This just speaks for itself. I suspect that our new internal auditor had something to do with this. Actually, given the system's reluctance in the past to pursue criminal charges in similar cases, I am guessing that the auditor had everything to do with this.
An internal DeKalb County schools’ investigation found more than $23,000 in student fees are missing.
On Wednesday, school investigators referred two former school employees to the district attorney for investigation.
Read all about it here:
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/23-000-in-dekalb-833056.html
And there is more, it is clear that the Internal Auditor is working. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The auditor said he is still conducting the 2010-11 school year audit and has already found “indistinguishable fraudulent activity.”
In addition to the missing funds, the Stone Mountain High audit shows the school violated reimbursement procedures for federal money and ended the last school year with a $6,800 shortfall. Of 92 deposits reviewed by investigators, 31 were held on to by the bookkeeper for more than 30 days and seven were missing paperwork, the audit shows.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-schools-audits-find-834565.html
“We hold our people to the highest ethical standard, but we have 7,000 instructional employees and some will misstep,” he said.
ReplyDeletePlease tell the public relations firm and Mr. Walter Woods that these two people were not instructional employees. Our hard working teachers and para-pros get beat up enough.
They are investigating it. This is good. Tyson does not turn her head to things like this. She will not tolerate this.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering what the internal auditor has been doing. He might also look at employees who work for two employers at the same time. Ron Ramsey is not the only one who has two jobs at the same time. In fact, Ron Ramsey was part of a set up job to fire a department head who reported this situation with an employee under his supervision. The department head wasn't part of the friends and family program, didn't go to the right church, and only relied on actual qualifications for the job, so obviously the ethical person had to go in this DCSS culture. Ron Ramsey jut couldn't have anybody whistle-blowing on actions that he is taking himself. It may not be a redirection of actual funds for the auditor to investigate, but it is nonetheless theft to be paid for hours that are not worked on behalf of DCSS because of working at another job.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice the irony that the para-pro made $25,000 and our BOE reps make $23,000 for a part-time job?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't like reading the statement that "sometimes those policies aren't followed."
That's a bigger issue than "some employees will misstep."
Ella, What are you talking about? Ramona has let a great deal of things get by her. For example, allowing Ralph Simpson to pay back Title I funds that he pocketed for personal gain on his book sales and allowing him to keep a job continuing to make six figures. This is just one example. I have many. Those are not the only two schools misappropriating money. There many principals misappropriating funds also. Stay tuned! Give me a break. Ramona is continuing to blow smoke up most of DeKalb's a@#!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the whistleblower policy is working? New internal auditor at work?
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know that the mentoring program for future DCSS upper level administration and management is alive and well!
ReplyDeleteLast lines of article in AJC this morning:
District Attorney Rober James said no charges have been filed.
"We will review and dtermine if it warrants an investigation." James said.
WTH, of course this and other discrepencies should be investigated! This is exactly why we are in the financial mess that we are. Investigations were shoddy if not absent. Accountability was nonexistent and for the most part, still is!!
Wake up citizens. It's business as usual!
$23,000 is nothing compared to the msising $300,000 audit report.
ReplyDeleteThe timing as usual should be suspect. Smoke and mirrors, bait and switch, 3 card monte...you name it, when we blink your cheese has been moved!
Don't lose sight of the important issues!
I have heard from a friend who teaches at a local elementary school that money has been stolen from their PTA funds for the second year in a row. No funding at their school for art and music. It's a shame. I think it was a volunteer but still no charges. The students are punished but not the real criminals.
ReplyDeleteI work for the Federal government. I do not travel with out my travel being approved. They can require me to take early flights to get cheap ones and I am given a stipend per day for meals. I go over it, I pay the extra. I then must turn in recepits for everything - taxi, hotel, airline tickets or they will not reimburse me. I have 30 days to fill out an expense report. If they do not approve the expenses then I pay my credit card bill. It's a big incentive. Why are DCSS employees allowed to use a credit card without oversight? That is how you fill up a SUV three times in day! There are plenty of accountants for hire out there who are not related to BOE members who could probably find cheats in our system.
ReplyDeleteThen there is the former Lakeside bookkeeper - I think she stole $35,000? Something like that. Anyone have the latest on that? Some suspect her thievery had something to do with the removal of the LHS principal several years ago, that he looked the other way or maybe shared in the proceeds. At any rate, he was hired in Dawson Co - where he quickly ran afoul of authorities there and abruptly retired.
