Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Service Others and Speak Truth to Power
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DCSS Salary Increase Disparity
By Viola Davis RN BSN
After reading the article on DeKalb School Watch concerning the 2013 salaries, we decided to review the salaries over $150,000 over the last five years. Unfortunately, we were unable to access the state website on salaries to review the last five years. However, we had copies of some of the salaries to make a comparison.
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/the-fy-2013-salary-schedule-has-been-posted/
We reviewed the following salaries and found the pay increases very interesting.
1. 2008 – Ronald Ramsey received $4,158.00 from Misc Activities and $112,743.13 from Human Resources Personnel. These combined salaries for 2008 equal $116,901.13. When you subtract this from the 2013 salary, you see a salary increase of $43,745.92 over five years. If you subtract the 2012 salary from 2013, Ronald Ramsey had a salary increase of $33,635.62 over one year (2012 to 2013).
Copy of Ronald Ramsey 2012 Salary:
Copy of Ronald Ramsey 2008 Salary:
2. Gary L. Brantley salary was $111,830.27 + $2,635.09 travel for a combined salary of $114,465.36 for 2012. If you subtract this salary from 2013, Brantley had a salary increase of $46,181.69 over one year (2012 to 2013).
3. Kathleen S. Howe salary was $104,375.55 + $1,071.28 travel for a combined salary of $105,446.83 for 2012. If you subtract this salary from 2013, Howe had a salary increase of $55,200.22 over one year (2012 to 2013).
4. Kendra D. March salary was $115,219.68 + 0.00 travel for a salary of $115,219.68 for 2012. If you subtract this salary from 2013, March had a salary increase of $45,427.37 over one year (2012 to 2013).
These salary increases exceed the salary (full year salary) of a large number of employees that have had no salary increase for over five years. What were they thinking? Please send a message to Superintendent Michael Thurmond and the Board of Education that this is wrong.
Court upholds law used to suspend DeKalb school board members
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/court-upholds-law-used-to-suspend-dekalb-school-bo/nb4Cx/
Restore DeKalb wants to thank Donna Priest-Brown for posting two emails on the Georgia Supreme Court decision concerning the suspension of DeKalb school board members.
We join Priest-Brown call for everyone to have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Kind Regards,
Viola Davis
2 Emails on November 25, 2013, above link and below follows>>>>
Greetings,
On Monday, November 25, 2013, the Georgia Supreme Court will rule whether it was legal for the governor to remove six DeKalb County school board members. If the high court rules that the action was illegal, it would lead to the reinstatement of the ousted members with the exception of Donna Edler, who died last month of complications of the cancer that she had battled since her run for school board three years ago. Please read attached — http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/nov/22/coming-monday-will-state-supreme-court-ruling-stab/
Updates on ruling should be in AJC and news today.
Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!
Yours in Parenting,
Donna Priest-Brown
South DeKalb Parent Council, Co-President
GUILTY! Reid and Pope Guilty of Racketeering
A Superior Court jury convicted Pat Reid and her ex-husband Tony Pope of racketeering. It is truly a sad day in DeKalb County.
We have links to two stories for you to read:
By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A DeKalb County jury convicted former school district chief operating officer Pat Reid and her ex-husband, architect Tony Pope, of stealing from the school system by manipulating millions of dollars in construction contracts.
The jury found the former couple guilty of racketeering. Jurors also found Reid guilty on one of two theft charges and found Pope not guilty on a theft charge. Read more >
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/motion-dekalb-racketeering-juror-wants-to-fight-so/nbyj3/
Photo from Crossroads News – A Superior Court jury returned a mixed verdict Nov. 20 against Pat Reid and her ex-husband Tony Pope in the DeKalb Corruption trial.
2. Mixed verdict in DeKalb corruption trial
Former DeKalb Schools Chief Operating Officer Pat Reid and her ex-husband Tony Pope are both found guilty of racketeering in the high-profile corruption trial that have transfixed the county for three weeks.
Reid, who was accused of sending $1 million in school business to Pope, while they were married, was also found guilty of theft by taking.
Both were found not guilty of theft by taking by a government employee. Read more >
http://crossroadsnews.com/news/2013/nov/20/mixed-verdict-dekalb-corruption-trial/
Photo from Crossroads News – Donna Edler
Please help clear Donna Edler’s name by attending the court hearing on November 19, 2013 at 2:00pm in Courtroom 9G, Fulton County Courthouse, 136 Pryor Street, Atlanta, Ga 30302.
