Ladies and Gentlemen,
Here is a link to an AJC.com article from today regarding the recently eliminated Director of Public Safety position from DeKalb County Government.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/commissioners-question-dekalb-execs-876366.html
The story relates to William "Wiz" Miller who happens to be a close friend of our Dekalb CEO, Burrell Ellis. Our CEO CREATED a position within the county, Director of Public Safety, which enabled him to pay the "Wiz" $150,000 annual salary. It turns out that the "Wiz" didn't show up for work for 82 days in 2010. If there are 20 working days in a month then that would account for over 4 months MIA, "Missing in Action., WITH PAY!
The County Commissioner's are upset, outraged and won't stand for this type of behavior!
One Commissioner, Elaine Boyer, stated, "It's arrogant, the CEO needs to explain to the board why a major staff person is not accounted for and what he's doing! It concerns us that he has so many days he can't explain himself."
I predict this will upset the CEO's administration and a complete audit will be authorized by the board to see who else hasn't been working while getting their pay check.
Now, what does this have to do with DCSS?
Do you remember a member of DCSS, highly paid MIS department, Jamal Edwards? He was promoted last year to a new position and didn't show up for months. He is salaried and he was paid for ALL of his missing time!
What about our ineffective "Internal Affairs" officer, Ron Ramsey, who is also Senator Ron Ramsey from District 43, he too is out of the office for months at a time. But if you listen to Jeff Dickerson, "Mr. Ramsey amends all of his time cards to reflect him time out of the office."
We also have DCSS personnel who have numerous different jobs outside of DCSS that require time and energy.
The reason I bring up the topic is this, I feel like Dekalb County taxpayers deserve better stewards of our tax dollars.
The County Commissioners are looking into the waste at the County level. They are going to require the CEO to ANSWER for his employees not showing up for work and getting paid!
We should/need to require the same from the school system. Working for DCSS is not a RIGHT but a privilege and we need to hold every employee accountable for their actions.
Especially when they are absent from work.
The school board are the ones that should be asking for accountability, but they aren't.
Therefore, I recommend, we the people, ask for accountability!
We want answers!
We deserve answers!
If you have any knowledge regarding DCSS personnel that fit this criteria please leave it in the comments section or email me @ sagamore77@gmail.com.
I'll keep everyone posted of the results.
Have a great weekend!
S7
24 comments:
I cannot believe the complete arrogance of county spokesperson Burke Brennan in his defense of Wiz Miller never showing up for work.
Burke Brennan was a spokesperson under the Vernon Jones/Richard Stogner administration, so he learned how to be arrogant from the best. No one cares about productivity. No one looks out for the taxpayer.
One would think after the scandal of Terrell Bolton often not showing up to work that Wiz Miller would be cognizant of actually being present for his job.
And the article brings up a great point: During the Great Ice Storm of 2011, Public Safety Director Miller was missing in action. Did you hold him accountable, CEO Ellis?
It's hard to do, but the county gov't is making DCSS look good in comparison. Our water bils are going to triple over the next few years, and Ellis is begging for property tax increase, even though the GA State Univ. study commissioned a little while back stated the county is over-staffed.
I had a county commissioner tell me that CEO Ellis jumps at every chance possible to fly up to Washington D.C. Sure seems like Ellis is trying to land a fed job is D.C.
With the high water bill increase, and a very possible ounty property tax increase, this Board of Education better do everything possible not to increae the school's portion of the property tax.
That's the passion I'm looking for!
I know we have a lot of work ahead of us but it's time to "Get to work!"
Keep the comments coming!
S7
"Do you remember a member of DCSS, highly paid MIS department, Jamal Edwards? He was promoted last year to a new position and didn't show up for months. He is salaried and he was paid for ALL of his missing time!"
I remember that very well. However, that occurred a little over 5 years ago in early 06. Ms. Tyson was in charge of MIS. The principal and the parents at Nancy Creek called her to find out where he was. Of course Ms. Tyson wouldn't move to reprimand or fire him - after all he was the son of Fracis Edwards, head of the BOE. The BOE had just approved her promotion not long before that. Jamal Edwards was paid $32,610 in 2004. By 2007, his salary was $52,706 so you see he received quite a tidy raise. He's still in MIS.
From BOE minutes 12/05/2005:
"Ms. Andrews made a motion to approve the recommendation, and Ms. Roberts seconded the motion.
