the private school on campus), Bishop Eddie Long, Crawford Lewis, Eugene Walker and Frankie Callaway (also a former DCSS administrator whose husband is principal of Destiny Academy, a DCSS charter for at-risk students) and you find a very well executed plan to create essentially a private school in the church building using public school (as well as Title 1) money.
But what concerns me is that there are several schools like this cropping up around South DeKalb, and damaging the attendance of the neighborhood schools. Board members just don't seem to see this disparity that is being created by their own hands - and the hands of the people who are demanding better schools and now creating them themselves. l am concerned about the schools from which these "choice" students are being plucked. They are being drained of their best resources and I can't see how this is good for anyone "Left Behind". An enlightened person wouldn't damage other people this way in order to get the best for themselves.
This is classic..a blue jogging suit??? OMG!
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-school-corruption-suspects-618571.html
Both Reid and Lewis, who was dressed in a blue jogging suit, declined to comment.
Hmmm..wonder what an open records request for e-mails on DCSS computers between Melvin Johnson, Frakie Callaway and Eddie Long would show us?
Jeff Dickerson sure does have connections to New Birth. No wonder the DCS Central Office hired him at $304k per week of our taxpayer money. And nice to see that Eddie Long has a private jet.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5194215
EDWARDS: New Birth has come a long way from its origins in nearby Scottdale, Georgia in 1939, with only 150 members. It was known then as the Travelers Rest Baptist Church. But even though it has ballooned into a mega-church, reporting veteran Jeff Dickerson says New Birth still has a small church feel.
Mr. JEFF DICKERSON (Public Relations for New Birth): It does not have some sort of rigid religious rules that you may have found in a more traditional setting. But despite its size a lot of people say that they can feel as if they're the only person there in the sanctuary.
EDWARDS: Dickerson reported for the Atlanta Journal Constitution for 17 years before opening up a public relations company that has New Birth as one of its clients. Dickerson says New Birth is not the site of Coretta Scott King's funeral just because of its 10,000 seats.
DICKERSON: It is inviting, it's welcoming, and it speaks so much to the kind of progress that we've made in just a generation and the kind of progress, you know, that Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted so much for African Americans.
EDWARDS: Dickerson says New Birth has been instrumental in setting up a hospital in Kenya and the church includes members that have increased home ownership in predominantly African-American areas of Atlanta. But there have been critics they say that Bishop Long has used his own charity to buy a luxury home and a luxury car. They also say Long's stance against same-sex marriage is in direct contrast to the civil rights that Coretta Scott King, her husband, and others fought for. Both Bishop Long and church officials declined to comment for this story. However, Long is known for his close relationship with the King family. He affectionately calls Coretta, Mom. One of Mrs. King's real daughters, Bernice, is an elder of New Birth. After hearing of Mrs. King's death in Mexico, Long let the King family use his private jet to bring her back to Atlanta. Those actions are part of what Bishop Long calls an effort to pay back the debt that is owed to Coretta Scott King and her family for leading the civil rights movement.
Sorry, $3-4k per week of our taxpayer money for Jeff Dickerson. Maybe one day hell actually disclose himself on The Georgia Gang.
Please note the lease agreement is between LPA and New Birth. Nowhere is there a reference to DCSS.
Startup charter schools get federal grants with which to assist in the first few years.
*The Bishop Long Political Money Trail *
From AJC July 9, 2010
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/candidates-tap-familiar-sources-567756.html
Barnes, meanwhile, tapped several unions in Georgia and Washington, D.C., for at least $22,000 during the quarter. He also received $5,000 from Bishop Eddie Long, the influential pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia. And he collected $6,100 from the campaign fund of the late, legendary Georgia Speaker Thomas B. Murphy.
Notice in Walker’s campaign contribution form labeled, 15days08, Bishop Eddie Long donated $2,000 to Walker's campaign. A minister - how interesting. A minister whose church ended up with a charter school being placed in their building and collecting about $120,000 annually in rent! Interesting!