Read the Article in Crossroads Newspaper:
http://crossroadsnews.com/news/2013/nov/08/Edler-supporters-determined-to-clear-her-name/
Sincerely,
Viola Davis
Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter
http://www.unhappytaxpayerandvoter.com
Donna Edler, Petitioner v. Nathan Deal, Respondent
Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013 at 2pm in Courtroom 9G, Fulton County Courthouse, 136 Pryor Street, Atlanta, GA 30302
Darryl Edler
770-235-8772
http://www.scribd.com/doc/182864080/Donna-Edler-v-Nathan-Deal-Help-Clear-Donna-Edler-s-Name
Photo By Crossroads News – Donna Edler
Former DeKalb School Board member Donna Edler died Tuesday at her home in Stone Mountain after a long battle with beast cancer.
Please read the article in Crossroads News:
http://crossroadsnews.com/news/2013/oct/29/school-board-member-donna-edler-dies/
Our prayers are with her husband, Darryl Edler, and her children.
UPDATE BY DONNA PRIEST-BROWN:
To DeKalb County School District Community,
Our beloved sister and friend, Donna Gail Edler was granted her angel wings yesterday after a valiant battle with breast cancer. Services will be held on Saturday, November 2, at 11:00 am at The Covenant Church, 1700 Corey Blvd., Decatur, GA 30032, 404-289-8960.
The family extends an invitation to all of Donna’s friends, colleagues and supporters to attend.
Please continue to pray for the family during this time of bereavement.
Best Regards,
Donna Priest-Brown
South DeKalb Parent Council
To the DeKalb County School District Community,
At the request of Darryl Edler, he wanted to make everyone in the DCSD community aware that his wife Donna Edler is very ill and making her final transition. She is not taking any visitors at the current time.
Donna Edler is the former Board of Education member of District 7.
Please be sure to pray for the family during this difficult period.
I will keep you updated on Donna’s condition.
Best regards,
Donna Priest-Brown
South DeKalb Parent Council
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Website: http://www.sdpc-dekalb.org or http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/public/parentcouncils/
Email: southdekalbparentcouncil@gmail.com
Blog: http://sdpcwatch.blogspot.com/
Facebook: South DeKalb Parent Council
“Parents working for our future leaders of tomorrow, OUR CHILDREN”
MEDIA ADVISORY
DeKalb County Government and DeKalb Board of Education Host Conversation + Collaboration = Progress DeKalb
WHAT: The public is invited to attend Progress DeKalb: A Conversation to Move DeKalb Forward, hosted by DeKalb County Government and the DeKalb Board of Education.
WHO: The DeKalb Board of Education
The DeKalb Board of Commissioners
DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May
DeKalb Superintendent Michael Thurmond
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Agnes Scott College – Presser Hall, Gaines Chapel
141 East College Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
RSVP: bdavis@dekalbcountyga.gov by Nov. 7th
Robert Boyd, Superintendent Michael Thurmond, and Ramona Tyson
Estimate cost for dual accreditation is a steal
by Viola Davis RN BSN
The number one goal for Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond’s ninety day action plan is to address AdvancED/SACS action items and work to achieve unconditional accreditation status.
Click to access 90-day-plan.pdf
Restore DeKalb is proud to announce our active role to help Michael Thurmond with his number one goal to achieve unconditional accreditation status. We have “kicked off” this goal by inviting Robert Boyd, a consultant with the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC), to be a featured speaker to educate parents and homeowners about a second accrediting agency located in Georgia since 1904. By qualifying with the Georgia Accrediting Commission, the DeKalb County School System will have a “second” or “safety net” accrediting agency to protect all the high schools.
We are pushing for dual accreditation for all high schools because we want to ensure DeKalb’s seniors have access to financial aid for technical school and/or college. We have called dual accreditation our “safety net”. We strive to protect our students against the worst case scenario, SACS taking extended time to return our school system to full accreditation. Dual accreditation is a “solution” to a worst case scenario.
Dual Accreditation will prevent and protect the high schools throughout DeKalb from losing its accreditation. It will decrease the business community and public worries about accreditation.