In discussion that followed, Dr. Lewis apologized that this was not brought before the Board at the time of the promotion as required by Board policy. He has directed Human Resources to review and revise its standard operating procedure so this violation of Board policy does not happen again. Ms. Grant said this policy has been followed for a number of years unerringly and she is troubled that suddenly it has been violated. Ms. Grant asked for clarification of the process to determine which jobs are posted and which jobs are not posted."
There was much unrest among the CTSSs because apparently these job (6 other CTSSs were promoted) were not posted.
Reading the minutes it seems like Ms. Tyson is making the case that these 7 promotions and raises came as a cost saving measure, but very few (if any) CTSS positions were actually lost that year. Why were promotions and raises for 7 employees defended as a cost saving measure? The BOE did not ask very many questions which is amazing given the flimsy justification. We're still paying for all these non-teaching promotions, raises and new positions.
BOE minutes from 12/05/2005:
"Ms. Ramona Tyson, Associate Superintendent of Management Information Systems (MIS), stated that under the former administration an initiative was established to address needed budgetary personnel cuts. One of the decisions made during that time was to reduce the workforce through attrition. One area selected was the Certified Technology Support Specialist (CTSS) which is a ten-month position. Within this initiative, the CTSS full-time equivalency (FTE) position was moved from the local school personnel budget to the MIS personnel budget and in doing so, the management of these positions was now under the administration of MIS. In August 2004, a decision was made by the former head of MIS to relocate seven CTSS employees from the local school to MIS. These seven individuals were required to assume the duties and responsibilities of the entry-level position of a Network Liaison Specialist within MIS. At the end of May 2005, the ten-month payroll for the seven CTSS employees ended for the school year and these employees were placed in a 12-month department as a part of the MIS staff. They were inclusive and working on assignments and projects that required them to continue to work as 12-month staff. In order to compensate them for the additional time they were required to work, a request was made through Human Resources to upgrade them from 10-month to 12-month status. This request was made through the chain of command and approved by Human Resources July 2005.
The question was called, and the motion to approve the position upgrade as recommended was approved by a vote of 7/0/2, with Ms. Anderson-Littlejohn, Ms. Andrews, Ms. Copelin-Wood, Mr. Franzoni, Ms. Joyner, Ms. Manning-Moon, and Ms. Roberts voting affirmatively, and with Ms. Edwards and Ms. Grant abstaining. "
Look at this one. Ms. Edwards had great power and she installed her children (Jamal and Philandrea) and their spouses (David Guillory) in lucrative positions. Ms. Guillory made $82,065 in salary and benefits in 2004 in her job as a Public Relations employee. This promotion netted her $137,235 by 2007 including salary and benefits. Last year she made $144,135 in salary and benefits.
Read the BOE minutes carefully and you will see that Ms. Edwards was present at that meeting and she VOTED for her own daughter to have a raise. Look who made the recommendation for Ms. Guillory's promotion and raise - Tim Freeman - the son of former DCSS superintendent Robert Freeman.
BOE Meeting 4-20-05
"Recommendation It is requested that the Board approve the selection of Philandrea Guillory, a relative of a board member, as Director of the Public, Press and Partner Relations Department.
Quick Summary / Abstract Presented by: Mr. Tim Freeman...
The DeKalb County Board of Education held a called meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2005...
Present at the meeting were Chair Frances Edwards, Elizabeth Andrews, Sarah Copelin-Wood, Chip Franzoni, Simone Manning-Moon, Zepora Roberts and Superintendent Crawford Lewis. Vice Chair Bebe Joyner, Cassandra Anderson, and Lynn Cherry Grant were absent.
Chair Edwards called the meeting to order at 7:14 p.m....
Mr. Tim Freeman, Associate Superintendent of Administrative Services, recommended that the Board approve the appointment of Philandrea Guillory, a relative of a board member, as Director of the Public, Press and Partner Relations Department. A motion was made by Ms. Andrews, seconded by Ms. Roberts and carried with a unanimous vote."
Hey Sagamore 7
I think you were very involved in SCORE. HB 22 seems to be facing an uphill battle. Can you encourage those who worked with you on SCORE to get everyone to email the entire DeKalb delegation?
Census Bureau figures came out today showing that DeKalb County had grown only 4% in population from 2000 to 2010. Yet the number of county employees has about doubled during that time as has our taxes. In addition, Dunwoody now pays for the
50-75 police assigned to it before incorporation as a city. The County budget should be at 2000 levels, minus personnel deductions for Dunwoody and increased productivity due to automation. That is, he GSU study did not go far enough.
