Two personnel recommendations came before the board at the February 12 Business Meeting.
These are the candidates the hiring managers wanted to hire. They were interviewed and references checked, allegedly.
Bernice Gregory, Ed.D – Chief Human Capital Officer
Compensation: $176K plus benefits
Hiring Manager: Dr. R. Stephen Green, Superintendent (Green Resume)
• 
Resume – Bernice Gregory
• Job Description – Chief Human Capital Management Officer
CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER – REQUIRED EXPERIENCE
• Master’s degree from a Professional Standards Commission approved accredited college or university
required.
• Doctorate degree from a Professional Standards Commission approved accredited college or university
highly desirable.
• Minimum of ten (10) years experience as an administrator in a school system setting or as an executive
in a corporate environment with demonstrated successful advancement through the administrative or
executive managerial hierarchy, as appropriate, required.
Gabrielle Moore – Data Analyst IV
Compensation: $52K plus benefits
Hiring Manager: Dr. Vasanne Tinsley, Director of Support Services (Tinsley Resume)
Note: This hire came before the board because Ms Moore is a relative of Board of Education representative Dr. Joyce Morley.
• Resume – Gabrielle Moore
• Job Description – Data Analyst IV
DATA ANALYST IV – REQUIRED EXPERIENCE
• High school diploma or GED equivalent required.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience in database management, data analysis, forecasting or closely related experience and demonstration of proficiency necessary to perform the duties for the position.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Hi Stan,
Skimming thru Bernice Gregory’s resume, I was stuck by three things: (1) gaps in her employment, (2) how all of her full-time positions were only 2 or 3 years, maximum, and (3) the majority of her “Education” is from correspondence schools.
She lists two degrees from Argosy’s University of Sarasota; here’s the Wikipedia page on Argosy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argosy_University
Another degree is from Cambridge College, which is another online program. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_College
A fourth degree is from Webster University in Missouri, but that also appears to have been a correspondence/online program. The dates listed on her resume suggest that she was earning the degree from Webster while she was Principal of a school in Leavenworth, Kansas, which is 275 miles away from the college campus
Some of her resume padding is amusing — who lists “Held meetings with parents, as needed” as an accomplishment?
DeKalb Schools used “HYA” (Hazard, Young, Attea Executives search firm). The school district has gone through the process twice over the last 12 months and this is the most qualified candidate the school district could find … that would take this job.
Running the HR department is a far cry from running anything about education. I’ve been saying for years, this job needs to be filled by a businessperson. Someone who has experience running HR in a large company. We are talking about payroll, benefits, sick leave, disability claims, etc for what – 15,000+ employees. NO NEED to be an educator for this one. I never have understood why on earth the school district insists that former principals can do just about anyone else’s job – but business people could never teach or be a principal. They are limiting the applicant pool by focusing on educators to fill these jobs. The salary is high enough to attract people from the business community. (ps – on the other one – $52,000 plus full benes for a ‘data analyst’ job that requires a high school diploma or GED is a pretty good gig! You wouldn’t find that in the business world.)
Thank you for your reply. Personally, I would ask for my money back. Dr. Gregory may be a lovely person, but the point is she is not qualified for this position. We do not have time to hire someone who has to be trained on how a big system works, during the busiest time of the year for our principals and hiring the best of the best coming out of college.
I am sorry, but a system this size DOES NOT need an “administrator” from a college with a purchased degree running their HR department. We need someone who has a Business and HR degree and has HR experience in a Fortune 500+ company. She is coming from a system with only 24,000 students and less than 1500 staff members.
Here is my last question, are we paying her relocation fee as well?
DCSD and the BOE need to take a good hard look at themselves and humbly explore why they are unable to get strong candidates from the business world for that salary and an opportunity to live in the Atlanta metropolitan area which has so much to offer.
Hey Lynn, We normally don’t pay relocation fees.
AB, Please expound. What your thoughts?
Another hire from the Education pools- that has misspellings on her resume, is not impressive to me. With the county having so many personnel issues, you think they would seek out a HR professional- she barely has 2 years experience, and with two different employers- not impressed at all.
I do not see that Gabriella meets the qualifications either– another fine hire! Maybe they are having issues getting qualified candidates because their reputation is so bad. I feel like we could have located someone with actual experience to have this very nicely paid + benefits job. In fact, I might just apply myself next time.
Ok. So Ms. Moore starting salary is $52K plus benefits, that right there is a slap in the face to all teachers in DCSD. To start out you only need a GED for this position while our teachers have to have a 4-year degree and many are paying off student loans and will take years to get to $52K. I bet her job will end at 5:00 every day while our teachers work before school, after school and on weekends to help our students!
