DeKalb Schools administration is asking the Board of Education to approve salary adjustments for classified staff, salary adjustments for executive staff and the DeKalb County School District Budget for 2019-2020 (FY2020).
There are quite a number of closed door budget meetings between now and the next Board meeting (June 25). For right now, this board and administration are planning on appropriating $1.2 billion for the general fund. That is $450 million more since 2014. At the same time, the student population has decreased by roughly 5,000 students.
The current budget will take $28 million from reserves as we financially drive the school system into the ground.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
FY2020 DCSD Tentative Budget Detail
FY2020 DCSD Tentative Budget Summary (6-10-2019)
Local School Budgets (xls)
The Board of Education is currently considering the Retroactive component of the Classified Staff Salary adjustments as approved in at the January 2019 meeting by implementing the MAG study. Payment of the Classified Staff adjustments will be retroactively applied to the first working day of January 2019.
The financial impact will come to $5,500,000.00
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
2019-06-Classified-SalarySchedule
2019-06 Bus Driver SNP
Executive Salary Schedule
HCM Executive Salary Placement Analysis
Presentation – Executive Salary Ranges For Regional Superintendents and Chiefs DeKalb County School District
Statement from the administration:
Granting steps for years of experience values staff by recognizing their longevity within the Dekalb County School District. This study is limited to internal years of completed Dekalb County School District experience, which includes both related and non-related experience. Related experience is not available and is not separately identified in this study. The DCSD Human Resources staff will audit employee files, if necessary.
Experience for classified staff was evaluated in three ways and is based on the data
file provided.1. Experience years in current position – Estimated salary cost = $1,600,000
2. Experience years in current position, plus half DCSD experience – Estimated salary cost = 5,002,000
3. Experience years for all internal DCSD experience – Estimated salary cost = $5,800,000
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Has there been a study as to how much money might be saved by closing/consolidating schools? Is that option a non-starter politically?
Comparing Dekalb to other large districts – (https://www.niche.com/k12/search/largest-school-districts/s/georgia/) it seems like other districts serve similar populations of students with far fewer schools). According to the link above, currently Dekalb has 101,284 students in 132 schools.
Cobb County educates 12,000 more students with 21 fewer schools.
Gwinnett educates 65,000 more students with only 26 more schools.
Hello Ben. Closing schools, as you can imagine, isn’t popular. Everybody likes their neighborhood school. This has historically been done in DeKalb by enticing them with a new school … close down schools and put everybody in a new school. This is expensive and time consuming, but it seems to be the only way to get a majority of the board to go for it.
I’m hoping we can do a study like APS is doing: APS authorizes $900,000 plan to guide building decisions
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/aps-authorizes-900-000-plan-guide-building-decisions/Kg25i6QbVA69NwJaOByGhO/
Atlanta Public Schools will spend $900,000 developing a facilities master plan to guide decisions about consolidating and building schools and changing attendance zone boundaries.
I love Stan’s candor and language. No corporate double-talk. No beating around the bush.
“The current budget will take $28 million from reserves as we financially drive the school system into the ground.”
Stan succinctly sums up, in less than 20 words, what is happening in the short- and long-term for DCSS.
Stan, wish someone could study Texas education model!
When giving out or assigning salary, include paras in the distribution, they are so often overlooked! My daughter has 23 years as a para in special ed and lord the injuries she has sustained! But she loves that group and I have to admit the parents and kids love her. It takes a special loving para to work with the young kids she deals with daily. Not, potty trained, some can’t talk to tell you they need to go!i should have said when giving out raises! Thanks Stan, I wish Nancy could be the super!
Stan,
Am I reading the executive salary information correctly?
“Executives” who’ve worked for the school district for 20+ years are getting salary increases, extra compensation for years in Dekalb, and as much as $833 a month for a degree one would assume is part of the job? We teachers with 20 or more years are getting anywhere from $100 more a month to 5 cents more a month.
For anyone who doesn’t know, the E number listed in the name column indicates when someone started working for the school district.
