The Dekalb County BOE answers questions about finances
Dear Board Chair Turner & Vice-Chair DaCosta –
Thank you for the time you have provided to speak with us – as the BOE leaders – to discuss educational success for all the kids across our county. We appreciate your openness to listening to our concerns.
In a review of our meetings to date, we do not feel an hour meeting every 3 months has provided an effective forum to make much progress. We were unable to cover the issues in one hour and we are still awaiting promised responses. We would therefore like to cancel our meeting scheduled for July 15, 2021, at 11 am.
We believe is more is needed faster! We applaud the District on many changes that have been initiated … but the District and the BOE need to move more quickly to ensure financial integrity, impartial oversight, community engagement, more effective communication, safe/comfortable facilities, improved teacher morale, fair/effective HR policies, a secure ethics management structure, and ultimately close the educational gaps we know exist.
We would very much appreciate answers to the many questions posed thus far (see below) and are happy to meet once they are made available. We are still open to meet with you … we want better education for our children … we want to partner for success … we want a world-class school district. Please keep us in mind as a resource as you move forward.
Respectfully, Restore DeKalb and Educate DeKalb
Issues Posed to date
Committed Follow-up Items from 6/3/21 Meeting
· Diijon DaCosta – promised to provide information for being added to the “email thread” used to communicate with “non-parent stakeholders” – We are receiving meeting notices via Dorothea Brown. Thank you!
· Antwyn Brown & Vicki Turner – set up a meeting with BOE/COO/Stakeholders to further discuss the CMP and major spending (SPLOST V, SPLOST VI, CARES Act $$) – We are suggesting a more focused meeting than the meetings scheduled (and not widely publicized) for June 29. Is there any progress here?
· Yolanda Williamson – send updated charter for BOE Audit Committee to Educate DeKalb and Restore DeKalb members and clarify anything that is unclear – Why has nothing yet been received to date?
The previous Agenda covered briefly or not covered at all in 2 earlier meetings:
· BOE Audit Committee
o Original charter was confusing and poorly written. We were advised, “Dr. Williamson will review the charter and get back to us and clarify anything that is unclear.” When can we get this?
o Original charter only included Board members – shouldn’t it be an impartial committee including representation from the community as well as Board? Will you consider expanding membership on the committee?
o In the last meeting we learned “The most important thing to reinstitute the committee and peel back layers to help us (BOE) understand our practices. Requested Restore DeKalb and Educate DeKalb must wait until they have a chance to see what needs to be done and what to do differently and to determine a process for allowing others to join and weigh in with the committee. This is an Issue BOE is discussing as a whole.” What is the status of this process?
o When will the audit committee structure/mission be finalized? When will the committee begin meeting and how the community will be notified?
· Comparability Report & and the RAMP (Resource Allocation Methodology Plan) – From Georgia Dept of Education regarding implications of staffing discussed in audit committee and reopened schools in March resulting in enrollment reduction and necessity to move teachers around to different schools. Superintendent changed to keep teachers in place.
o Will there be an assessment of the reduction of students who are going to private schools? Are results of assessment if this issue available and what changes will be made?
o Next meeting was planned for June 16th, when was the first meeting, and were stakeholders in attendance?
· Big Money Expenditures – BOE has heard the same concern that folks will not support SPLOST VI. Trust has been lost and it takes time to rebuild it. How will you rebuild trust? We do not want to punish the district and Ms. Turner welcomes the discussion. The BOE vote to put SPLOST VI on the November ballot with no plan in evidence and a stalled CMP is not helping to restore trust.
Following is needed to gain support prior to the SPLOST VI vote in November:
o Final accounting of SPLOST V is needed (by project), and accounting for the fully $561M (projected) or actually expected receipts is expected. Must include status/cost of all planned projects and any funds diverted to other projects. We understand this is underway … when will it be complete?
o Completed CMP including comprehensive final report – This must include understandable results and recommendations for all areas covered for each school, i.e., educational readiness, facilities condition, demographic projections and inventory of special programs, etc. When is expected to be completed?
o C.A.R.E.S Act –This funding carries narrow parameters for use. The “survey” sent to stakeholders did not get distributed to non-parent stakeholders and offered equally narrow options for input. What should we expect from this effort and what expenditures are planned?
o Property Taxes – You shared an expectation of lower receipts. What is the status of this information and the mentioned plan to “buy back” reduction days?
o Abatements – What is the status of the work on this?
· Board Internal Deliberations and Plans
o Rudi Crew payment – What is the board doing to prevent this kind of issue from occurring in the future? Are legal, communication, and process issues being discussed?
o Board Self-Assessment – is the Board planning to request input from Stakeholders?
o Board Meetings – is the Board planning to consider more than 1 meeting a month?
· DCSD Actions … Slower than comparable Districts – We only touched on this issue as a recurring one and you were quick to explain all the many limitations. However, when $$s are available, other comparably sized/complex districts move faster – the DCSD is generally the slowest among its peers to actually distribute the funds. Why can other districts “seize the day” and the DCSD cannot?
New Items
· When will the public be invited back to BOE meetings and be allowed to speak to you in person?