You may or may not recall that it was a search firm that ‘found’ Pat Reid! Dr. Lewis breathlessly announced her hiring as if he had found a needle in a haystack after an exhaustive national search. Fast forward to the big trial and we find out that Pat Reid is actually Pat Pope – married to Vincent Pope, an architect working on DCSD SPLOST projects. Pat was his VP, and had also already been working on a contract with DCSD as was indicated on her application. Yeah, no, we never got our money back from that search.
Interesting that Gregory and Greene were in Kansas at the same time. Leavenworth is just outside of Kansas City. Is there a known connection?
Wow!! This school district continues to slide downward!! Yes, the HR Head should have many years of business experience..This is not rocket science..There is always a connection with the people @ the district office and personnel..They continue to cover for one another year after year after year.We are sure, if you look closely enough, there is a connection with Green and the new HR person. Personnel and BOE are all in it together. The more we do research, the worse it gets. According to information given to us by parents, why does Stoneview Elementary have more than 5 teachers on teacher time out? We have heard many stories about undocumented fights among students, students skipping class, teachers being cussed out, students walking out whenever, substitute teachers all over the building..etc..where does the money go? Everything there is old..desks, tables, boards, equipment, playground, gym equipment, lunchroom..on and on..what is the money being used on? We will be forwarding our information to the Governor and beyond..The school is NM in chaos..We wish they would stop lying to parents, staff and the public.
So, Stan, why did you vote “yes” to hire Dr. Gregory? Only Jim McMahan voted “no,” and bravely voiced concerns about Dr. Gregory’s credentials being up to the job.
After multiple searches and a year of not having a Chief Human Capital Officer, this is apparently the best this school district can do. The Spring/Summer hiring season is upon us. The board’s role is to say we need this position in the org chart. It is Dr. Green’s request that we bring this person on. Dr. Green will be held responsible for her performance.
Bernice is going to need a raise to pay off her diploma-mill credentials.
Stan,
Does the board discuss the resumes of recommended hires?
Our new head of HR held two jobs in 2016?How did she oversee Spotsylvania’s HR from 2016 to 2018 while also overseeing Loudon’s elementary personnel during the 2016-2017 school year? Does the pending HR certification matter?
Gregory’s, Tinsley’s, and another recently promoted central office employee’s resumes indicate that while working for Dekalb or other school districts they also work as adjunct instructors. As a classroom teacher who struggles to keep up or get everything I need to done, I’d love to know how people paid so much more than us classroom teachers find the time. Do you know how Dekalb schools ensures that people working another job aren’t doing so during their Dekalb work time?
DeKalb Teacher,
Most of he personnel discussions were in executive session, so they are privledged. I will say that the board members are aware of the resumes. This is apparently the best we can do.
I don’t know what the process is to make sure administrators aren’t working outside jobs during regular business hours.
Stan, I was pleasantly surprised by Gabrielle Moore’s resume — she has a degree from a real college (Spelman) and is bilingual (Spanish – bottom of page 2), a skill DCSD needs much more of!
Her resume says she has held two jobs since she graduated college. She was at her first employer for more than a year, so she likely passed any probationary period. She hasn’t been at her second job for more than a year, but if you google that employer, you’ll find an April 2011 article on the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s website that says OSHA fined the employer $45,500 for 16 alleged safety and health violations at the location Ms. Morre worked at….. it’s probably not a very pleasant place to work.
In a comment above, Lynn King complained that Ms. Moore’s salary was a slap in the face to teachers. I disagree. She will earn more salary than an entry level teacher, but that’s to be expected — she is a 12 month employee, which means she has to come into work all year round.
In response to the February 22 comment from “Anonymous” that said “Only Jim McMahan voted ‘no’” and bravely voiced concerns about Dr. Gregory’s credentials being up to the job”:
That was not brave — it was just useless grandstanding from McMahan, who is not running for reelection.
@DSW2 Contributor: What I meant by a slap in the face to our teachers, is that I looked at her hourly rate and compared it to a teacher’s hourly rate. Her hourly rate is $27.50 per hour, while a beginning teachers hourly rate is $25.88 per hour.
The position as applied was for someone who only needed a high school degree or a GED. That tells me that this position is an entry-level position and does not demand a high hourly rate like that. $20 per hour would be a great starting point for this position that will be guaranteed to have working air, does not have to pay for supplies out of their pocket, does not have daily interaction with students, will have a roof over their head that does not leak, and driveways and parking areas that are not causing damage to their cars.
With her resume, she would be a perfect candidate for a Hispanic Outreach Liasion, that could work with our translators and see what needs need to be addressed by the system and partner up with private entities to see if the county could secure grants and/or more funding to help our ESOL population. Then, by all means, her new salary would justify this position.