ReplyDeleteNot to excuse what these employees have done but at least here in DeKalb we are hearing about crimes like this. Let's not be naiive, we know things like this are going on in school districts around the country. What about those crimes that we don't hear about or are quietly swept under the rug so no one gets embarrassed. Would you rather hear about this or not?
ReplyDeleteA larger issue is how graduation rates were determined by the state. How many business were fooled by those false reports and set up operations here becsause of that?
One corrupt story after another... it's no wonder the BOE and administration can't focus on student achievement. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHopefully one day they'll see the light that they have to clean shop, regardless of how many friends & family it might upset.
Anon 1:03 You are so right. Dekalb has many employees working at 2different jobs. One is a fulltime district manager for special Ed. She works for Dekalb as well as city of Decatur. You can't tell me she's not doing Decatur work on Dekalb's dime. But wait she has relatives in the transportation department.
ReplyDelete"WTH, of course this and other discrepencies should be investigated! This is exactly why we are in the financial mess that we are. Investigations were shoddy if not absent." The school system investigated, fired the employees, and turned the matter over to the DA, the correct office to take any further action. It'sup to the DA to investigate or file charges. So what's you beef? Did you expect summary executions?
ReplyDeleteSo if the new internal auditor discovered this, why do we have Ramsey and his retired assistant (name?) Clark? My point, if the internal auditor found the discrepancies, why is Ramsey still collecting a DCSS paycheck?
ReplyDeleteHow about this?
ReplyDeleteUras Agee III was selected as Principal of Columbia High School for this school year. Area Director, Ralph Simpson, pushed hard for him. This is Agee's first job as a principal. He had been assistant principal for three years at Tucker High. Guess what! Look him up on the Certification Channel. You'll see that the Most Recent Ethics Actions against him was a suspension from 8/27/2004 until 9/2/2004.
I hear that a female teacher filed a Sexual Harrassment Complaint against him in 2006 at Tucker High. The County still chose him as Principal in 2010.
Guess what! A couple of weeks ago at a faculty meeting, Agee was so worked up that he picked up a chair and slammed it down, he beat his fists on the table, threw Transfer Papers at the faculty, screamed that the staff was bad, not him, that the County wanted him to get rid of the bad staff, and he slammed the door leaving.
Why was he upset? A teacher had helped a parent file a Sexual Harrassment Complaint against the new assistant principal Agee had hired. This guy is Jay Cunningham's son. His name is Jonathan Woods. This is his first stab at administration also. Look him up on the Certification Channel.
Agee and Woods were trained in the early 2000s for middle school education. They have been in the classroom maybe three years each. The qualification for leadership advancement in DeKalb? Special Education training and a penchant for sexual harrassment! What a legacy from Crawford Lewis!
God help the students of DeKalb Schools!
The incompetent Ron Ramsey, head of DCSS Internal Affairs who is out of the office for three months plus has multiple family businesses to run, and his lackey, the retired but still working full-time at DCSS Robert Tucker, practice SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT.
ReplyDeleteThey love to railroad teachers, but any fraud, corruption, crime, etc. that is related to the administration is let be.
You are a complete embarassment of a man, Ronald Ramsey.
why don't these incidents go to the professional certifications board to get the certificates revoked?
ReplyDelete"A teacher had helped a parent file a Sexual Harrassment Complaint against the new assistant principal Agee had hired. This guy is Jay Cunningham's son. His name is Jonathan Woods. This is his first stab at administration also. Look him up on the Certification Channel.
ReplyDeleteAgee and Woods were trained in the early 2000s for middle school education. They have been in the classroom maybe three years each. The qualification for leadership advancement in DeKalb? Special Education training and a penchant for sexual harrassment!"
Please, please, please tel me this is not truee. Can this school system stoop any lower???
Ok people, that ish that we had to listen to at a staff meeting wasn't for me or any teacher I know. It should have been watched by admins, board members, and central office personnel. Teachers do not make under the table deals....they do. As far as the $$$ is concerned, there several people who have stolen money and the central office is aware of it. Those ladies we unlucky becausse they were not in the Who's Who of DCSS. Fuurthermore, has anyone heard about the progress on the super search? I have not seen anything, nor is it posted on the website. How can candidates apply when its not even on the website?
ReplyDelete"Premier"
ReplyDeletehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
What does Ron Ramsey have on Tyson and Tom Bowen?
ReplyDeleteThere is NO WAY this guy should still have his incredibly high paid job. He is a major reason why all these scandals have occurred.