Hey Stan,
Wow!!! Executive salaries are ridiculous. I believe they can do their jobs making way less than that. I don’t see what they are doing for that enormous salary. They are making that kind of money, but there never seems to be money in the budget for instructional materials and they expect test scores to be high.
Something isn’t right. I guess they never heard the saying, money doesn’t grow on trees. It just saddens me to see what is going on. Thanks for keeping us updated on what is going on. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think the information would be shared.
Is there an update on the $3000.00?
Dear Stan,
When DeKalb is asking for a tax increase and dipping into the reserves, we are spending over a million dollars to pay highly paid executives even more money. Something is very wrong with this plan. We cannot figure out how to pay teachers, custodians, bus drivers, para educators, administrative assistants, speech & language professionals, counselors and so many other vital staff members the correct amount. BUT it has taken the same county very little time to decide to pay more for upper level positions. Mr. Jester it is my opinion that the reason that we do not want an audit is because we are more concerned with protecting certain principals and other leaders than we are with doing the right thing for children. Some of the regional superintendents would have to explain why they were not monitoring the money at their schools.
This last action demonstrates no respect for the majority of staff members and the jobs that they do. It also shows no respect for the parents and the students.
This is totally unacceptable. How can the other BOE members refuse to see this?
There is no change to most of the classified salaries they are the same, who are they fooling! The farther away you are from the students the more $$$$$$ you make!
Food Service, Para, Campus Supervisors, they did not change the scales !!!!
Joy,
I think taxpayers would be shocked to discover just how many of their tax dollars fund an over priced jobs program with little oversight and even less value. The published budgets should indicate the jobs the state funds, the jobs title 1 funds, the jobs ESOL and gifted funds, etc…
Green may have grown the bloat, but this is a problem endemic to Dekalb County and the Dekalb School District. Just look at how long these execs have been working for the school district.
Like you, I’d like to know the legitimate reason the school district is unwilling to conduct a real audit, prioritize the actual education of its students, etc… One can only conclude there’s stuff to hide. The board appears to support the district’s function as a jobs program, so appealing to them seems ineffective.
As a property owner, voter, and taxpayer in Dekalb County, I only support raises for those individuals who have direct contact with students (ie teachers, paraprofessionals, speech therapists , etc). Too much money is going to folks who don’t directly work with students. There is a teacher shortage, not a regional superintendent one. Dekalb doesn’t have enough certified/qualified teachers and they are worried about paying upper level folks more $$$$?? I personally define qualified as a teacher who received an education degree from a legitimate university and has passed their exam (this is lacking in Dekalb). Thanks Stan for the time and energy that you invest into our school system.
SAM–
That sounds so good until the roof leaks, or the ac is not working, or the grass needs to be cut. Not all the classified employees are the “Palace” Leaders.. many of them are the very people that have managed to keep our buildings up and running many years. They deserve a raise as well as they have endured more Furlough days and fewer raises than the teachers–
How come the paraprofessionals did not move on the scale ? We do a lot of work for the students, but we are over looked. This is very sad .
Stan, kudos to the Board and HCM for finally recognizing experience for classified. Thank you
STAN
The executives salaries are a lot. Were they put into these salaries in the same manner that other other employees were put on the schedule.. at the next highest step?
Looks like they got bigger raises than any of us
The executive salaries are a result of executives in school districts across metro Atlanta being over paid.
But were the execs placed on the new schedule like everyone else?
Stan,
Are other districts rewarding only execs for longevity?
I don’t think other school districts can’t fill substitute positions 25% of the time. Other school districts also don’t seem to struggle to figure out who their employees are and how long they’ve worked for them or what salary schedule to place them on.
The only things soaring in Dekalb are executive’s/administrators’ pay and homeowners’ property tax bills.
Bell is incompetent… sounds like a freeze is to try and compensate for miscalculations.
This should have been discussed earlier if leadership were strategic.
Stan, if there will be a freeze, shouldn’t we hold on approving increased exec salaries?
