Parents Group Calls for APS Board Chairman to Step Down Today

From Patch Staff Reports

Step Up Or Step Down leaders have called for Atlanta School Board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El to step aside at Monday night's meeting.

The group organized to monitor the school board after APS was placed on accreditation probation has declared today "Move on Monday," according to a press release from the group.

"Weeks ago, current Board Chair Khaatim Sherrer El agreed to step aside from his leadership post in the interest of progress," the group's announcement said. "But Mr. El and some of his supporters continue to stall, spouting conditions and fostering debate over issues that have no relevance to forward motion."

"It is time to move forward to address the pressing needs of the 49,000 students this board was elected to serve,” Julie Davis Salisbury of Buckhead, one of the group’s organizing members, said in the release.  “We cannot wait another day.”

In a collective statement, the group's leadeship said, “Enough is enough. We refuse to have our children and their futures held hostage one more day. June 13 is 'Move on Monday' for our school board. We need a leadership change during that meeting, chosen by a consensus vote, so that the board can begin its return to functionality. We can accept no further delays or conditions. Failing that, the governor will have no choice other than to intervene.” 

Legislation approved by the General Assembly allows Gov. Nathan Deal to remove school board members if it is determined that the board is making insufficient progress by July 1 on retaining accreditation. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and its parent organization AdvancED, in January placed APS' high schools on accreditation probation because of conflict on the board, including Sherrer El's taking over as chairman.

Step Up or Step Down listed the following concerns in calling today "Move On Monday":

• "We are in the midst of a critical superintendent search, and the district desperately needs a world-class leader. It’s time to move forward.

• The state’s CRCT investigation will be released in the coming weeks, and early reports call the findings alarming.  Our board leadership must be prepared to boldly address those findings, acting swiftly and judiciously.  It’s time to move forward.

• Students who slipped through the cracks during the 2009 school year, potentially due to the unethical acts of adults who held the public trust, need to receive the education they deserve.  It’s time to move forward.

• Philanthropic support of our public schools has all but dried up, due to the governance dysfunction of our board. It’s time to move forward. 

• The district and the board must begin to regain the trust of the public it serves.  It’s time to move forward.

• The school board issue has taken the time and energy of the mayor, the governor and the State Legislature away from the many pressing issues facing our city and state.  It’s time to move forward. 

• The board has spent countless hours and thousands of taxpayer dollars on addressing its problems through mediation.  And yet the current chairman continues to violate the very things they take hours to agree upon. It’s time to move forward.

• The board has enlisted the guidance of a policy and governance expert (at taxpayer expense) who has advised them that simple majority votes for major policy decision are unwise.  And yet five members of the Board continue to argue against policies that would require consensus.  This has become a debate about power and not about process, doing nothing to empower our students. It’s time to move forward.

• The board agreed to this leadership change three weeks ago during professional mediation (more taxpayer expense). Chairman El issued conditions prior to stepping aside, including approvals from the mayor’s office, the governor’s office, SACS, the philanthropic community, and the Chamber of Commerce.  All have deemed the proposed consensus leadership from Brenda Muhammed and Reuben McDaniel to be acceptable and/or desirable.  It’s time to move forward.

• Rising seniors who should be enjoying their summer and planning for their futures, are instead locked in worry and uncertainty over whether they will graduate from an accredited high school.  It’s time to move forward.

• Parents, grandparents and family members of these rising seniors who should be looking forward with pride to the culmination of their years of devoted participation, academic involvement, financial support and carefully deliberated plans, are, instead agonizing over the thought of what options or recourse they will have if accreditation is lost.  It’s time to move forward.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. today at APS headquarters, 130 Trinity Ave. For more information, see the Step Up or Step Down website,  www.StepUporStepDown.org.