He, along with his flack Robert Tucker, act in a disgraceful manner daily.
Sorry Ramona Tyson, your staff represents you. Are you really comfortable with having Ron Ramsey, Robert Tucker, Audria Berry and her p-card out of the country trip as high ranking members of your administration???
Why is Audria Berry still making educational decisions for students? How can she have any credibility when she goes in front of the BOE?
ReplyDeleteStick a fork in us...we're done!
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't write a movie screenplay this weird.
ReplyDeleteA married school system superintendent takes an out of the country vacation to the Bahamas, paying for it with a school system purchasing card, with a woman who is not his wife, who is also employed by the same school system. The superintendent is indicted for criminal fraud and loses his jon. The "other woman" stays employed by the school system in a position where she oversees tens of millions of dollars of federal education funds.
Oh yeah, because of the system's incompetence, the system has to pay for legal fees for the disgraced former supt.
See, you cou;dn't make this stuff up.
I know Cere doesn't like it when we write Bahamas Berry, but c'mon Cere, it's too hard to resist!!
ReplyDeleteIt will be easier to elicit Ms.Berry's testimony against her former lover if she is still employed. I suspect they will play it that she was coerced by her superior. So no, they won't be examining her job performance until after the trial.
ReplyDeleteI think there is still a lot to be uncovered.
ReplyDeleteWhen will SACS, the GA Department of Education, the Governor-someone, anyone with authority will care about the kids of DeKalb?
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain to me why Ramona Tyson, appointed by Crawford Lewis, is a credible, responsible, and qualified superintendent?
ReplyDelete"It will be easier to elicit Ms.Berry's testimony against her former lover if she is still employed. '
ReplyDeleteAnd no one is bothered by the fact that she received promotions from Lewis which resulted in setting educational policy for students and overseeing $128,000,000 of student funds?
What do you think teachers think about how you become promoted in DCSS?
ReplyDeleteHow much respect can she have among DCSS staff, students, parents and taxpayers?
ReplyDelete"This guy is Jay Cunningham's son. His name is Jonathan Woods. This is his first stab at administration also. Look him up on the Certification Channel. "
ReplyDeleteI looked him up. He was certified to teach in 2005, and he's now an Assistant Principal (certified in ed leadership in 2009). What is he - 28 years old?
https://www.gapsc.com/Certification/Lookup/look_up.aspx
I thought the BOE members could not have any family members in administrative positions per a recent Georgia law. Would someone please contact SACS:
Dr. Mark Elgart
President/CEO
AdvancED (SACS/Casi)
9115 Westside Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Or Call -
888.41ED NOW (888.413.3669)
Let us know at this blog what response you have from them.
Audria Berry:
ReplyDelete2004 State Salary and Travel audit:
Instructional Supervisor - $84,750
2007 State Salary and Travel audit:
Deputy Superintendent: $107,973
Is this coercion?
Anon 9:30-
ReplyDeleteYes. And the ridiculous raises will be construed as hush money. Just watch.
@ February 10, 2011 9:17 PM
ReplyDeleteI'm confused. You gave all the info, the phone numbers etc. Why can't you contact SACS yourself?
Even if you are an employee, use an alias.
"Even if you are an employee, use an alias."
ReplyDeleteAnd how can you hold SACS responsible if you're using an alias?
Someone is really calling all of the wshots in Deklabl (maybe county and school system). It is someone very powerfu. Could be the bishop. could be the bishop. could be francis edwards... who got who which job? Ramsey got the bishop his job... bishop helped get ramsey elected... see it's a cycle... they help each other out... it may be very difficult to fire him...
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite understanding your point. Even if someone uses their real name, they can't hold SACS responsible. All they can do is report it. SACS isn't likely to report back to the informant.
ReplyDeleteIt's time that those who know of illegal happenings in DCSS come out and stand up for what is right. Our children are suffering and the corruption that plagues the system needs to be brought down, so that every child in DCSS gets an education that will allow them to pursue anything that they set their mind to. There has to be more than this and it's time that it all comes out and good people run our district who know something about education and who care about all children in our county.
ReplyDeleteHow is someone with the last name Woods, Cunningham's son? Is it is stepson?
ReplyDeleteThe poor internal auditor will be so busy weeding out the illegal activities that I am betting he can never get to the plain old incompetence.