The freeze is in response to the board being unhappy about the price tag of this budget.
I don’t think we should over pay our executive staff just because the rest of metro Atlanta does. I suspect the rest of the board would disagree … and will vote to approve their raises.
No other metro county pays execs those high salaries..check it out before approving
Executive salaries are easy to look up on the Georgia open gov website. I’m not at a computer right now.
I think many executives are overpaid … especially Gwinnett and APS. I don’t support our executives being overpaid as well.
Well Dekalb just approved Exec pay scales being increased by about $60000 which puts them about $50000 more than the metro.
On the open gov site, Gwinnett and Fulton has their top positions at $200000. APS has one person.. a unique situation that is over $200000.
And as discussed earlier in this thread , execs were placed deep into the scales, but all other employees were placed at the next highest step.
DeKalb taking care of leadership against and the BOE supporting with out even a question.
Did I miss something? Is there a salary freeze coming up now that the classified are finally going to be told what their January raise was going to be? The only freeze should be for the executives as most of them should be GONE!
Tell me this is not true. Where is this coming from?
There is a hiring freeze for all open positions outside of the school house. The administration is insisting they can balance the budget with this freeze. It was a last ditch effort to convince the board to approve the budget.
For the record, Stan was the only BOE member to vote NO for the budget last night.
The hiring freeze makes it even less attractive for new candidates for Superintendent. DCSD can’t live within their means and their primary means of getting back control of the budget is a hiring freeze.
So Stan, how does the public know that there is a hiring freeze for all open positions outside of the school house?
Will there be a press release stating that?
Will open positions be removed from PATS?
The hiring freeze needs to be confirmed in some sort of DCSD statement.
The hiring freeze needs to be communicated well throughout the non-school house employees of DCSD, and the Board needs to get Dr. Green to state each month that the hiring freeze is still on.
Otherwise, only the handful of people who attended or watched last night’s special called meeting will know anything about it, making it easy to hire folks during the freeze.
updated article in AJC…”several open positions” are mentioned below…
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-county-board-education-approves-budget/m3IBj4TPu5TZq3iUtzYCCO/
That hiring freeze is a joke. Years ago they moved AIC employees to the schools, purely on paper and payroll. We had a few of these people assigned to my school and never saw them.
My experience with area superintendents was not a pleasant one the last few years I was with DCSD. Only a few people in our building could identify her by face, although we all knew her name because our principal threw it around a lot to justify things going on in the school. That school went through a lot of upheavel and she made promises about being more visible and getting to know our staff the following year. That didn’t happen- she would go straight to the office, meet with the principal, and leave the school.
I am now in another district and the equivalent of DCSD’s area superintendents are visible, interactive with the teachers and students, and involved in lesson planning/assessments/teaching aspect of the building. It’s a very different experience for me after over 20 years in DCSD.
That AJC article mentions an important point. The budget exceeds revenues. Does anyone think the state is funding seven regional cabinets or the “award-winning” communications department or the third of Dekalb’s “teachers” who don’t teach, or the many positions made up for administrators that have run afoul but know too much?
If the increase for teacher benefits is 6 million, how much more does the district pay for TRS contributions for the exces, coordinators, directors, administrators, etc…?
Until enough people demand that the state and the district publish which jobs are funded and which aren’t and prioritize education over jobs, none of this is going to change.
The executive’s salaries are the reason the budget is grossly over, not the teachers and classified staff. That’s the lies they tell.
I’m not sure we can attribute $30 million over budget to excessive executive salaries.
Correct, Exec salaries aren’t the cause of $30M over.
That said, did you question why the Execs were getting such large raises when their work is so sub par?
Simply voting No isn’t enough., how about asking some questions?
So Michael Bell, the one who messed up all the numbers is slated to get a 50,000 raise this year. And y’all voted for that? Smh
Michael Bell isn’t getting a raise for the stellar job he’s done. It’s a function of what the MAG study says that position should pay to be competitive in metro Atlanta.