As a parent, I wanted to make a comment about the progress Stoneview Prinicpal and staff are making to change the culture of the school. Since the arrival of Dr. Davis, I think the school is moving in the right direction. Behavior has improved, the school is looking much better and staff is friendly. I don’t know about the teachers being on time out but I do know my kids feel save there. I was there today and they were working on a mural. Let’s work together to help make our school better. It’s not perfect but it’s better. Even the ap and front office staff are talking now. Lol I am at the school alot and I see how the kids act and I pray that we come together to make it better.
A happy parent,
Is Dr. Davis a new principal? If so, was she at Stoneview when this school year started or has she recently been transferred there?
Thank you.
Mr Jester,
I again want to thank you for sponsoring this blog. There seems fewer and fewer ways that people are able to express their opinions about issues related to the school system. Is there a way to find out how many people applied for the HCM Job?
The Atlanta area has many great things to offer. The salary of almost $180,000 is a great deal of money. It is hard to accept that there was very little interest in this job.
You could do an open records request and find out how many people applied through PATS. It would be challenging to find out how many people applied through or were looked at by HYA.
Stan,
I didn’t know if the BOE was informed of that kind of information. Thank you.
I assure you Stan that she was not the most qualified applicant. I know for a fact during the original interviews, the search firm found qualified applicants that were not selected for final interviews. Applicants with years of HR experience were denied. I also know that the panel that conducted the original interviews did not consist of anyone with HR experience. How can a panel interview for a HR position and not include anyone with HR experience. How can that panel relate to any of the answers an applicant gives? There was word that the current interim made it to the final top two selection process. This person was inexperienced and had already gotten into some trouble by not being truthful to the board. How this person was allowed to serve in this role for almost two years is beyond anyone. You do understand that an employees retirement is based off the top two years served so the interim will collect retirement for a position that they were not qualified for and also under performed in. From my understanding, the board did not agree that the interim HR Chief should continue in that role so the search form had to repost the position and start all over again. The qualified applicants were left to the wayside. Many were not contacted to reapply. The entire process is very fishy Stan and the board should have paid more attention to this process and what was going on behind the scenes. When reading this woman’s resume, it is a joke. Anyone with HR experience would never submit a 11 page resume. The achievements on the resume are entertaining. Completing grades a few days early is by no means an achievement that deserves to be on a resume. Seeing that she has Kansas ties throws up many red flags with Dr. Green connections. DeKalb continues to fail with proper staffing and hiring. Stan, there was a time when the board would look into these issues. I remember when Mrs. Jester would investigate and try to find out solutions to the serious problems throughout the district. This board seems to go with whatever Dr. Green wants. There are some serious issues within many departments and HR is a complete mess. I pray DeKalb will one day get it together but it will take years to rebuild the destruction that has taken places. Stan, to hear that this was the best DeKalb had to offer shoes that the board was not informed of the qualified candidates and that you were lied to. You should check into those who applied on PATS and those who applied through the search firm and read over those resumes. The talent was there but swept under the rug. The real question is why? Why can’t DeKalb hire qualified candidates for key positions?
I also want to add this is in no way any disrespect to Mrs. Moore as she may come in and do a great job but if we are basing the hiring decision on qualifications and what she placed on her resume, she is very much unqualified for this type of executive position. Dr. Green should of never allowed this to take two years to fill. I hope you do hold Dr. Green accountable Stan. Remember that Green hired Dr. Brown in the Chief HR position last time and we see how that turned out.
Didn’t they find there was a relationship family wise to Greene? Relative maybe?
The new Chief Human Capital Officer doesn’t have enough experience to run a district of this size and effectively address the issues it currently faces. I’m disappointed Dr. Green submitted this candidate to the board. But what’s also important to understand is that the board is ultimately responsible for this selection. It’s the board’s job to serve as a governing body and ensure what Dr. Green submits to them is reasonable, sound, and in the best interest of the school system. The point of this board is to be the ultimate decision maker above Dr. Green who has the final voice in decisions such as these. Only one board member voted no and expressed concerns. When I read, “…this is the best this school district can do.” I can’t accept that. DeKalb can do better than this. While I understand DeKalb has been without a Human Capital Management leader for sometime, I’d rather see the district find the right leader. Otherwise, DeKalb will continue to make media headlines for having yet another failed HCM leader and this position continues to be a revolving door. And like other individuals here, I agree that a business leader is needed to run Human Capital Management. Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates is a search firm that specializes in finding talent in the education space. Either another search firm who specializes in HR talent should have been used and/or job search sites such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. should have been used to find talent.