ReplyDeleteWhile it would cost money, maybe we need to insist we hire a second internal auditor. Actually, the savings we would recoup from ending bad behavior would probably pay both auditors salaries and then some.
God knows what the new internal auditor is going to find. But I guarantee you there are many administration employees all over the district trying to cover up any malfeasance that has happened under their leadership.
ReplyDeleteAnother family member with not a great employment history, yet they still have a job.
I am so mad right now. Ms. Tyson PLEASE ask for the resignations of the area superintendent, who hired these bozos who think it's all right to sexually harass women and have screaming fits of rage during staff meetings.
People like this lack one thing that is most necessary in being a principal, Leadership qualities. It's obvious to me that Clew and his band of merry men and women drove our system right off the cliff. Now we're just starting to find out exactly the type of people CLew hired. It's time for the whole bunch to be shown the door!
DeKalb DA is also a part of this now. Gwen Keyes gets a nice new job at the EPA, just as the real truth started to come out against Bishop Eddie Long's jobs program also known as DCSS.
I smell a rat and it's the entire leadership at DCSS, except for maybe this internal auditor, who I hope can continue his investigations without the BOE or Tyson getting involved.
I am so dispirited because the only people truly suffering in all this are the kids. All they deserve is a decent education. But for some reason a group of people have hijacked a school system and the leadership can't clean house and get our system back on track because of shady backroom deals and the friends and family plan. SO SAD!
SACS is part of the problem! As long as SACS Executives have family members working at DCSS, do you honestly think SACS can solve our issues? Please SACS is just as corrupt as our school system.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for the adults to take over our school system, if we can find some adults in DeKalb Government. I fear our county lacks the true leadership it takes to make our school system and county work better.
DeKalb is doomed until the citizens, taxpayers and stakeholders, of this once great county, wake up!
You raise a good point Anon 7:50! when those that have been excluded from the public trough for years attempt to get opportunities and contracts (i.e. money), those that have previously had a monopoly on it get upset. They know the tricks of the trade and where most of the bones are buried. They also know that those new to the game don't have the kinds of protections they had when taking from the school system. Why not sit back, wait for the obvious mistakes, then sic a complicit media on them? We've seen this pattern over and over again.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone think DeKalb has been a squeaky clean system until the past few years? It's simply now that more are getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar and there are insiders willing to publicly call them out.
People,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you expect??
Dekalb county is as corrupt as they come. They have a street named "Cynthia McKinney Blvd." Again, what do you expect? If you send your children to Dekalb county schools, that's what you chose. It's not going to change, because the citizens of Dekalb county will continue voting in corrupt people. Perhaps you haven't noticed how diverse the county is.
Sell your house, like I did. If you have children, rent a house (there are many on the market at great prices) in a school district that you approve. You will not have to pay the exorbitant Dekalb county taxes, and you can always move if the school lines change.
This is a NO-BRAINER. Houses are not good investments anymore.
Yes, I know. The market not as good as it was, but sell at a competitive price. Do it now, because it's not getting any better anytime soon.
Again, nothing is going to change in Dekalb county. I am ecstatic I no longer pay ANY Dekalb taxes anymore.
@ 8:06 What you propose is basically what parents that send their kids to the magnet programs do-thumb their nose at their home school. Will my child attend DCSS, probably not, but that does not mean that I do not want the children in my neighborhood and county to continue to get an inferior education or just remain uneducated. You see when our children are illiterate and unable to think, we as a society are in trouble. Our children are falling further and further behind because more and more they cannot read or think. We adults are failing our children and I wonder when this is going to stop.
ReplyDeleteMoving and doing nothing is cowardly. Standing up for our children, who cannot speak for themselves is honorable and the right thing to do. As a former DCSS teacher, I started the year of the slogan No Excuses and I wonder why that saying has never been applied to the administration of DCSS.
@ 9:07: I don't get it. You say, "Will my child attend DCSS, probably not" and yet you want us to stand and fight the corruption? To keep our kids in DCSS schools just because?
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm tired. I have been a room parent, a PTA board member, a school council member. I have vonteered at the book fair, the fundraisers both spring and fall, and poetry night. I have read stories, done art projects with 5 year olds, helped 1st graders read, and gone to every performance and international dinner. I have written letters, petitions, gone to Board meetings, every kind of public input meeting DCSS and the Board of Ed have hatched up. I have been to both Emory-LaVista and Dunwoody-Chamblee Parent Council meetings, and read and posted to this blog to the point that it's my FaceBook.
And I'm tired.
