DeKalb voters:

I would like to urge everyone to get out and vote on July 31. During the course of this campaign I have been able to share a large amount of quality time with many of our citizens. It has been a rewarding experience for me. Thank you!

I have spent great moments with many of our teachers and parents and heard their worries and concerns. Our teachers have sacrificed for years and all they want is our respect. They certainly have mine. Our parents want great schools that provide their children with the education they need to be successful in life. I share this vision and appreciate the commitment they make to our schools.

I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday.

Thanks,
Don

I first would like to thank the DeKalb School Watch Two blog for their endorsement. Ironically it was the start of this blog that helped spur me on toward running for the school board three and a half years ago. I saw and heard some of the common sense and probing questions they asked about DeKalb County Schools. Thanks to these folks and two of my colleagues Nancy Jester and Pam Speaks we now have begun to unravel the enigma of how our school district operates. I know I started asking questions about Title I spending three years ago. I met some resistance in getting answers. I started asking questions about construction issues and I was often given misinformation that did not become apparent until months later. One experienced Dekalb official said to me “no one ever asked questions before you arrived”. Well now I have help. Nancy, Pam, and I have begun to see some cracks in the super structure. These colleagues have been instrumental in moving us toward the accountability that everyone wants in our school district. “Electricity Nancy” has shown how our utility bills have been deliberately under estimated for years. Pam has helped me with Title I compatibility issues. We are making a good team. I remember saying to the superintendent about two years ago, “You know the budget is not really the budget if you plan to cover everything with emergency spending for shortfalls.” I believe the budget will be far more orderly as we move forward.

Now let’s look at the future of the BOE. Many of the candidates running for the school board have spent a great deal of time focused on how they would build consensus among board members. They have said that they see the lack of consensus as the problem in DeKalb. I agree that consensus is an important part of board service. Indeed, the current board generally agrees on the need to improve our academic achievement measurements. The problem is when the agreed, consensus-driven goal meets the allocation of resources. When the board makes choices about how to implement their vision for academic success at every school, all of the various social conflicts that are an organic part of our society become observable. When resources are more plentiful, the social conflicts are not as apparent. Unfortunately, we are in a time of decreasing funding and this strains the social fabric of our communities. This, along with a history of hiring practices that favored “friends and family” provide the circumstances that we have inherited today. No one board member will change these facts or circumstances.

My opponent and some others have spent some time making remarks about current board members, specifically Ms. Jester and Dr. Speaks. Do my opponent and his supporters realize that the most important consensus he can build is with those two board members? My experience has led me to see my opponent as myopic. During redistricting, his position was tantamount to putting a fence around his neighborhood and protecting it like it was a private school. He never saw the larger public good that could be created by turning two schools into top performers. I seek balance, fairness and achievement for all of our students. My opponent has used charged terms like “social justice” without considering or admitting the effects of his own advocacy. His work has certainly been in opposition to his rhetoric. But, that’s what you might expect from a skilled politician like Mr. Orson. I’ve had the privilege to serve you on the board for four years and I am asking for your vote again. Before being a board member I was a classroom teacher for 34 years. As a board member, I’ve worked diligently to improve the educational lives of all DeKalb’s children.

As we approach the July 31st vote I want to sincerely thank THE DEKALB SCHOOL WATCH TWO blog for their endorsement. It has impact with me and helps my resolve as I move forward. Keep those questions coming. We will turn this school district around.

Thanks,
Don

Let’s look at what the Board’s vote on layoffs was saying.

As you know the BOE passed a budget in June authorizing the superintendent to make massive cuts. ( I opposed that budget) However when the BOE speaks in a majority way the superintendent is authorized to implement that budget no matter what my personal feelings are. That is the way Boards work. After this budget approval the superintendent now says her budget won’t work. The Board was told that more teacher layoffs would not be necessary. When the idea that further layoffs might be necessary was floated some members of the Board including me, introduced several money saving areas that were still remaining in the budget. These would include $1.8 million for “choice” transportation, $1.0 million that could be saved by moving our SRO officers from twelve months to ten months, $329,000 by cutting funding for Middle School Athletics. These items by themselves translate into roughly fifty teacher jobs and even more paraprofessionals.

My point is that if you introduce these cuts you can reduce the personnel carnage by fifty teachers. If you look at cutting all central office personnel salaries by 10% for all those making over $80,000 you can recoup even more. I have asked the superintendent to give us the number of people in the central office that were eliminated and their total salary at the start of the reorganization and for those same numbers at the end of the reorganization. We cannot seem to get that information. I have no concrete information on any of those numbers. We only have a statement that many were eliminated. I need the numbers to adequately evaluate the money issue. If and when we cut out all the “fat” in the budget we can settle on what the REAL numbers are that have to be reached for budget cuts.

The Board is also not responsible for staffing. The Board is seemingly being asked to step outside of their responsibility for staffing and do what the administration is supposed to do. If we were provided with real numbers on these suggestions we could chart a specific and accurate course on the direction of what changes needed to be made. I have also tried not to make a specific motion, at this time, because it then limits the superintendent in her flexibility for attacking potential areas of saving. If I am expected to make the tough decisions then I must ask the superintendent to do the same.

I am also disappointed that the superintendent was not present at her called meeting on this budget item. It was one of the most important meetings we have held.

Don