A Call for DeKalb County Citizens to Act

Parents and residents of the DeKalb County school district are today calling for the resignation of six suspended members of the DeKalb County Board of Education because of the expensive legal battle with the State of Georgia that is sapping resources from classrooms and children. The Board has lost the trust of the people it represents and it is time for a fresh start.

We have formed the Concerned Citizens for a Unified DeKalb to encourage citizens throughout the county to make their voices heard. The district has lost sight of its mission to educate its students, build the future of DeKalb County, and help us build a workforce and community that can compete in a global economy.

It is time to quit paying lawyers instead of teachers. It is time to quit paying administrators to leave. The families of DeKalb are not getting the education they paid for and that their children deserve.

We are also calling on the public to email and call the members of the school board listed below. Tell the six (6) suspended members their time on the Board of Education is over and that they need to step aside to heal the divisions that are hurting our kids.

The bottom line: DeKalb County schools need a fresh start. The six (6) suspended members of the Board of Education needs to go, and we are launching a re-vote campaign today to let them know, in direct terms, that they need to step down and that the Governor needs to call a special election.

Citizens of Dekalb may copy and paste these email addresses.

TO: (suspended members)
SARAH_COPELIN-WOOD@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
JAY_CUNNINGHAM@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
PAM_SPEAKS@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Nancy_Jester@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Donna_Edler@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
EUGENE_P_WALKER@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us

CC: (superintendent & non-suspended members)
michael_l_thurmond@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
jim_mcmahan@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
marshall_orson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
melvin_johnson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us

Citizens may also contact the Board of Education at 678.676.0027 and Superintendent Thurmond at 678.676.0010.

The phone number for the governor’s office is 404.656.1776.

Concerned Citizens for a Unified Dekalb is a diverse group of concerned community members, representative of all school regions within DeKalb County, working to encourage people to communicate their opinions to the DeKalb Board of Education.

We believe these three things to be true:

1. The majority of DeKalb County parents perceive that the Board of Education has been dysfunctional and ineffective. It is in the best interests of all stakeholders that the six (6) board members recommended for removal be replaced by the electorate.

2. The citizens of DeKalb are the ones who should decide who is on the board of education.

3. Money is being spent on litigation initiated by board members to save their jobs that could be spent on educating our children

Our Mission

Our mission is to unite DeKalb and move forward to ensure that every child in DeKalb is afforded the opportunity and access to a quality education. We are attempting to resolve the issue with the DeKalb BOE with as little collateral damage as possible.

Our Goals:

1. Replace 6 DBOE members recommended for suspension.

2. Protect the voting rights of the DeKalb County electorate.