Clayton Schools To Cut Jobs, Salaries

Clayton County will cut 200 teaching jobs from its school system and effectively slash salaries for administrators and other employees. 100 staff members are also slated to lose jobs, although a county official says the hope is to trim jobs through attrition.

The action for the county just south of Atlanta will save more than $20 million from next year’s budget. Clayton already knows it will get $23 million less in funding from the state next year.

Clayton's school board voted 8-0 Monday night to approve the plan.

School Dance Numbers Scrutinized for Racy Content

Clayton County school administrators are cracking down on student performances after a high school dance team's provocative performance drew calls from angry parents.

Clayton County Superintendent John Thompson announced Thursday that all dance, cheerleading and band groups must have their routines approved in advance by an administrator.

The Jonesboro High School dance team was disbanded for the rest of the school year and their coach removed after a performance at a Jan. 13 basketball game where the eight girls wore tiny, tight shorts and danced on chairs.

A video of the girls made it on YouTube. The dance was screened in advance by an assistant principal, but administrators say she saw only a portion of it.

Clayton County hospital on the brink

Clayton County’s only hospital may need to ask for federal help or call for layoffs to keep its doors open. Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale south of Atlanta will not get help from the county—commissioners last night rejected a 40-million dollar bond request. Without help, hospital officials likely will have to write to check to creditors by the end of the month. Southern Regional’s president and CEO says the hospital costs 20-million dollars a month to operate. Officials say the 331-bed hospital ended fiscal year 2008 with a 7-million dollar loss.

Florida will consider Clayton students

Florida has reversed its decision to bar graduates from Clayton County schools from the state's public colleges and universities. Clayton County recently lost accreditation because of School Board mismanagement. Florida changed its mind after Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue asked Florida officials last week to reconsider their position.

(Associated Press)

Clayton won't appeal accreditation loss

The troubled Clayton County school district will not appeal the revocation of its accreditation by a national agency. The district says fighting the decision would cost too much money. Instead, the district will focus its efforts on regaining accreditation within a year. The 50,000-student district lost its accreditation a week ago after it failed to meet all but one of nine mandates outlined in a scathing February report.

Clayton Co. school board cancels meeting over elections

Lacking a quorum, the Clayton County school board has canceled its Monday meeting and delayed all business another two weeks.

Acting board chairwoman Alieka Anderson says the delay until Sept. 22 means the three-member board can add new members.

Two candidates are competing for the District 6 seat in a Sept. 16 special election. The winner will be sworn in before the Sept. 22 meeting along with Jessie Goree, who is unopposed in November for District 3.

The 50,000-student district has lost its accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The board is supposed to have nine members.

Gov. Sonny Perdue removed four board members last month after a state administrative judge found they violated the state code of ethics and Open Meetings Act.

Four other members resigned and one was removed for not living in the county.

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage about the Clayton County school district's loss of accreditation.

Governor Sonny Perdue Wants Authority to Fix Troubled School System

Governor Sonny Perdue is looking at a possible change to the state constitution to allow Georgia to intervene more with Clayton County's troubled school system. Dozens of Clayton County residents have asked Perdue to take control of the 50,000 student school system which lost accreditation last week. The governor's legal team is investigating what it would take to step in and rescue the troubled school system. The Senate and House would have to approve a change to the state constitution. The amendment would still need voter approval in a state wide referendum.

Clayton school officials to appeal lost accreditation

Clayton County officials say they will appeal a Thursday ruling that strips accreditation from its school district. The county just south of Atlanta has already lost 2,000 students from the start of the school year, and is bracing for more students to leave. Clayton’s school district got word Thursday from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Mark Elgart is head of the accrediting body:

"I think the evidence will show that board members, when they had disagreements, a lot of those ended up personal--not professional. And that they worked to discredit one another throughout their activities as board members, both in and outside of board meetings".

Elgart says the district met only one of nine mandates it needed to achieve. Following the ruling by SACS, Governor Sonny Perdue acted by ousting 4 of Clayton's school board members. That action followed a judge's recommendation from earlier in the week where it was determined the members violated Georgia's open meetings laws and ethics code.

Clayton schools superintendent John Thompson was hurt by the ruling.

"I was devastated...devastated to no end. I just kept thinking about 53-thousand kids being thrown under the bus, over the fact some adults didn't do what they were supposed to do. So that's all I kept thinking about, how could you do this to these children?".

Lost accreditation makes it tougher, if not impossible, for students to get scholarships or admission to many colleges and universities.

Clayton accreditation decision comes today

After months of working to get its act together, Clayton County schools today will learn the decision of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. At issue is whether the 50,000 student district should lose its accreditation. SACS had given Clayton until September 1st to meet nine mandates outlined in a scathing February report. Should the district lose accreditation, it would be only the third nationally since the 1960's, and first in Georgia.