Check out Eddie Long’s extensive political contributions – to 2007
http://www.newsmeat.com/religious_political_donations/Eddie_Long.php
> Hillary Clinton $1000
> Kweisi Mfume $2100
> Denise Majette $2000
> Maxine Waters $1000
> Donzella James $1000
> Max Cleland $1000
> Steve Forbes $50
> Sunny Warren $1000
> Alan Keyes $1000
> Gene Walker $500
And Vernon Jones is in the mix of course –
http://www.crossroadsnews.com/view/full_story/1442238/article-CEO-fined-for-campaign-violations
> > On his July 8, 2004 campaign disclosure report, Jones documented $16,000 for an Aug. 10 primary runoff and $9,000 for a general election he did not have, since he won the primary outright. Among the contributors making excessive contributions were Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, GTT Inc., Tarpon Development, and Wilmot Williams, who each gave Jones $5,000 contributions split over primary, primary runoff and general elections. A company co-owned by Bishop Wiley Jackson of Gospel Tabernacle Church and Jackson's brother, Rodney B. Jackson, also gave $5,000 apiece.
Georgia law caps campaign contributions at $2,000 per race and $1,000 per runoff election.
I see the new birth jewelry store is no longer on line. The new birth mall store in Stonecrest Mall closed a few years ago. I wonder what they did with all the Eddie Long Bobble-head dolls?
DCSS partnered with Eddie Long more than most people realize. It's good to have community support, but INTEGRITY matters!
http://www.eddiellong.com/store.htm
"Startup charter schools get federal grants with which to assist in the first few years."
What are you talking about? Not every charter school receives federal funds. There is a long application process, and it depends on the type of the charter school.
DLA is a DCSS-sponsored charter school, unlike The Museum School of Avondal, which the DCSS Central Office did everything possible to keep it from opening.
The only reason why there is a DLA is because Melvin Johnson pushed it through for BOE approval. He is a walking conflict of interest.
The DLA is funded by our taxpayer dollars!!! Stop being an apologist!!!
1. Conversion -- These schools are/were traditional public schools that converted to charter status. (Examples, Chamblee, Peachtree etc.) These schools generally have a lottery to fill any unused spaces with residents of their county (or city if they are part of a city system.) Funding is the same as other system public schools. They may not accept students from other school systems. Must be approved by the local school system and the state board of ed.
2. Local Education Agency charter schools -- These schools are started from scratch by a local school system. Again, their attendance is limited to residents of their school system. Funding is the same as other system schools. Examples of these are the Career Academies across GA. like Coweta Career Academy and the Gwinnett High School of Math and Technology. Must be approved by the local school system and the state board of ed.
3. Locally approved start-up charter schools -- These are generally grass roots efforts to start a new public school. Again, attendance is limited to residents of the approving school system. Funding is suppose to be the same as other system schools. Examples of these schools are the myriad of KIPP schools across the metro area, Path Academy, ICS, and now LPA. Must be approved by the local school system and the state board of ed.
4. State chartered schools -- These are start up charter schools that didn't get approved by their local school systems and appealed to the state board of ed. (Don't presume that the local system's had legitimate reasons to not approve them, they often didn't.) They are approved by the state but they only collect the state portion of funding. No local dollars are used. These schools can accept students from across the state.
5. Commission charter schools -- The newest type of charter schools. The GA legislature passed a law setting up an alternative authorizer for charter schools in GA. These schools get both state and local dollars, but the local dollars come from the state, which has subtracted those dollars from the state's payment to the districts the students come from. I think that the per pupil money at a school like Ivy is different based on what system they are coming from. I am not sure though. The commission schools charter defines where students can come from. Ivy Prep accepts students from all over, while Avondale Museum School has a very narrow attendance zone (Midway and Avondale Elementary only).
A third law suit has now been filed against Bishop Eddie Long: http://www.ajc.com/news/bishop-eddie-long-third-618703.html
Gotta give him credit, he's an even better self-promoter than Yvonne Butler!
http://www.eddiellong.com/
http://www.ajc.com/news/bishop-eddie-long-third-618703.html
Campaign officials for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes said they have canceled a fundraiser that was to be hosted by a pastor at the center of a sexual coercion lawsuit.
