Rep. Dobbs Defends Vote for Legislation Allowing Governor to Remove School Board Members

Democratic Rep. Elly Dobbs on Thursday night found herself defending her vote for legislation allowing Gov. Nathan Deal to remove Atlanta school board members in the wake of Atlanta's school accreditation crisis.

Dobbs (53rd District), who represents part of Buckhead, said during a meeting of the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods that she voted for SB 79 although she has doubts about its constitutionality.

In a routine summary to the BCN about the General Assembly's session, her mention of supporting SB 79 touched off a contentious interchange with BCN member Glenn Delk, an attorney who represented a school board faction in a court case preceding the APS being placed on accreditation probation. Delk represented a majority group led by Khaatim Sherrer El, who took over as school board chairman. 

She said she supported the bill, shepherded through the House by Buckhead Rep. Ed Lindsey, because she didn't think the governor will ever have to use the power and that she sees the bill as a strong inducement to make the school board meet six requirements laid down by the Southern Associaiton of Colleges and Schools and its parent organization, AdvancED. SACS in January placed the APS high schools on accreditation probation, citing the board dissension and Sherrer El's election to chairman. SACS said this violated the school board's charter.

Like Lindsey, a Republican and the House majority whip, Dobbs said she sees the bill as a "safety net" to give parents assurance they won't have to remove their children from APS schools if accrediation is lost. Deal has said that he hopes the school board meets the SACS requirements and that he won't have to take the action of appointing new members. 

Dobbs also said SB 79 would help assure business leaders seeking to come to Atlanta that the city's public high schools would not lose their accreditation.

She called the legislation "really a dagger hanging over the heads of the school board, asking them to please straigten up and get their act together." She noted that she supported the bill despite heated oppostion to it from fellow Democrats State Sens. Vincent Fort and Horacena Tate, who represent parts of Buckhead and have threatened legal action against the legislation.

The somewhat heated discussion of the legislation erupted when a BCN member questioned Dobbs' yes vote, saying that SB 79 took away his rights as a voter and asked if a recall election could have been called instead.

Dobbs said "the problem is that a recall election could not be held within the time frame necessary to save accreditation."

Delk criticized the legislation for being "mandatory, it is not discretionary," saying that the legislation would force the governor to take the action if the school system has not received full accreditation by July 1. Under the legislation, the State Board of Education will determine in a hearing on that date if the APS has taken steps to retain accreditation.

Lindsey at a recent meeting of the Chastain Park Civic Association said that the bill does not require full accreditation by July 1, but a finding of significant progress by the APS school board toward meeting the SACS conditions. (See Buckhead Patch story )  Lindsey also said that the legislation requires the governor to "suspend" school board members.

Delk, though, said that the bill specifies that the governor must remove the school board members if APS has not returned to full accreditation by July 1. That is apparently not possible, since AdvancED has said that it will not make a determination until September on whether the school system has met its conditions to retain accreditation. Delk predicted that the situation would result in a lawsuit being filed if the governor is forced to take action.

Like Fort and Tate, Delk strongly criticized AdvancED as a private organization with monopoly power over school accreditation. Delk blasted the Legislature for giving SACS the sole authority to accredit schools in Georgia. Dobbs said that legislation had been passed before she was elected to the General Assembly.

SACS in placing the APS on accreditation probation was following the direction of Atanta's business interests, Delk said. "SACS is in the hip pocket of the Chamber of Commerce," Delk  said.

Delk also criticized AdvancED CEO and President Mark Elgart for the accreditation probation. He said that Elgart had agreed to comply with Fulton Superior Court Judge John Goger's settlement of the court case, a ruling that had appeared to bring peace to the school board late last year. Then, Delk said, Elgart went against his agreement by spearheading the accrediation probation order.