This is such bad news! While our board and system leaders were busy and distracted, millions of dollars went zipping by - un-captured.
Read the latest at the AJC:
DeKalb misses Race to Top deadline; new deadline could have consequences if missed
The DeKalb County school system has to do some hiring – and in a hurry.
School Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson was notified Wednesday that the school system has until Feb. 28 to make 15 hires, mostly teaching coaches to help low-income students struggling with math, science and other subjects.
If the system misses the deadline, Atkinson has been warned, there could escalating consequences. The most extreme: loss of the district’s $34 million, four-year federal Race to the Top grant.
In 2009, DeKalb and 25 other local school districts were collectively awarded $200 million through Race to the Top, an education reform program created by the Obama administration.
In exchange, the school districts had to agree to certain initiatives, such as creating turn-around plans for their lowest-performing schools, and to certain deadlines.
DeKalb school officials agreed to but missed a deadline to have the 15 new hires on board by the start of the current school year last August. Their main jobs involved working with students and parents at four of the county’s most economically and academically challenged schools: Freedom Middle School, McNair Middle School, Towers High School and Clarkston High School.
Read the rest at the link above. Please, I beg of you, complain! People in these schools need to demand more for their children from our leadership.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Board holds a retreat at SACS headquarters
The DeKalb County Board of Education Retreat was held on Wednesday, January 18 and DeKalb School Watch has the following report from an observer.
I have planned and run successful retreats and I can tell you – this was not one. Dunwoody City Council recently announced that they will be having an all day retreat. Click this article at the Patch to see what a well-planned retreat should look like.
This BOE “retreat” was billed as a discussion between the BOE and the Superintendent from noon until 3 PM. Actually, the meeting began 50 minutes late and ran over by 2 hours! And I’m still not sure why they met at SACS headquarters. Mark Elgart did not make an appearance. Nor did anyone from SACS.
It was just another typical BOE meeting – but with food and without the hour of public comments. This meeting was enlightening in random, unexpected ways. Although, some BOE members mumble and don’t speak up or speak clearly, even a casual observer could tell that there are BOE members who are not well-versed in the operations of the schools in their districts. For example, most do not know which high schools are on a 4 x 4 block and which are on a 7-period day. Surely they could know this information about the high schools in the districts that elected them! Gene Walker did not know that there are only 4 Parent Councils in DeKalb. Sarah Copelin-Woods went ballastic at the mention of Alvin Wilbanks’ name (Gwinnett Superintendent) because of an error in judgment made by a few Gwinnett teachers. Gene Walker did nothing to rein her in. Sarah continued to rant “sotto voce” as Superintendent Atkinson continued through her PowerPoint presentation.
There was a lot of unprofessional behavior–the same behavior that teachers struggle with in their classrooms every day. Jay Cunningham alternated between leaning way back in his chair with his eyes closed, playing with his phone and getting up to leave the room to take calls. While Superintendent Atkinson was presenting, there was whispering between some adjacent BOE members. At least two BOE members did not bother to take notes even though they were each recently provided their own iPad. To be fair, I could not see all of the BOE members because they were seated at a round table.
Tom Bowen, now vice chair, left the meeting at 3:50 PM – just when the highly-anticipated, $150,000 new salary audit summary from Management Advisory Group (MAG) was introduced by Superintendent Atkinson. He missed the best part of the whole meeting! The most discussion and, certainly the most passion displayed all afternoon, came to the fore with regard to DCSS central office staffing. It was clear that Jay Cunningham, Sarah Copelin-Woods and Gene Walker think of DeKalb County School System as a jobs program, keeping their friends and family fully employed. While that may not be the opinion of others on the BOE, not one person called Jay, Sarah or Gene on their thinly veiled “concerns.”
Below are my reactions to the report from Management Advisory Group (MAG) regarding bloat in the central office:
One final thought: Thank you, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for sending a reporter, Ty Tagami, to sit through the whole, interminable “retreat” yesterday! It’s critical that respectable news publications tediously track the spending of the people’s tax dollars, as well as the quality of education in Georgia. Ty wrote an excellent article which can be read here. However, I do differ with Tagami’s interpretation that Superintendent Atkinson said she would “massage” the MAG report. First, we did not see the whole report, just a summary. And, second—the way I heard it—what Superintendent Atkinson was specifically referring to when she used the word, “massage” was the MAG-suggested organization chart. And, I agree. It was poorly drawn, looked like an after-thought, and did need a lot of “massaging”!
I have planned and run successful retreats and I can tell you – this was not one. Dunwoody City Council recently announced that they will be having an all day retreat. Click this article at the Patch to see what a well-planned retreat should look like.
This BOE “retreat” was billed as a discussion between the BOE and the Superintendent from noon until 3 PM. Actually, the meeting began 50 minutes late and ran over by 2 hours! And I’m still not sure why they met at SACS headquarters. Mark Elgart did not make an appearance. Nor did anyone from SACS.