Barnes spokesman Emil Runge said the event was canceled Tuesday, when the lawsuit involving two young men was first reported. The campaign would not say Wednesday if the event was scrapped before learning of the allegations against Bishop Eddie Long.
Long is pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a 25,000-member megachurch near Atlanta. He is one of Barnes' more prominent black supporters and hosted a fundraiser for the former governor during the Democratic primary.
Long also donated $5,000 to Barnes' bid.
Runge called the allegations "troubling" but said the campaign wouldn't comment further until more was known.
Yes, Federal Grants are available. Please visit the GADOE Website - educate yourself before you post.
Anon September 22, 2010 2:26 PM - you made one of the most important points in this entire discussion. Thanks. This should be the focus - the cut and run mentality of our school system. Don't like your school? Well, here, transfer to another one while we do nothing for those still in the school you're running from.
Bring it on 3:33. Yes, they are available, but they are not automatic. I'm educated with a Masters degree. Name the time & place and I'll debate DCSS issues, and hopefully you can keep up.
I would like to have the white sheet concession for this blog
This preacher uses "Jesus" and a non-profit status to build personal wealth that includes a private jet, a Bentley, a mansion and over a million dollar annual salary. He uses his wealth to buy power and influence from high-ranking officials. His ego runs his life.
As Anon September 22, 2010 1:28 PM informed us, Long stated in an interview,
"We're not just a church, we're an international corporation," he told the AJC then. "We're not just a bumbling bunch of preachers who can't talk and all we're doing is baptizing babies. I deal with the White House. I deal with Tony Blair. I deal with presidents around this world. I pastor a multimillion-dollar congregation.
"You've got to put me on a different scale than the little black preacher sitting over there that's supposed to be just getting by because the people are suffering."
No need for white sheets when you have the bishop himself putting down the "little black preacher" and disassociating himself ... how sad. I certainly don't know of anyone else on this blog who has stated anything so racially dismissive as the bishop himself.
The federal implementation grant process has become far more competitive for charters in the last few years. It will be interesting to see if this school gets it.
Sometimes, it's nice to be in charge of the delete button!
Hey Cere! Great comments by you and others. I do have a day job and have not been able to post lately.
I'm stunned about Brooklyn, NY! I know the NY Times had a piece about New Birth,as well as our friends at CNN. Who lives in Brooklyn? Hmmmm....
Oh, Anon @ 2:22...."Dr. Melvin Johnson shows up to work every day at the Mountain Industrial Central Office to work at the unofficial No. 2 for Ram Ramsey's Office of Internal Affairs." Really? You sure?
THIS...THIS...is how people leave this blog with misinformation and spread it throughout the district. Please check your facts. Dr. Melvin Johnson does NOT, in fact, report to work at Mountain Industrial every day with Ronald Ramsey. Dr. Robert Tucker helps in Internal Affairs. Whether you approve of Dr. Tucker's work in IA or not, it is Dr. Tucker who comes over to the central office, not Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Johnson may be on the LPA board, he may have donated to Eugene Walker's campaign, he may go to New Birth, but he does NOT work in Internal Affairs.
Just my little attempt to clear up the misinformation before it becomes part of what everyone cites as the truth.
@ Anonymous 7:33 pm
"Dr. Johnson may be on the LPA board, he may have donated to Eugene Walker's campaign, he may go to New Birth, but he does NOT work in Internal Affairs. "
I see your point.
LOL - Judging from the way the Internal Affairs department completely missed/ignored the Pope/Reid and Lewis/unknown "female staff member" as well as the Simpson and Butler book affairs, no one WORKS in Internal Affairs.
"DeKalb school board member Eugene Walker, who has known Long for more than 20 years, said he did not believe the allegations.
“Ever since I have known him, he has reached out and lifted up our young people,” Walker said. “These allegations are absolutely not true. They have accused me of a whole lot of wrong things and they, like this, weren’t true. He’s a great servant and I can’t say anything wrong about him.”