Clayton schools await accreditation ruling

The long road to a decision on Clayton County’s school system accreditation comes to an end this week. A national commission will vote on whether the county has made enough fixes to its school system to meet nine mandates by September 1st. Clayton schools have been under investigation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for a second time in five years. Of problems detailed in the Clayton system, infighting among school board members has been prime among them.

Clayton County school official investigated

Clayton County school superintendent John Thompson is under investigation for misallocation of funds. A citizens watchdog group filed a complaint with a Georgia licensing agency. The complaint alleges that Thompson spent $80,000 reprinting diplomas which had the incorrect signatures on them.

Embattled district to graduate seniors

The embattled Clayton County school district is set to graduate 2,700 students this weekend in Atlanta. The ceremonies come at a time with the district is poised to lose its accreditation. If that occurs, future graduating classes may face difficulty getting scholarships and acceptance to colleges. The district has until September 1 to make the reforms mandated by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

County seeks protection from sheriff

A suburban Atlanta county is seeking protection from its sheriff. Clayton County attorneys accuse Sheriff Victor Hill of objectionable actions, policies and practices. The filing seeks to protect the county from potential legal liability and damage to its reputation as a result of Hill's actions. Hill abruptly fired more than two dozen sheriff's department workers in 2005. Hill has defended his actions, saying he inherited a dysfunctional organization.

Governor signs bills for Clayton students

Two state-appointed liaisons to the Clayton County Board of Education have told Governor Sonny Perdue that the board is so dysfunctional the county is certain to lose accreditation in September. Students would lose access to the state-funded HOPE scholarship and jeopardizes their college applications. Today the Governor signed two bills designed to help Clayton County students. One would keep HOPE scholarship funds available to high school graduates. The second establishes an ethics commission in the county to investigate and oversee the board.

State liaisons: Clayton will lose accreditation

Liaisons appointed by the state to the Clayton County Board of Education say the school district will lose its accreditation. Special state liaisons James Bostic and William Bradley Bryant say the school board has become even more dysfunctional. In a letter to Governor Sonny Perdue, the liaisons say their attempts to assist the board have "been unwelcome and disregarded", thus they have resigned from working with the school board. They will still work with the district's new Superintendent John Thompson until a new board is installed. The district has until September 1st to meet nine mandates from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

County attorney resigns in protest

Clayton County's attorney has resigned over the embattled school board's choice of a temporary superintendent. Glenn Brock resigned Thursday, after accusing the school board of what he called "deceptive and unethical behavior." The board voted 5-1 Wednesday night to hire John Thompson, who state and accreditation officials have said is not qualified. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave Clayton County until September 1st to meet nine mandates or lose accreditation.

County chair calls for new school board

As Clayton County schools face losing accreditation, the Chairman of the County Commission is calling on all county school board members to resign. Eldrin Bell made the call at a meeting last night, just moments after school board Chair Ericka Davis announced she would step down. A scathing Southern Association of Colleges and Schools report released in February called the board "fatally flawed" and "dysfunctional." It outlined issues including unethical and disruptive behavior by board members, low morale among staff members and a shoddy curriculum. A Clayton County grand jury is investigating whether the school board committed any crimes that put the district's accreditation at risk.

Chair of Clayton school board to resign

The chairwoman of the embattled Clayton County school board announced last night she is stepping-down from her post. The resignation is effective a week from tomorrow. The announcement from a tearful Ericka Davis came as Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell called for all members of the school board to resign. This follows news that a Clayton County grand jury is looking into whether the school board committed crimes that put the school district’s accreditation at risk. In February, a report from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said the board is "fatally flawed" and had issues including unethical conduct and bad curriculum.

Tighter security at Clayton County schools' offices

Tougher security measures have been put in place for entrance into the Clayton County Schools’ administrative buildings. Starting today, visitors must walk through a metal detector going into the building, then be searched with a hand-held device. This change in security policy comes in the wake of school board members who have been subject to verbal assault from parents, students and teachers in the midst of the county’s accreditation problems. A recent recommendation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools says the school system’s accreditation be revoked in September. Reasons given include infighting among school board members and violation of board policies and procedures. A Clayton County schools spokesperson says the extra security at its administrative complex is not a response to the controversy, but an ongoing effort to improve security.

Local tax measures approved

A number of local tax measures were approved by voters yesterday.

Clayton County voted for a penny sales tax increase to help pay for new county facilities, including a juvenile justice center, police stations and libraries.

In Gwinnett County, voters approved a $750 million bond referendum to build more schools.

Metro Atlanta voters favored extending an existing sales tax to fund repairs to the city’s sewer system.

Forsyth County, voters approved a one percent sales tax for road improvements and property tax increase for more county parks.

Colquitt, Madison, Jones and Polk Counties all approved local sales tax measures for school funding and other projects.

Newton County voters granted senior citizens an additional exemption from school property taxes.

A Lumpkin County referendum to allow liquor-by-the-drink sales passed, while an effort to allow Sunday alcohol sales in Jackson County was rebuffed.