The layers of corruption are bottomless. I was innocent and hopeful until the bald-faced pandering to moneyed interests was announced on Minday night. I was stupid, but now I get it.
I have 2 young children, and I don't intend to sacrifice them on the DCSS funeral pyre. Or guano heap, pick one.
I'm moving somewhere else as soon as I can get my house on the market.
I smell a rat!!!!! The young lady's statement in the AJC sounds a lot like someone elses. What about that Ronald Ramsey? Hmmmmmmmmm!
ReplyDelete@ 9:58 I understand where you are coming from. I left DCSS as a teacher at the end of last school year because I could not be a teacher that I would want my own child to have. I live in DeKalb and boy I wish I could afford to take the hit that I would need to take to get out of my house.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it's time for the honest people of DeKalb to stand up to the corruption, the friends and family program, the unwarranted raises, administrators with little to no teaching experience, and everything else that is wrong with the county and particularly the school system.
Our children are getting the shaft by these adults, many who are getting their pockets lined with tax payer money. Keeping people on who have misspent funds knowingly is unthinkable. Hiring people with little teaching experience as administrators is imaginable where I have taught and lived elsewhere. Changing the job title and increasing the salary is stealing.
There is more than meets the eye here. Our internal people cannot be trusted to do the right thing. They looked the other way when these expenditures were taking place. Our school board cannot be trusted, as they keep giving superintendents raises who have not demonstrated the ability to run the school system in a well run way.
I understand why people want to leave and go if you want, but if you are going to stay, sitting on your laurels and doing nothing and letting the DeKalb Machine do its thing is not acceptable.
I am convinced that the theories with New Birth while seemingly far fetched are right on the money and could even be worse that we could even imagine. I am sure that there are others that have stolen money belonging to the children. I am sure that we have only hit the tip of the ice burg. SACS is not going to save the school system. The governor or GA Department of Education is not going to save our school system. We the people need to fight back and save the system for our children.
I do not have any personal knowledge of wrongdoing, theft, corruption, nepotism, etc. I don't know whether to believe these charges or not. If some comments are to be believed, it is a waste of my time to call for investigation because those who would investigate are corrupt too.
ReplyDeleteWhat's my next step?
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU, i am constantly being told "GO OVER THEIR HEAD"...for what?..THEY ARE PROBALY EVEN MORE CORRUPT!... they didnt get to the top, because they earned it justly!...quit trying to pretend these ppl care, THEY DONT!
DeleteWoods is Jay Cunningham's son out of wedlock.
ReplyDeleteCunningham fits right in as one of our school board members. Where is SAC?
ReplyDeleteMy question is Why isn't Burrell Ellis sitting on the school systems door step asking questions. Doesn't he have a right to expect their use of tax payer money that is handed over to them is spent well. Doesn't he have an obligation to all of us Dekalb citizens, business and children to step up and ask some tough questions? Their mismanagement has a direct correlation on the amount of potential home buyers and businesses looking to relocate here from out of state or in state for that matter. Why isn't the county stepping up and putting their big foot up someone's %@%.
ReplyDeleteThe 5 in this AJC report may go to jail for credit card fraud -- using a State issued credit card to buy gas for their personal vehicles. Hello DeKalb DA.... remember Crawford??? We do. http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/5-former-georgia-revenue-835561.html
ReplyDeleteWas driving on Mountain Industrial Boulevard this morning and accidently made the turn into the Atlanta Fun Center instead of the DeKalb County School System parking lot. Really made me wonder...coincidence? I think not!
ReplyDeleteWhen my former principal retired, every penny that could be found was spent on her retirement celebration. Clubs, departments and actiities were 'told' to donate funds. Money was spent for a dance band and dance floor, catered meal, professional decorating and invitations.
ReplyDeleteThe new principal who replaced her began the new school year with no funds.
"I am so dispirited because the only people truly suffering in all this are the kids"
ReplyDeleteSister, I write a monthly mortgage check which includes escrow for taxes and insurance. The bulk of the tax portion goes to DCSS. It isn't only the kids suffering. So, unless I leave Dekalb County for a better managed county I am forking over money with a negative return on investment.
I believe this bottomless-well-spending attitude is also contributing to foreclosures. Over 20 years my taxes have materially increased... (and yes I know about millage rates) to the point that at retirement I may be paying an amount equal to a house payment and my house will have been paid for (hopefully) by that time.