DCSS seems to be operating in a similar mode. The school population decreases but the costs increase.
As to the 4% increase, about 25,000 people, maybe seven or 8000 of these are Katrina leftovers and 10,000 or so are the section 8 people removed from the torn down Atlanta housing projects. The County is on the road to nowhere. Bankruptcy would be an honorable option.
Ron Ramsey a real attorney! Is this why DeKalb has so many pending lawsuits and more on the horizon. How many Lawyers do we really need? Robert Tucker is a disgrace who alters testimony and depositions just like Ramsey. Ramsey should quite the system and ru his pvt school on the record and not off the record. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Ms. Tyson, herself, benefitted from extreme and unjustified salary inflation at the same time along with her Edwards/Guillory colleagues. She is part of the club.
Interesting:
http://decatur.patch.com/articles/update-international-community-school-seeks-new-home
"We are talking to the DeKalb County School System about some options they have on HB 555 that says school districts should rent or lease facilities at not cost to charter schools," said Laurent Ditmann, principal of ICS. "We didn’t get anywhere under old management and now they are talking to us about some options."
http://decatur.patch.com/articles/bill-introduced-would-let-voters-decide-dekalb-school-board-size
A bill introduced Friday in the General Assembly would give DeKalb voters the option of choosing a five-, seven- or nine-member school board in a November referendum.
No countywide elections are currently scheduled this year, according to the DeKalb County Elections Division. There is a possibility of a sales tax referendum – referred to as a SPLOST -- for education, but that hasn’t been set, the department said.
Currently, DeKalb has nine school board members but its size has come under fire by parents and other voters.
“DeKalb does have municipal elections this year, in its cities, and there could be other elections throughout the county as well,” said state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), the school board bill’s sponsor. “I’m optimistic about our chances.”
Lawmakers have until Wednesday to get their bills out of committee before legislative crossover day, but locally oriented bills such as Oliver’s HB 22 are not affected. Generally, bills must pass in either the House or Senate by crossover day or they are dead for the session.
"I am prepared to do my constitutional duty regardless of the size of the board, said Donna Edler, a DeKalb County School System board member for District 7, which includes Avondale Estates. "If it does go out for a referendum vote, I will accept the outcome."
Another local bill, Senate Bill 84, would create a code of ethics for the DeKalb school board, including the creation of an ethics commission to govern the body.
“This bill should be coming out of the Senate and moving over to the House in the next couple of days,” said Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur), who is sponsoring the bill along with Sen. Jason Carter (D-Atlanta). “It’s definitely happening.”
The other sponsors of HB 22 include: state Reps. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain); Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates); Stephanie Benfield (D-Atlanta); Mike Jacobs (D-Atlanta); and Pat Gardner (D-Atlanta).
From the above post:
"Robert Tucker is a disgrace who alters testimony and depositions just like Ramsey."
I know this to be true from a PERSONAL situation that gravely affected me, so this is not hearsay.
Doesn't anyone care about this? SACS? Anyone? It's criminal and they are actually getting away with it and continuing on with their jobs!
BOE: Surely you have read and heard enough complaints to get rid of Robert Tucker and Ron Ramsey?? Why aren't you taking action?
@ 11:12
"“This bill should be coming out of the Senate and moving over to the House in the next couple of days,” said Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur), who is sponsoring the bill along with Sen. Jason Carter (D-Atlanta). “It’s definitely happening.”
'
Below is an email from Mary Margaret Oliver. Does anyone know who the legislator was who withdrew his name? Was it Rep. Howard Mosby who donated to Jay Cunningham's campaign last fall? (see comment in this post March 14, 2011 11:34 AM)
If he is letting a personal relationship influence his vote, the House Ethics Committee should know this:
House Ethics Committee Chair:
Joe Wilderson
404.463.8143
joe.wilkinson@house.ga.gov
http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/house/Committees/ethics/gahethic.htm
"HB 22 relating to reduced DeKalb School Board size has been advertized as required in The Champion, and MMO formally presented the bill to the DeKalb delegation, and obtained the necessary number of signatures from the DeKalb delegation for the bill to pass as local legislation. Unfortunately, one member removed his name as a supporter immediately before the Committee meeting and other options for passage are being researched."