It was just another typical BOE meeting – but with food and without the hour of public comments. This meeting was enlightening in random, unexpected ways. Although, some BOE members mumble and don’t speak up or speak clearly, even a casual observer could tell that there are BOE members who are not well-versed in the operations of the schools in their districts. For example, most do not know which high schools are on a 4 x 4 block and which are on a 7-period day. Surely they could know this information about the high schools in the districts that elected them! Gene Walker did not know that there are only 4 Parent Councils in DeKalb. Sarah Copelin-Woods went ballastic at the mention of Alvin Wilbanks’ name (Gwinnett Superintendent) because of an error in judgment made by a few Gwinnett teachers. Gene Walker did nothing to rein her in. Sarah continued to rant “sotto voce” as Superintendent Atkinson continued through her PowerPoint presentation.
There was a lot of unprofessional behavior–the same behavior that teachers struggle with in their classrooms every day. Jay Cunningham alternated between leaning way back in his chair with his eyes closed, playing with his phone and getting up to leave the room to take calls. While Superintendent Atkinson was presenting, there was whispering between some adjacent BOE members. At least two BOE members did not bother to take notes even though they were each recently provided their own iPad. To be fair, I could not see all of the BOE members because they were seated at a round table.
Tom Bowen, now vice chair, left the meeting at 3:50 PM – just when the highly-anticipated, $150,000 new salary audit summary from Management Advisory Group (MAG) was introduced by Superintendent Atkinson. He missed the best part of the whole meeting! The most discussion and, certainly the most passion displayed all afternoon, came to the fore with regard to DCSS central office staffing. It was clear that Jay Cunningham, Sarah Copelin-Woods and Gene Walker think of DeKalb County School System as a jobs program, keeping their friends and family fully employed. While that may not be the opinion of others on the BOE, not one person called Jay, Sarah or Gene on their thinly veiled “concerns.”
Below are my reactions to the report from Management Advisory Group (MAG) regarding bloat in the central office:
- Where we are now is exactly the same place we were following the Ernst & Young report.
- This report came to almost exactly the same conclusions as Ernst & Young.
- And, they made the same request to look at what employees really do and to standardize job descriptions/requirements across DCSS, while also standardizing the salary scale.
- So, we are paying again for essentially the same information. Surely no one expected an improvement! Hopefully, this report will not go AWOL.
One final thought: Thank you, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, for sending a reporter, Ty Tagami, to sit through the whole, interminable “retreat” yesterday! It’s critical that respectable news publications tediously track the spending of the people’s tax dollars, as well as the quality of education in Georgia. Ty wrote an excellent article which can be read here. However, I do differ with Tagami’s interpretation that Superintendent Atkinson said she would “massage” the MAG report. First, we did not see the whole report, just a summary. And, second—the way I heard it—what Superintendent Atkinson was specifically referring to when she used the word, “massage” was the MAG-suggested organization chart. And, I agree. It was poorly drawn, looked like an after-thought, and did need a lot of “massaging”!
Education-Related Legislative Updates
===
Submitted by David Montané:
By banding together with Republicans, one of the DeKalb Delegation, Democrat Senator Jason Carter, may succeed where other Democrat Senators failed. Last year, he and five Republican Senators sponsored Senate Bill 49, which if passed into law would raise the age for mandatory education from 16 to 16-1/2.
Last year, Senate Bills 14 and 208 sought to raise the mandatory education age from 16 to 17, and Senate Bill 43 sought to increase the range of mandatory education from ages 6-16, to ages 5-17. All sponsors of these three bills were Democrats, including several from the DeKalb Delegation. SB 49 was the only one of the four bills to make it out of the Education and Youth committee, and to be re-activated in the current legislative session. Republican Senator Fran Millar, also part of the DeKalb Delegation, is the committee Chairman.
Unfortunately, this mandate would: further expand the state's power over the people, is estimated to add $8 Million to the state budget, and may give school boards (including DCSS) yet another excuse to increase local taxes instead of tightening their belts. Forcing would-be high school dropouts to remain an extra semester will not have the desired effect (more jobs or higher pay), instead leading to even more teenage angst, more truancy, more security risks. More disgruntled students distracting the attention of teachers from your motivated child.
The bill can be found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/32420.
===
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Interesting news on the new audit report
Click the link below to read the article posted at the AJC online: (Gotta love the shocking title!)
Report: DeKalb schools have too many administrators
So, basically, what they're saying here is, we have too many administrators. Over 300 too many in fact. In the central office of course. Apparently we have almost 1,500 staff in the central office, when we really should only have 1,162.
In addition, "Job titles, and their lack of descriptiveness, are a problem. The district employs directors, coordinators, secretaries and others in the central office whose titles don't reflect their responsibilities."
They also found "confusion about who does what and how much they should be paid. Some secretaries, for instance, have more responsibility than the presumably higher title of coordinator."
So, sadly, we were right.
Now Atkinson says she will take the report and "massage it".
Hmmmm. She may need to get a gizmo from Brookstone to help with that.
Report: DeKalb schools have too many administrators
So, basically, what they're saying here is, we have too many administrators. Over 300 too many in fact. In the central office of course. Apparently we have almost 1,500 staff in the central office, when we really should only have 1,162.