Yes people, keep your people straight. Melvin Johnson is retired from DCSS - but doesn't work there currently. The 2003 salary report states that Melvin Johnson made 144,582.00 as a Deputy Asst Super. In 2004 he made 144,582.00. There's still a Melvin Johnson on the salary schedule, but he's a bus driver, so it's not the same guy. This Melvin is retired.
Let's get the facts right when we blog. Dr. Melvin Johnson is retired and is NOT on the payroll of DCSS.not does he work for or with Dr. Ramsey, that is DR. Bob Tucker...okay...they all look alike!
Dr. Johnson resigned from New Birth Church School prior to the charter being approved.
Comments like Walker's are exactly why people pray that DCSS doesn't get roped into this situation. Why are our school board members not smart enough to keep their mouths shut about this? Don't we have enough problems of our own?
@ Anonymous 8:02
""DeKalb school board member Eugene Walker, who has known Long for more than 20 years, said he did not believe the allegations.
“Ever since I have known him, he has reached out and lifted up our young people,” Walker said.... He’s a great servant and I can’t say anything wrong about him.”
Please look at these BOE minutes from April 13, 2009:
"OTHER\BOARD COMMENTS
Mr. Bowen opened the floor for Board Comments.
Dr. Walker stated he wanted to publicly thank the Superintendent (Crawford Lewis) and General Counsel for a good job, and as opposed to what had been publicized in the media, he does not have a concern with the performance of either person."
By performance, he couldn't have meant our students' academic performance - right? Dr. Walker really doesn't get it.
(source: https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/index.aspx?S=4054)
I taught with Melvin when he was a PE teacher in the 1970s. I know some PE teachers teach content, but he didn't. So what exactly does he know about the academic subjects? Why is he on the board at this new Charter school.
@8:26 you pegged it. In DeKalb it's only about power and politics. Walker thrives on both. Too bad for the kids who aren't old enough to vote.
The Eddie Long situation us fascinating, and it has little to do with race.
He's the most well-known preacher/pastor/priest in a county of three quarters of a million people. He has aggressively inserted himself into politics, donating more to candidates possibly more than any other county resident. He has been very prominent in the county government and the county school system. He went after elected officials, and school system administrators and BOE members to join his flock.
If he's not the most well-known person in DeKalb County, he's in the top five. He's dynamic, he understands promotion and marketing, and he has embraced his celebrity.
Again, race has little to do with this. Remember, DeKalb's Bishop Earl Paulk and his sexual transgressions and court appearances were front page news, lead story on the 11 o'clock news. Paulk was as white as white can be. If you make this into a race thing, you don't know county history.
It's going to be an incredibly interesting case, the basics that will come out in trial that will determine the ruling are very, very simple:
-Did Eddie Long travel extensively with the young men?
-If so, who paid for the travel?
-Did Long purchase a car for one of the men?
-Did Long hire one of them for a church position?
-Will phone records and e-mail correspondence back up the two men's claims?
Between the C Lew/Pat Pope trail and the Eddie Long situation, it's going to be one of the most interesting times in the county's history.
DeKalb school board member Eugene Walker, who has known Long for more than 20 years, said he did not believe the allegations.
“Ever since I have known him, he has reached out and lifted up our young people,” Walker said. “These allegations are absolutely not true. They have accused me of a whole lot of wrong things and they, like this, weren’t true
Ummm, Gene. The state Democratic Party leaders know what happened during your tenure in the Gold Dome and why you were asked not to run for a fifth term.
No matter what you think of Eddie, check out the photo of him in the red shirt:
http://www.championnewspaper.com/news/articles/595lawsuit-accuses-bishop-eddie-long-of-sexual-coercion595.html
QUICK NOTE to those who seem to hammer this blog. Concerning Melvin, Cere as well as another poster cleared this up quickly. See how this works people? This is why I appreciate this blog.
If someone says something wrong, it will be exposed quickly, as long as someone has the facts to show. I think I would leave the snarky comments out of the post, however, it was cleared up quickly.