I wish the MAG study recommendation would be put into place for teachers as well. We are literally the bottom of the totem pole. Very sad how teachers are treated. Without us you guys have nothing. Sad. His raise is about the same as my salary……
Stan,
Why is our budget so much more than our revenue? Are the other BOE Members asking questions about where the money is being spent? If we are not auditing our finances, how in the world are we making decisions about spending money?
From the AJC article: https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/gwinnett-teachers-get-small-pay-bump/rRcKr99yyMXBCQyq70yjxH/
“The state recently announced that all state agencies and school districts will be participating in a one-month SHBP employer contribution holiday for the month of June,” explained Chief Financial Officer Joe Heffron. CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks recommended that the net savings realized by the district be passed along to employees.
Stan- was this discussed at the recent board meeting? Is DSCD going to pass along the saving to the teachers?
Stan,
I work a second full time job during the summer to make ends meet as a teacher. One question – Did Knox Phillips resign on yesterday?
There are various audits including the annual state audit as well as other internal audits.
I didn’t hear anything about the employee contribution holiday or how that would effect our budget.
Elizabeth, I can’t say anything right now about this personnel issue. You seem to be in the know. Can you tell us what is going on?
Just to be accurate,
FY18 Chief Financial Officer salary = $130,976.
FY19 Chief Financial Officer salary = $133,586. (+ 2%)
FY20 Chief Financial Officer salary = $165,000. (+ 23%!!!!)
Wow.
But keep in mind that Dr. Bell is paid the least of all of the “Chief,” $20K – $40K less than other “Chiefs” for this same time period.
Curious that Dr. Bell is the only “Chief” still in place. The others (Information, Legal, Operations, Communications, Human Capital) were paid much more yet still left, although there were weird circumstances with some of them.
I do not mean to totally defend Dr. Bell, but I wonder how much of this salary fiasco was due to Finance and how much was due to the long-term lack of leadership in Human Capital Management.
Michael Bell isn’t getting a raise for the stellar job he’s done. It’s a function of what the MAG study says that position should pay to be competitive in metro Atlanta.
But Stan, the classified people were told that the MAG study raises would be over time– and for many of them, this meant pennies on the dollar now and that in 5 years, they would be made whole. Has there been ANY update on that? Some of these people have continued to press on and do the job with furlough days longer than others, no TSA, horrible work conditions… I could go on… When will they hear what is going on?
Michael Bell isn’t getting a raise for the stellar job he’s done. It’s a function of what the MAG study says that position should pay to be competitive in metro Atlanta.
But Stan, the classified people were told that the MAG study raises would be over time– and for many of them, this meant pennies on the dollar now and that in 5 years, they would be made whole. Has there been ANY update on that? Some of these people have continued to press on and do the job with furlough days longer than others, no TSA, horrible work conditions… I could go on… When will they hear what is going on?
Who is Knox Phillips? What is his salary? Is DeKalb in a hiring freeze?
According to the state
http://www.open.georgia.gov
FY2018 Salaries
$334,200.00 – GREEN,ROBERT S-SUPERINTENDENT
$179,320.66 – BELL,MICHAEL J-FINANCE/BUSINESS SERV…
$179,320.66 – HOUSTON-STEWART,EILEEN L-PUBLIC RELATIONS PERS…
$179,320.66 – BRANTLEY,GARY L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$179,320.66 – TYSON,RAMONA H-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$179,320.66 – WILLIAMS,JOSHUA L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$179,320.66 – TINSLEY,VASANNE S-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$179,320.66 – HACKEMEYER,JENNIFER L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
FY2017 Salaries
$334,200.00 – GREEN,ROBERT S-SUPERINTENDENT
$176,722.62 – BELL,MICHAEL J-FINANCE/BUSINESS SERV…
$176,722.62 – BROWN,LEO T-IS PERSONNEL – MAINTE…
$176,722.62 – HOUSTON-STEWART,EILEEN L-PUBLIC RELATIONS PERS…
$176,722.62 – TYSON,RAMONA H-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$176,722.62 – BRANTLEY,GARY L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$176,722.62 – HACKEMEYER,JENNIFER L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$176,722.62 – MARTIN,LISA L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
$176,722.62 – WILLIAMS,JOSHUA L-DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTAN…
@EscapeFromDekalb, where did you hear the study raises would be over time? Do you have a link or an email that says that?