@8:06AM
ReplyDelete"You will not have to pay the exorbitant Dekalb county taxes"
Renters DO pay the taxes thru their rent. Few homeowners are going to rent their houses for less than their expenses. Taxes, insurance, interest and upkeep ARE their expenses.
Stable school communities and neighborhoods make for better students. As a homeowner and Watch person for my street I dislike seeing renters because they contribute little while taking much. Get involved where you are and make a difference.
Hey, maybe anyone with hard evidence of fraud, stealing and corruption in dekalb should also deposit said evidence with our new georgia attorney general -- I really do not believe he is part of the NB crowd -- he might actually do something with it all....
ReplyDeleteTo All Parents,
ReplyDeleteBe afraid, be very afraid.
When I read here that a student was sexually molested by another student in my children's elementary school and they were both still there, I knew that I had to protect my family.
When I asked why a molester was still in the school and parents weren't warned, they told me that the school and county followed all proper procedures but that they would transfer my children to another school if I'd like.
They still don't get it. Why transfer to another school where there may be another molester enrolled since obvious the county's procedures allow them to stay enrolled without any special protections for the rest of the students.
Be afraid parents, be very afraid.
I agree! My daughter was assaulted by an older girl and her bbrother, my daughter ssuuffered massive injuries, surprisingly,I had a hard time finding legal representation for this matter, because "the skull(and YEs I MEAN "skull") system has their loopholes", that child and her brother are back at skull, no chrges were brought against them, when I was told, they'd both be punished to the fullest..that was a lie, because the children ONLY received ISS they werent even suspended, still caught the same bus asmy daughter!.. this public skull SINISTER AGENDA, IS COMING TO A HEAD..AND WHEN IT DOES FINALLY BUST, ITS GONNA BE REAL MESSY!!!!!!!!!!!..dont fear, YAH is NEAR!:-)
Delete@6:34P,
ReplyDeleteUh, no renters do not pay taxes. I was paying over $500 a month in my Dekalb County taxes. Now I rent a beautiful three bedroom two bath home in Dekalb County for not much more than a large apartment.
People who can't sell their homes are willing to rent at reasonable prices.
Now, since you don't know me, why are you telling me to get involved? Do you happen to know that I don't do community volunteer work? What do you know about me?
You want to throw your tax dollars away to Dekalb county, go ahead. You do not sound very smart to me. You also sound like a Fernbank parent. And you're not very nice.
You don't "like" renters?
Why? What's wrong with renters?
@ 10:21 am
ReplyDeleteAs the economy and higher taxes force many people out of their homes, I think we will see more and more "renters".
Actually, renting is a smart financial move in today's economy. If I were a parent of school age children, I would rather rent in a school area with high scores and expectations and involved parents than pay a mortgage and taxes in an area where my local school has many learning and behavior problems.
My banker is a young man who is trying to sell his home in south Cobb to rent in Northeast Cobb. Currently, he's paying a mortgage and private school tuition for his children. He's figured out he can rent in an area where the schools are topnotch cheaper than paying a mortgage, high taxes and private school tuition, thus allowing him to increase his net assets more rapidly.
Smart move 10:21.
Taxes are built into rent. If I own a home that I rent out, all my costs, mortgage, insurances and property taxes go into the calculation of what I charge for rent.
ReplyDeleteSame thing with apartments -- renters are paying the property taxes through their rents.
It may not be direct like a home owner, but you are paying.
@10:53
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's a smart financial move to rent now. I did not have a mortgage when I sold my very nice intown neighborhood house for which I was paying over $500 a month in taxes, but my rent now is less than what my mortgage would have been, plus I am no longer paying the $500/month in taxes to a corrupt Dekalb county system. AND, I have cash in my pocket. A win/win situation, as the homeowner gets a good renter because he can't sell his house, and the renter gets a nice house for a good price, with no taxes.
As for the commenter who doesn't like renters and keeps insisting that somehow renters are paying taxes, while at the same time insisting they're not contributing, I do not think he/she understands finances, or demographics, or the fact that many people in nice intown neighborhoods(including one very well-known tv personality) are renting their very nice homes to people that I assume such particular people as 6:34P would even approve.
Let's say my mortgage is $1,000 a month. Let's say $300 (or more) of that $1,000 is for taxes.
ReplyDeleteLet's say I vacate my house without selling it and rent it to you for $1,000 a month.
I take YOUR $1,000 and pay MY mortgage payment. My mortgage company takes $300 of YOUR money and pays MY taxes with it. How is it that YOU have NOT paid taxes???