Cere does a great job deleting posts that do not include truths or if they belittle someone who does not deserve it.
The trials will be interesting to watch. The courthouse is going to be a busy place over the next year.
"let's pray that this doesn not affect DCSS anymore than it already has.."
Although it might be painful, the best thing that could happen would be that DCSS is involved and that the State takes it over, tears it apart and rebuilds it with the sole object of educating children and not doing social justice.
The Bishop (of what?) calls the shots at DCSS. He got Crawford to expand the staff and create more jobs and raise salaries, to the benefit of the Bishop's followers.
The Bishop gets $120,000 from LEA, paid by one or more of US, GA Stat or DeKalb County taxpayers. There have been no sightings of money falling from the sky in DKC.
It would be interesting to know if Double Dipper Frankie Calloway is a member of NBC. If she is, then that would explain how she became principal of LEA.
It was interesting that the attorney wanted nothing to do with DeKalb County law enforcement. She is correct on that one. She would have been the one ending up being investigated.
Some of the officers on the Police blog call DKC Detroit South. The entire County government and school system is corrupt.
I repeat the quote of former State Senator Steen Miles in an article entitled "The Downward Spiral" as published in the Champion in July of this year:
"If things aren't reversed in DeKalb, in less than a decade, this county will be a bankrupt, crime-ridden wasteland with a plethora of poorly performing schools, churning out a bumper crop for the state's prison system."
Eddie, Eddie, Eddie...
http://www.ecinc.org/Records/rec_smr2005.htm
Black pastors are organizing to fight same-sex marriage. Led by Bernice King, a daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., Bishop Eddie Long of Atlanta’s New Birth Baptist Church, Eugene Rivers III of Azusa Christian Community in Boston, Maryland megachurch minister (and former Fortune 500 executive) Harry R. Jackson and others, black clergy have formed High Impact Leadership Coalition. It is affiliated with Traditional Values Coalition and is holding a series of rallies around the nation. According to Rivers: “The paleo-liberal civil rights industry leadership has come to an end. [It] represents a philosophically and intellectually exhausted political paradigm” King says her mother, Coretta Scott King, while being an advocate for some gay rights, “does not believe in same-sex marriage.” Bernice King says her mother’s views have been “twisted by the majority media” and, according to Long, she, her daughter and Martin Luther King III “laid hands on me in reference to moving forward in that which her husband started.”
The four oldest black Baptist denominations (National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., Progressive National Baptist Convention, National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, and the National Baptist Convention of America), in a first-time joint assembly, have issued a formal denunciation of same-sex marriage.
Ron Ramsey--hmmm...
above it was stated that a politician tried to pursuade the complainents not to pursue the lawsuit.
BJ then turned the record over to investigators.
Could this be the beginning of...
BTW--Ramsey is a public official...slander rules don't apply.
There's Gene Walker as a possibility. And Roy Barnes.
Longfellow Youth Academy’s vision is “training our youth to live, love and lead.”
KISS 104.1 has the Bishop's attorney on right now!!!
He read a statement saying the Bishop would address these concerns this Sunday at church.
Can you imagine what he is going to say?
It sounds like Jeff Dickerson is working overtime for the Bishop and not DCSS!!!
Sagamore 7
The attorney for the Bishop told everyone to go to New Birth this Sunday to hear him address the congregation and these allegations.
They asked his attorney,
"What time is the service?"
He didn't know and paused for several seconds and I thought I could hear Jeff Dickerson in the background telling him 11am!
What Craig Gillen did say was that this was an attack not only on the Bishop, but the NBMC and the ENTIRE congregation! 25,000 people are being attacked in Dekalb county.
The question was asked if BJ Bernstein had been in contact with the Bishop prior to the lawsuit asking for a settlement?
The attorney answered delicately and stated that his only communication with BJ was a letter he wrote her accusing her of making statements outside of the courtroom after a lawsuit had been filed.
Which is a violation of Georgia law.