In addition, "Job titles, and their lack of descriptiveness, are a problem. The district employs directors, coordinators, secretaries and others in the central office whose titles don't reflect their responsibilities."
They also found "confusion about who does what and how much they should be paid. Some secretaries, for instance, have more responsibility than the presumably higher title of coordinator."
So, sadly, we were right.
Now Atkinson says she will take the report and "massage it".
Hmmmm. She may need to get a gizmo from Brookstone to help with that.
A Public Service Announcement
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
Go to Fight for the Future and read more.
Visit Wordpress.org and sign the Petitions. Go to Stop American Censorship and send an email to your senator. Then go to "Free Bieber" and create your own "Bieber Cam" video from "behind bars".
This is so serious that many blogs have purposely blacked out today in protest, showing us what the future of the internet could look like if Congress has it's way. The vote on "Protect IP" is scheduled for January 24, so time is of the essence.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
How Much Should DeKalb Schools be Spending for Maintenance?
Looking at each cost center in terms of per pupil dollars consumed is critical to DeKalb Schools. How low can Dr. Atkinson and the DeKalb Board of Education get those non-teaching expenditures is the question. There is a finite amount of per pupil funding. If student achievement is to improve, more per pupil allocation must go into direct instruction and equipment and supplies for the classroom.
Dr. Atkinson has experience with outsourcing in her last school district Lorain City Schools. She proposed and was successful in outsourcing non-core functions when there was a budget crunch. When she interviewed for the CEO position for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, she stated, “My passion is for urban schools districts. I enjoy putting in place programs that are designed around students’ needs. It is my belief that we can educate all children at high levels.…I subscribe to the practice of zero-based budgeting…..I have negotiated contracts to outsource operational services as well as managed internal support services.” Dr. Atkinson has the will and experience to do what is necessary in order to redirect taxpayer dollars into the classrooms, but the citizens of DeKalb must diligently and vigorously support her efforts.
Around 600 teaching positions (also known as the “core business”) were cut in 2009-10 and 2010-11 in order to ensure the continued employment of all DeKalb Schools personnel. Student achievement also fell to the lowest level in the history of the school system and the lowest in the metro area in our Title 1 schools during the last two years as literally hundreds of teaching positions were left unfilled when teachers left the system.
Much has been made of the Compensation audit that Dr. Atkinson is using to assess where DeKalb can save money and reinvest in the classroom. The audit is an excellent start. However, Dr. Atkinson and the Board members must look at the numbers of personnel that perform the functions as well their compensation. Dekalb employs 280 Maintenance personnel for our 95,481 students while Gwinnett employs 154 Maintenance personnel for 159,814 students and Cobb County employs 133 Maintenance personnel for 106,619 students. Gwinnett County has 131 schools while DeKalb has 133 schools. In addition, Gwinnett County has 64,333 more students than DeKalb. That is to say, 64,333 more students are using the equipment that must be maintained in Gwinnett than DeKalb, yet Gwinnett is maintaining that equipment with considerably less maintenance personnel. “Rightsizing” the number of personnel is just as important as “rightsizing” the compensation of those personnel. Protecting jobs should never take precedence over the “core business” of the classroom, which is to educate students. Students are the only reason we have a school system and the reason taxpayers pay school taxes. As Marietta Superintendent Emily Lembeck said when she had to make tough budget decisions, “It becomes more difficult to protect what happens in the classroom without looking at some services that are not directly related... Reducing days of instruction through furloughs and larger class sizes is not in the best interest of our core business of educating students.” Dr. Lembeck ought to know. Marietta City students have had remarkable achievement rates (before and after strict test monitoring) over the last 10 years under Dr. Lembeck even as the school system’s poverty rates have edged higher than DeKalb. That’s exactly why she was named Georgia’s 2012 Superintendent of the Year last week.
School year 2004-2005:
DeKalb Schools employed 280 Maintenance personnel to serve 97,282 students.
School year 2010-2011:
DeKalb employed 251 Security personnel to serve 95,481 students.
The charts below compare DeKalb School System’s current number of and expenditure for Security personnel with other metro Atlanta school systems (* references demographically similar systems).
Every Per Pupil dollar spent for Maintenance is a Per Pupil dollar NOT spent for Instruction.
Comparison Summary (including benefits calculated at 20%):
DeKalb County Schools – 95,481 students – $12,761,613 for 251 Maintenance personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $137
*Atlanta Public Schools (APS) – 48,805 students - $7,891,496 for 169 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $162
*Clayton School System – 49,551 students - $9,322,532 for 360 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $188
Gwinnett County Schools – 159,814 students - $9,616,462 for 154 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $60
*Rockdale County Schools – 15,582 students - $1,381,985 for 26 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $89
Fulton County Schools – 89,920 students - $8,105,289 for 129 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $90
Cobb County Schools - 106,619 students - $6,754,106 for 133 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $63
*Marietta City Schools - 8,010 students - $359,738 for 8 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $45
Decatur City Schools – 2,894 students - $269,057 for 5 Maintenance Personnel
Maintenance Cost per pupil - $93
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