Restore DeKalb had a town hall meeting at the Sanford Realty Company conference room on June 15th to address critical issues such as accreditation, graduation rates, and cell towers.
The featured speakers included Robert Boyd, Ramona Tyson, and the unexpected appearance of Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond who drove back from Savannah to attend the meeting. District 9 Board of Education member, Mr. Thaddeus Mayfield, also attended. We also had Commissioner Lee May to show his concern.
Michael Thurmond voiced concerns about the amount of resources that will be expended qualifying for two accrediting agencies at once which include:
•AdvancED/SACS
•Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC)
Robert Boyd gave a presentation to educate the parents and homeowners about GAC and show that GAC was not trying to compete with SACS. Boyd later forwarded a document titled, “Estimate of cost for GAC Membership”, to Restore DeKalb that detailed the financial cost of having a second accrediting agency.
Restore DeKalb was informed of three top facts concerning GAC:
1.GAC membership is $50.00 per school/per year.
2.GAC has offered for the accreditation process to occur in late January or early February 2014 to prevent interfering with SACS.
3.If approved, the accreditation would be retroactive to the beginning of the school year 2013-2014.
The initial cost was estimated to be approximately $50,000 to $70,000 dollars to qualify for GAC by Restore DeKalb; however, the cost to update our qualifications with GAC were reduced to as little as $10,000 to $15,000 dollars.
Dunwoody Councilman Terry Nall stated that he would have no problem getting the support of the business community to help finance the cost of secure the “safety net” accreditation. Restore DeKalb see the second accrediting agency as a “win-win” for the students, parents, community, and businesses with little financial cost. What a Deal – What a Steal!
What do you think?
Visit the Georgia Accrediting Commission website and note the accrediting commission has served Georgia’s schools since 1904.
http://www.coe.uga.edu/gac/index.html
Email and Call DeKalb Board of Education: DeKalb County School District – 678-676-1200
Chairman Dr. Melvin Johnson District 6 Melvin_Johnson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Vice Chairman James L. McMahan District 4 Jim_McMahan@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Mr. John W. Coleman District 1 John_W_Coleman@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Mr. Marshall D. Orson District 2 Marshall_Orson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Mr. Michael A. Erwin District 3 Michael_Erwin@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Mr. David Campbell District 5 David_Campbell@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Dr. Joyce A. Morley District 7 Joyce_A_Morley@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Ms. Karen W. Carter District 8 Karen_Carter@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Mr. Thaddeus Mayfield District 9 Thaddeus_Mayfield@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Contact Person: Viola Davis at RestoreDeKalb@gmail.com or phone 770-267-0034
Please view the document prepared by Robert Boyd, a GAC consultant, for Restore DeKalb:
Please forward this message to parents and homeowners who are against cell towers on school grounds.
Sincerely,
Viola Davis
Happy Summer!
We’ve got an opportunity for public comment coming up at the DeKalb Zoning Code Update public meeting.
Tuesday 6/18 at 6:30 pm
Maloof Auditorium
1300 Commerce Dr
Decatur
See attachment for details
Our county commissioners are reviewing the proposed changes to the document they use to determine land use in our county. This document is huge and contains many different areas of interest. These changes have been in work for a long time BUT…. The changes the part that handle how the county deals with cell towers are brand new. They were written by the industry and, therefore, cater to the industry. Why is material written by the industry in local county code? Well there is a bit of conflict of interest there don’t you think? Unfortunately, this does happen all the time, but it takes folks to stand up and say “wait a minute!”
Here’s the previous NBT update for reference
http://www.nobriarlaketower.org/updates/proposalintheworksforcelltowerzoningcode-badnews
I invite you to join me in standing up for our community and not allow local code institutions to be circumvented by the telecommunications industry. Yes, we all have cell phones and do business with the telecom industry. That’s fine but let’s keep business where business is supposed to be, not in our school yards situated within our neighborhoods.
See you at the meeting! If you are in the Briarlake community, let me know if you want to ride with me. I’ll take the van!
Sincerely,
Stephanie Byrne
President, No Briarlake Tower, LLC
http://www.nobriarlaketower.org/
We appreciate your support. This is a community effort and we couldn’t do it without you. This distribution is by request only. If you know someone who’d like to be included please have them send me an e-mail with their address through the website.
“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” – Mohandas Gandhi