Who is going to church this Sunday?
Tom Joyner just stated that he thought the Bishop needs a new lawyer!
Hear comes the media storm!
Sagamore 7
Didn't Dr. John Trotter and MACE picket at the DeKalb School headquarters many time and call DeKalb "a gangsta system" on televion? I guess he was right.
"television" sorry
If he was taking trips for legitimate reasons, why did he need to use an assumed name? It's not like he was so famous (especially in foreign countries) that he needed annonymity. And who is stupid enough to use "Dick Tracey"? Does that not scream out "Hey, look at me!"?
Reminds me of dear old mom again: when I would complain to her about life, she would say, "Sounds like you have more problems than Dick Tracey." LOL
I would have thought Dick Tracy would be the one hiring the attorney named BJ.
For the doubters:
"Bishop Eddie Long: DeKalb schools profit from pastor"
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/bishop-eddie-long-dekalb-620256.html
Look what Jeff Dickerson says in the AJC:
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/bishop-eddie-long-pastor-620267.html
"But Jeff Dickerson, president of Dickerson Communications, isn't sold on the strategy thus far.
Lawyers, he said, may understand the presumption of guilt or innocence in the courtroom, but may fall short when it comes to the court of public opinion.
"They start making decisions whether someone should hold a press conference or have radio interview and it can make the situation far worse for their clients," he said. "Eddie Long can win in a court of law and lose in the court of public opinion. His reputation can be permanently damaged and lawyers just don't get it. " He said it would have been good had Long come out earlier and very forcefully. "He needs to mount a public defense."
I thought Jeff Dickerson was a PR consultant for New Birth.
I don't want to hear anything about JOHN TROTTER! His days are numbered. Besides he's a fraud!
Barack Obama spent part of his Presidential campaign been flying around the country in charter jets and borrowed planes – including this Gulfstream jet owned by Atlanta pastor Eddie Long — while Obama was campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president. This photo is courtesy Bob Holland, and was taken as the plane was departing London’s Luton Airport
The Bishop definitely does not need a new lawyer. Maybe what Joyner meant was another IN ADDITION to Gillen, who Gillen is tight with the US Attorney's office, particularly with Sally (Comer) Yates. That means they get have more to fear from the USA than this lawsuit--and Gillen can limit the exposure and dameage.
Now, what would the USA want with him?
the ajc is ensuring citizens knows that New Birth is affiliated with DCSS in more ways than one......
the ajc is ensuring citizens know that New Birth is affiliated with DCSS in more ways than one......
Wait, we pay $120k per to Eddie and New Birth, plus we have to pay for maintenance, security and insurance??? Usually when you pay rent, your landlord takes care of maintenance.
---
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/bishop-eddie-long-dekalb-620256.html
However, the school system does have existing contracts with the church, including a leases for the Leadership Preparatory Academy, a K-5 charter school that opened last month. The district pays $122,050 a year for rent, along with maintenance, security and insurance costs, according to a lease.
The Destiny Academy Of Excellence, which is also housed at the church, was previously a DeKalb charter school. The school lost charter status, but has since reapplied for charter status.
“Our primary connections with the church are the use of the church as one of the district’s graduation venues and the charter school located at the church. To the extent that the allegations are determined to impact either of these, the district would assess the facts and take the appropriate action,” Bowen said. “Prior support from the church to the District would not impact our fiduciary duty to well being of the district’s children in any way.”
HUSH-HUSH??? SCHOOLS LISTED IN THE AJC ARTICLE WERE NOT THE ONLY ONES IN DEKALB FOR WHOM CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS WERE PURCHASED BY NEW BIRTH. AND ANOTHER NON-SOUTH DEKALB SCHOOL HAS ANNOUNCED IN WRITING AND ON THEIR WEBSITE THAT THE GRADUATION WILL BE HELD AT NEW BIRTH IN MAY 2010.
