Lindsey wants board, Deal to remain vigilant

State Rep. Edward Lindsey, in response to the Ga. Board of Education postponing its APS hearing, called upon the state panel and Gov. Nathan Deal to remain prepared to take action if the Atlanta School Board falters in its efforts to retain accreditation.

The state board and the APS Tuesday morning reached a consent agreement in which the State Board postponed its hearing until November, allowing present city school board members to remain in office.

"In fairness, the Atlanta School Board has made progress in recent months since the passage of SB 79 giving the governor and the State School Board greater authority over local boards on accreditation probation, and it is my sincere hope that our local board continues on the right path as it faces the challenges before it," Lindsey said in an e-mail to Buckhead Patch.

"But hope alone is not a strategy when the future of 49,000 public school students in Atlanta hangs in the balance. Therefore, today’s action should be used to allow the State School Board and the governor to continue closely monitoring the Atlanta School Board as it maneuvers through this difficult period wrestling with restoring full accreditation and coping with the CRCT cheating scandal. If the local board does as it should, we all win. If it falters, however, the State School Board and the governor should be prepared to act swiftly.”

Lindsey, who represents the 54th District, including Buckhead, co-sponsored SB 79, which gave the state board authority to recommend to Deal whether to replace school board members if they weren't making sufficient accreditation progress.

The school board, including Buckhead representative Nancy Meister, faces a September deadline to meet six conditions set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and its parent organization, AdvancED, to retain accreditation. AdvancED in January placed the APS high schools on acceditaton probation.

Deal issued a prepared statement in support of the consent agreement reached by the state board and APS, according to different media sources.

“I agree with the Board of Education’s decision to give APS and its new leadership additional time to show progress," Deal said. "I’m confident that all involved are working actively to promote the needs of Atlanta’s children and to keep the system’s accreditation in place."