Lindsey Calls SB 79 a 'Safety Net'

If Gov. Nathan Deal must appoint new APS school board members, the move would be temporary, State Rep. Ed Lindsey said Monday night.

Addressing the Chastain Park Civic Association's annual meeting, Lindsey said that Senate Bill 79, which the Buckhead representative shepherded through the House, allows Deal to "suspend" school board members if the State Board of Education finds the board is not making sufficient progress toward retaining accreditation for Atlanta's high schools. The suspended school board members would continue to receive their pay and could petition to be returned to the board, Lindsey said.

The House majority whip said that the legislation, recently signed by Deal, would require the State Board of Education to hold a hearing on July 1 to determine if the board is making sufficient progress to meet six requirements imposed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. AdvancED, SACS' parent organization, in January placed the APS high schools on accreditation probation because of conflicts on the school board.

If the state board finds that the APS panel has "in fact degenerated back to the squabbling" that led to the probation, it could recommend to Deal that he temporarily remove the APS members and appoint new ones, Lindsey said.

Like Deal, Lindsey said he hopes the action won't have to be taken by the governor. "You can call it a club for the State Board of Education and the governor, but I prefer to call it a safety net for the students of Atlanta's schools," he said of the legislation.

Lindsey said he feels the school board in its efforts to retain accreditation is "making genuine progress, but there's a lot of heavy lifting still required of them."

Looking ahead to the next legislative session, Lindsey said he plans to introduce a bill that would limit the powers of the Fulton County government to essential duties such as law enforcement and maintaining the court system. With several cities formed in recent years, Lindsey said the county is 95 percent municipalized and that the Fulton government duplicates services performed by the municipalities.

He said that the legislation to limit Fulton's governmental powers is an effort to "take the steam out" of a move to form a new Milton County from parts of north Fulton. He said the creation of Milton County would be "catastrophic legislation for those of us who live in Buckhead," increasing Buckhead's tax burden. While he says he understands the dissatisfaction with Fulton's government leading to the move to form a new county, "Buckhead should not be left holding the bill."

Atlanta City Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean in her talk to the group addressed the city of Atlanta's population shortfall in the 2010 census ."This is a big economic blow for us," she said. The census found the city's population more than 100,000 lower than previous estimates. "This is not good for any of us," she said. "There are fewer of us to pay the taxes." She said the city has not yet decided whether to appeal the census numbers.

She said that the paving of Northside Drive by the Georgia Department of Transportation is progressing and "that road should be done pretty soon," adding "it will be the only road we'll get in District 8 this year."

Adrean, the head of the council's Finance Committee, also gave a rundown on city pension reform efforts. She said the process of creating a plan to alleviate the city's huge deficit in pension funds for firefighters, police and city workers is in its early stages. In answer to a question from civic association President Jim King, she said that the city had received a legal opinion that the city could freeze benefits and substitute another plan. Yet, she said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we got a legal challenge."

Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard spoke of the importance of the office's community prosecutor program and acknowledged the success of Zone 2 prosecutor Hannah Chung.

The effectiveness of the community prosecutor program was shown in Chung's recent successful prosecution of Taurus Dixon, who burglargized a number of homes in the Chastain Park and Sandy Springs areas. Dixon recently received a sentence of 30 years, to serve 18 without parole, Chung said.

"We got rid of Mr. Dixon, who seemed to love to burglarize everyone," Howard said.

He lamented a recent rise in gang-related crime in Fulton County. "Many of these gang members are young people 12 to 13 years old," he said. "Why are 12- to 13-year-old kids committed to taking to a life of crime?"

A Fulton County plan to severely cut his budget could lead to major reductions in staff, he said. Citing a 47.8 percent reduction in major crimes since 1997, Howard said cuts in his office could lead to a boost in crime and people wanting to leave the city and county. "People will not live in a place where they are not safe," he said. The department staff received 11-day furloughs under the current budget, and further losses would bring layoffs, he said. He said that for the first time since he took office, "we are retreating."