In addition, you have just helped me take one step closer to owning my home without me paying the mortgage.
@ No Dug
ReplyDelete"Let's say I vacate my house without selling it and rent it to you for $1,000 a month."
That's assuming you can rent your home for $1,000.
Also remember as a landlord you will be paying for the upkeep on the house (roof, appliances, plumbing, electrical, painting, flooring, windows and doors, heating and air conditioning units, etc.). Maybe your house never needs all this, but mine is a money pit. My house is an investment in my lifestyle, but is not a monetary investment. I decided that a long time ago.
So really, you need to get more than $1,000 a month since you actually put a lot of money into upkeep. If you don't then you will not be able to ask as much.
For people deeply underwater in their mortgages (which I'm sure doesn't apply to you), often they cannot charge enough rent to make their mortgage since their house was so overvalued when they bought it. That's rampant in many sections of Atlanta, not just DeKalb.
I think many people are re evaluating renting versus buying although owing a home is the American Dream even when you don't really own it.
What is the point of your arguments about renting or owning?
ReplyDeleteEither way, the county gets its fair share of taxes!
Let's not be that ridiculous on Sunday.
The subject of this blog entry is employee theft from the schools - from our children.
ReplyDeleteThe subject of this blog is the corruption of Dekalb county. People like me don't want to contribute any more. Many people are renting for much less than they want, because they can't sell their houses, and they can't get the rents they want. So rather than foreclosure, they take what they can get. WIN/WIN for renters and lessors.
ReplyDeleteRenting is the way to go. No taxes, no upkeep, no payments to Dekalb county. If you have kids, you can rent in a neighborhood with good schools, then move if lines change.
Renting a house in Dekalb county will save you much money that otherwise would go toward your mortgage, plus taxes, and if you have kids, private school.
No brainer. Money saved. No money going to corruption.
AND, you don't have to be a whiner who buys into the government system, then complains when the government doesn't give them 100% what they want.
What liberal Democrats, who believe so much in "government" don't understand, is that what the government gives, the government can take away.
I find this particularly offensive with the "limousine liberals" in Druid Hills who oh so much want to "help the poor" but my gosh when it hits their backyard, NO WAY.
What a bunch of hypocrites you are. You'll sacrifice the children of S. Dekalb for your oh so precious children.
If you want perfection, and you want a say, send your kids to private school.
In the meantime, I am so happy to not be paying for your childrens' education because this whole school controversy has shed light on what hypocrites many of you are.
No Duh,
ReplyDeleteI apologize for having to explain basic economics to you and the others who say that renters are paying taxes:
As long as the property is owned by the owner, the owner pays the taxes, whether or not the property is leased or not. So, my leasing a property does not change what the county gets.
Is that clear enough for you?
Sorry to be rude, but it's not rocket science.
@ anon 9:46 AM
ReplyDeleteYes of course renters indirectly pay school taxes through the rents that they pay to the landlord.
If your home assessed value increases, then your taxes automatically increase. If the owner of an apartment house has a greater occupancy rate and/or increases the rents of tenants, then his property value would go up in the eyes of a purchaser. However, it is not clear if DeKalb County recognizes this. Apartment house occupancy rates and rents presently are going up because many people can no longer afford to own homes.
I would not give any credence to how multiple unit dwellings are assessed in DKC. I remember about two or three years ago there was a case where a DeKalb County tax assessor granted a waiver for about $250,000 a year in taxes to an apartment house. He received a three day suspension with pay. The case was taken under investigation by the DKC tax department. I do not think that the investigation has as yet been concluded. lol
Maybe apartment houses are accessed on the basis of who gets paid off. Our fair county really does have its quirks you know.
Somethings smells a little fishy here to me.
ReplyDeleteI think that the word "investigation" indicates that the bookkeeper, Mrs. Rucks, is NOT guilty. Everyone knows that the person who has to approve everything is the principal. Why weren't the financial books reconciled LAST YEAR? Seems to me that the D.A. is delving deeper to find the REAL culprits.
Also, I think that this investigation is a red herring--created to give the public the impression that the leadership at DCSS is actively trying to root out corruption, when the exact opposite is the case. While $23K is a big deal to many of us, this money is insignificant in comparison to the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars being stolen and wasted in the DeKalb County School System.
I want to see the 2004 audit. I want to know what the H*LL is going on with America's Choice. I want to know about the search for a new superintendent. I want to know how the heck Beasley has become the instructional czar. I want to know why Burrell Ellis is doing nothing.