DeKalb County isn't growing, but the DCSS Central office bureaucracy sure is!
http://brookhaven.patch.com/articles/dekalb-grows-slower-than-other-metro-atlanta-counties
While DeKalb County remains one of Georgia’s most populous counties, with 691,893 residents, its population grew at a much smaller rate than its metro Atlanta counterparts, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
DeKalb’s population increased 3.9 percent from 2000, a slower rate than other metro Atlanta counties. Fulton's population grew from 816,006 people in 2000 to 920,581 in 2010, a growth rate of 12.8 percent, while Gwinnett grew from 558,448 people in 2000 to 805,321 in 2010, a growth of 36.9 percent. Finally, Cobb's population increased from 07,751 in 2000 to 688,078 in 2010, a growth of 13.2 percent.
DeKalb remains predominantly African-American, according to the new Census figures, with 375,725 blacks residing in the county. A total of 230,156 whites live in DeKalb, while 67,824 Latinos and 35,426 residents of Asian heritage are identified.
"Robert Tucker is a disgrace who alters testimony and depositions just like Ramsey."
It is also disgraceful that he gets a full DCSS pension plus he's paid to run the DCSS Office of Internal Affairs while Ron Ramsey is at the Gold Dome as a state senator for three months a year and running multiple family businessess.
For all y'all who like Ramona Tyson: it says volumes about her that people of the ilk of Ron Ramsey and Robert Tucker are still Central Office bigwigs. In fact, every bigwig Central Office paper pusher except Gloria Talley is still in place from the Lewis/Pope administration.
Why doesn't someone ask at a board meeting why no Central Office bigwigs from Lewis/Pope era have been canned?
Regarding Jamal Edwards. The principal of Nancy Creek, at the time, refused to do anything when the parents kept asking him why Jamal was still at the school?
It was the parents who met with Clew and Debbie Loeb, who was Clew's Asst. Super at the time. We all met off campus, I was there when Debbie Loeb called Ms. Tyson on a speaker phone, Tyson was stunned. She had no idea that Jamal had not reported to his new job for 6 months. This was weeks after WSB-TV had exposed the nepotism taking place.
During this meeting Clew asked the parents at Nancy Creek what we wanted. Everyone in the room wanted a new principal. That is exactly what happened. Nancy Creek had an interim and then Dr. Silvers came in and made great progress with the diverse neighborhood school. But we all know it was after the fraud of a demographers report, Sembler and other things closed Nancy Creek. However. Dr. Silvers moved to Montgomery and has done a great job there.
Folks this is just ONE reason the entire leadership at the Palace and DCSS needs to go. They have been in power too long and it's time we take our system back.
YES!!!!! It is very true that Ronald Ramsey changes people's statements and reword them as affidavits.
Ronald Ramsey is not for what is right. He interviews and interrogates using a bully approach and will fire you if your principal or area director gets to him first with their request.
DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN, WON'T SOMEONE DO SOMETHING? THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.
Anonymous said...
Ronald Ramsey is not for what is right. He interviews and interrogates using a bully approach and will fire you if your principal or area director gets to him first with their request.
March 20, 2011 2:10 AM
OMG ... this is exactly what happened to me. Except that I stood up and spoke out because I was innocent, and therefore was "reassigned" instead.
If anyone out there (Nancy Jester? Donna Edler?) is reading this blog, please please we beg you to do something. This outright corruption surely cannot continue.
If anyone wants facts and documentation, please blog who I (or should I say "we") should contact.
Ms. Tyson INDEED is part of the "club" and therefore will NOT get rid of "club members" .... if you don't believe it, just try to justify getting rid of some of these overpaid bodies who are ALWAYS being complained about. ALWAYS. Approach her about terminating them, and see how she responds.
Folks -- Ron Ramsey is a member of the Georgia Gar. He is licensed. http://www.gabar.org/programs/consumer_assistance_program/information_for_consumers/
If the acts that are listed in the posts above are true -- the people who have had those experiences need to file bar complaints with the state bar so it is reflected in his record. This guy is one of 15 being considered for a Judgeship. A judgeship is a very powerful position -- much more so than his current position. If he has doctored your testimony or bullied you in his capacity as "lawyer" for the school system -- go and file your complaint with the state bar. Go... NOW....! For all we know, Ramsey &/or Long are ther reasons why HB22 lost some sponsors and maybe in not such "nice" ways.... Don't let him get away with it.
Have you filed your state bar complaints?
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