Clayton County Still Fighting for Accreditation

2,300 Clayton County seniors are set to graduate in May. Meanwhile, the school district is still fighting to win back its accreditation.

The Clayton County school district was the first to lose its certification with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools last year. This district is one of the largest in the state.

Since then a new school board has been put in place. Policies have been revamped and they are searching for a new superintendent.

The accreditation agency blames the district’s problems on a “fatally flawed” school board. They have been accused of bickering and harassing school employees.

All nine board members either resigned or were ousted last year.

(AP)

Young Harris College to offer 4-year degrees

Young Harris College will soon offer four-year degrees.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools approved the new curricula Tuesday. The college will offer degrees in biology, English, music and business and public policy starting next fall.

Young Harris President Cathy Cox, who also is the former Georgia Secretary of State, said even more new degrees will be offered over the next few years as the college is still in the process of expansion.

(Associated Press)

Another county could lose accreditation

Another Georgia school district is facing accreditation problems. Haralson County schools in west Georgia on educational probation. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS, found governance problems by Haralson school board members, including micromanaging, not following their own policies and ethics violations. The problems are similar to those that led to Clayton County schools' accreditation loss on Sept. 1.

(Associated Press)

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.

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 schools lose accreditation

A Georgia school district has become the first in the nation in nearly 40 years to lose accreditation.

The decision comes from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools against Clayton County. The 50,000 student district, just south of Atlanta, expects to appeal the ruling.

The accrediting agency in a scathing February report detailed widespread unethical conduct within Clayton’s school board, calling the board "dysfunctional" and "fatally flawed". It gave the district until September 1st to show enough progress and meet nine mandates. But just this week, a judge ruled four members of the school board should be removed for violation of Georgia’s open meetings laws and ethics code.

The loss of accreditation means students in the county will have a harder time obtaining scholarships, and getting into some colleges and universities. The district will also lose pre-kindergarten funding and some teacher benefits.

Governor Sonny Perdue did sign legislation earlier this year ensuring students of unaccredited schools would be eligible for the state’s lottery-funded college scholarship.

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.

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.

Embattled county makes controversial hire

An embattled Georgia school system that faces losing its accreditation has named a temporary superintendent. Clayton County's school board approved John Thompson last night. Thompson initially asked Clayton for a $275,000 salary and up to 2 million dollars for a consultant team, along with 24-hour security and 24-hour access to a car and driver. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has given the district nine mandates to meet by September 1st 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.

Clayton Co. system investigated second time

The south's regional accrediting agency is investigating the Clayton County school system for financial mismanagement and abuse of power.

It's the second time in five years the school system has been investigated by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The probe puts thousands of students at risk of losing their HOPE scholarships, and makes it difficult for them to be accepted to some universities.

The association says it is investigating allegations that one board member had a football coach fired for not handing-over a game film featuring her son. Another board member apparently spent more than $500 of school money at an Atlanta hotel.

This is the first time in the last 15 years that the group has investigated a Georgia school district twice in such a short period of time. No school district in the state has ever lost accreditation.

The association is considering asking Governor Sonny Perdue to impeach the entire school board.

The Clayton school board chairwoman said the district will fully comply with the probe.