Petition To Oust DeKalb School Board Gains Momentum

Less than two weeks after being placed on probation, the DeKalb County School Board is now the target of an online petition calling for their removal.

CBS Atlanta is reporting that the petition has already received more than 490 signatures, including some signees from Brookhaven and Chamblee.

"As our schools go, so goes our neighborhood and subsequent property values," said one Decatur resident on the petitition. Wrote another, "I've gone to meetings and seen board members asleep. They have completely failed at their jobs in every aspect. Their salaries are better spent on students."

DeKalb resident Grace McKenna began the online petition, calling on Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to replace the entire school board.

On Dec. 17, the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) placed the school board on probation until December 2013. 

"There is significant and irrefutable evidence that the DeKalb County School District is in a state of conflict and chaos,” said SACS Chairman Dr. Mark Elgart. "This failure to govern effectively has resulted in a decline in student performance, financial mismanagement, and lack of integrity and ethics in recruiting, appointing and evaluating personnel at all levels of the school system."

The Georgia Department of Education must meet within 30 days of SACS report and make a recommendation to Gov. Deal on how to proceed. Under a new law, Deal has the authority to replace the school board.

Brookhaven Patch wants to know: do you believe the governor should replace DeKalb's school board? Take our Patch poll and share your opinion in the comments section below this article.

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