Watch my right hand while I pick your pockets with my left...
Happy valentines day @9:46.
ReplyDeleteI will take YOUR money and pay my taxes. You have just paid my taxes. So, while you may not have paid taxes using your name, you have paid taxes.
If you don't want to pay taxes to DeKalb county -- either directly (through home ownership) or indirectly (through renting) don't live in DeKalb.
You're correct. It isn't that difficult. Don't let the door hit you in the butt.
One more time, No Duh.
ReplyDeleteDid you graduate from Dekalb county schools?
Here's an example:
I own a house in another state. It is currently on the market. I pay the property taxes for the currently unleased house. If I lease the house, I get some extra income that helps me pay the property taxes. The renter DOES NOT pay the taxes. I pay taxes no matter what.
Nothing changes regarding what the county gets from the owner.
Rental income is just extra money for the owner to help pay the rent.
And the rent I will get is only what the market will allow. The owner of the house from whom I'm currently renting accepted much less than what he originally asked.
Sorry to educate you in basic economics.
Geez....
Again, not rocket science.
Do you actually think that owners of unoccupied houses do not pay property taxes?
No Duh,
ReplyDeleteI meant to say:
Rental income is just extra money for the owner to help pay the TAXEX.
Come on, make your brilliant argument.
The Atlanta school board has publicly censured member Courtney English because he failed to pay a $2,500 ethics fine on time.
ReplyDeleteThe fine was handed down in October by an ethics panel affiliated with the school board. It came after English acknowledged he made $855.83 in personal charges to his Atlanta Public Schools-issued credit card. The panel additionally levied a public reprimand, and English also lost use of the card.
The fine was due Jan. 29. English paid it Monday.
What is taking DeKalb County so long?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWho has proof (hard evidence) of the affiars? If there is hard evidence -- perhaps the media should be informed? Is there a gilted lover who would like to go public and rat him out? Perhaps take it to the GBI? The FBI -- let's start ratting these people out of office..... take the evidence somewhere...file an EEOC complaint... do something active, don't just complain here.
ReplyDeleteBreaking News!!!
ReplyDeleteGuess 10% isn't cutting it anymore. Going to have to add more high paid administrators to the DCSS roster!
ATLANTA -- It’s an annual tradition that draws tens of thousands of people to the Georgia Dome, but this Easter, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church will have a change of
venue.
Georgia Dome spokesman Jason Kirksey confirmed to Channel 2 that the church pulled out of the dome, saying the church cited “economic conditions.” Kirksey said he couldn't comment any further and referred Channel 2 to New Birth.
“It’s been three years since New Birth has held Resurrection Services at the Georgia Dome,” church spokesman Art Franklin wrote in a statement.
The downtown celebration often drew celebrity performers. This year's service will be held at the New Birth Cathedral.
The theme will be "Rise Up."
Rise Up? So, Jesus is now the Pillsbury Dough Boy?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Anonymous 2/10/2011...Do you have DNA, a note from mom, dad or Mr. Woods himself that Jay Cunningham is indeed his father? LoL. Funny. If he his, DCSS hired him. No leadership experience? DCSS hired him. I agree with you on the point that the faculty and students of Columbia High School deserve more. CHS is not the place for inexperienced leaders.
ReplyDeleteNow as far as Agee's fiesty outbursts, I understand the compassion and the energy of a "coach." What it sounds like is that you are "offended" by the fact that the principal seems to THINK (and have realistic ideals and goals for the students) without having to be programmed by faculty/staff and politically correct county office officials who are used to the old days and dog and pony shows.
Respect is important. A fair fighting chance is a good thing, too.
"Whats done in the dark, comes to the light"!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sick to my stomach..I can not beLIEve this is WHERE WE AreSEND FORCED OR JAILED,TO SEND OUR KIDS TO BE EDUCATed!!! ITS A SHAME NONE OF THESE ILL DOINGS ARE EVEN TAKEN IN TO CONSIDERATION, WHEN PARENTS NO LONGER FEEL A NEED TO DEPEND ON SUCH A MESSED UP PLACE!?? Im furious that theyre arguing over money and silly issues that arent even real, WHAT ABOUTIT THE KIDS???? YALL DONT CARE, ITS ALL ABOUT MONEY!!!!They know they have a sinister agenda..its coming to the light!!!!! HALLELUJAH! YAHUSHUA!
ReplyDelete