I want to know (1) which members of Dr. Lewis' cabinet belonged/belong to New Birth at the time of their hire/promotion/salary increase; (2) Does New Birth have an "automatic tithe" whereby members are expected to tithe a certain percentage of their salary every year? (3) Is the tithing done by payroll/income deduction order such that every time a salary increase was given, New Birth automatically received a higher tithe? (4) Does New Birth collect w2s to verify veracity of said tithes/payroll deductions? I'm just curious here.
The TUCKER HIGH SCHOOL graduation is scheduled for May 21, 2010 at NEW BIRTH. It is published on the school's website under the link for seniors.
Someone, please double check on the lease for The Destiny Academy Of Excellence. This school WAS housed in a DCSS former elementary school, but rumor was that rent for that system-owned schools was paid to New Birth. Could that be true? It was sort of a lease to NB, who leased it to the charter.
Here's the latest from the AJC on the links between the school and church...
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/bishop-eddie-long-dekalb-620256.html
Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson said she is not a member of New Birth and has had no contact with Long since she took over the district in February. That includes not supplying school buses for a New Birth camp, like in previous years.
???
However, the school system does have existing contracts with the church, including a leases for the Leadership Preparatory Academy, a K-5 charter school that opened last month. The district pays $122,050 a year for rent, along with maintenance, security and insurance costs, according to a lease.
???
According the the school system's website, this is the address of Destiny Academy. The photo is of an old elementary school that belongs to DeKalb school system.
Destiny Academy of Excellence
3595 Line Crest Road
Ellenwood, GA 30294
Check out this article from the AJC regarding Long and our school system. The article's title/link:
Bishop Eddie Long: DeKalb schools profit from Bishop Long
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/bishop-eddie-long-dekalb-620256.html
Let me see...if you multiply the total salaries of all NBBC members who work for the DCSS by approximately 10% (accepted tithing level) you will see just how entwined the two groups are.
Think about it...
DeKalb County Taxpayers pay the salaries of DCSS employees who in turn pledge a portion of these salaries to NBBC. The more members of NBBC employed by DCSS at inflated salaries help to fill the collection plates at NBBC.
No influence...hah!
Anon 9:15 you are spot on w/ your comments. We have been saying that on this blog for quite awhile. When you look at the massive jump in central office salaries over the past 5-6 years you will see many have doubled their income. I would like to know how many of the admin. folks that have seen such huge increases in pay are members of NB.
My biggest issue is if DCSS employed folks with the specific intent to shift income through artificially inflated salaries in artificially created positions for members of NB at the expense of truly educating kids to get the tithes and revenue to the Church through the connection. I'm not saying that this has, indeed, happened. I'm raising the question of if that happened with how things have been done over the past 5+ years and then how to go about proving it. If that was the case, then I want the money back on behalf of the taxpayers for the benefit of the children.
Just read the ajc article and think NB should have to pay back the money spent for the buses that DCSS provided for the church to shuttle kids to and from camps. For years this went on?? We have trouble getting buses to take school sponsored teams to various events/locations, but when the churched called the central office sent buses post haste.
(the remainder of this comment was deleted - admin)
John Trotter may be a little crazy (and it takes being a little crazy doing what he does), but he did indeed pickets (along with his MACE colleagues) in front of the old School Headquarters on North Decatur Road, decrying that DeKalb was "a gangsta school system." I saw one of the pickets on the news. They picketed mahy times, saying that Crawford Lewis and his gang were violating laws. They also picketed against "systematic cheating" -- before the tradional media latched onto this. Keep it up, Dr. Trotter! No wonder they don't like you!
I have to agree. John Trotter was right. The public just didn't want to listen. DCSS does everything they can to try to discredit Dr. Trotter (& MACE), but teachers know that DCSS is afraid of him and the bright glare of exposure.
Dare we take our imaginations a step further?? Why don't we play
"What if?"
What if...
What if the current DCSS under indictment are found guilty of the charges?
What if a portion of the money that was made under illegal or unethical actions is was tithed to NBBC?
What little common sense I have tells me there is now a connection between NBBC and DCSS. It would be hard for me to believe increased tithing revenues to NBBC would not have sparked NBBC curiosity.
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