“Michael Bell isn’t getting a raise for the stellar job he’s done. It’s a function of what the MAG study says that position should pay to be competitive in metro Atlanta.”
There are many certified teachers/staff that HAVE done stellar jobs and the MAG study salary recommendations were not implemented. Just saying…
@Dismayed. Good question. I would love to pay our high performing certified employees more. I think we can agree that some certified employees are better than others. Can we fairly and systemically identity who our high performing certified employees are?
Gwinnett has figured out how to give bonus pay to their top teachers. Last I heard there are bonuses for being top across the district, and smaller bonuses for being top at your school.
I believe this is the first year Gwinnett Schools has implemented performance based awards …
“Performance-Based Awards
Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Performance-Based Teacher Compensation System includes Performance- Based Awards that take into account four metrics— Professional Growth, the TAPS Evaluation, the Weighted School Assessment, and Student Growth.”
It’s based on assessments and evaluations. I’m told all the time that they are both flawed performance measurements.
Saw the link to state salaries. With that evidence, why did the board approve Chiefs salaries? Nobody else pays near what the board approved for Chiefs.
“I think we can agree that some certified employees are better than others. Can we fairly and systemically identity who our high performing certified employees are?”
Good question but it seems it doesn’t matter for admin who receive MAG suggested salary increases without necessarily doing stellar jobs??? My point was simply that the MAG study was not implemented as proposed across the board, but from your statement was used for administrative positions.
Seems like the implementation of the salary study is reasonable., everybody can’t get huge increases and stay financially prudent.. except for Execs… they got everything, while the board are blind mice
Stan,
Please accept my apologies for asking the question. I heard someone state that Dr. Knox Phillips resigned. He continued to state that was not surprised because it was rumored to happen. Honestly, I find the central office drama to be so distracting. Please accept my apologies.
Concerned Citizen,
Knox Phillips is one of the nine Superintendent’s Cabinet members:
https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/superintendent/cabinet/
Knox Phillips was promoted from an assistant principal to his current position (lol). Thank u DeKalb nepotism! It is also sad the lack of diversity on the “board cabinet” – this is why DeKalb can never improve. They don’t hire best for the job, just hire friends and family.
If the MAG study wasn’t fully implemented for teachers and other school staff, it shouldn’t be fully implemented for anyone. Working on the next budget needs to begin now, in order to find ways to save and pay school based staff more.
@Nikole I TOTALLY Agree!!!!!
Knox Phillips Resume
Associate Superintendent (division head) since 2018
Executive Director (Research, Assessment, Evaluation, Data) from 2017 – 2018
Director (Research, Assessment, Evaluation, Data) 2015 – 2017
Instructional Principal
2013 – 2015
Stan, So this guy didn’t even get to Principal and was never even an Assistant Principal! Instructional Principal (there’s no such title) to Director is too wierd. How did he become an Executive Director? I see no teaching background. Who promoted him and why? Terrible….I’ve seen some Terrible Things…..
Obviously that’s Superintendent Green’s decision.
Concerned Citizen,
At the high school level, the title “Assistant Principal in charge of Instruction” is sometimes shortened to “Instructional Principal.” I don’t know what position Dr. Phillips had, but my guess is he was an Assistant Principal in charge of Instruction.
Concerned Citizen,
Unfortunately, so much of Dekalb County’s and the school district’s hiring practice has nothing to do with experience or qualifications or need. What does Ramona Tyson do? Why do we now have seven regions and cabinets but substitutes and building repairs still can’t get done? Check out the resumes of Knox Phillips and others “ promoted” and you’ll see it’s a vicious cycle. They are qualified because they’ve worked in Dekalb, they’re eligible because of the previous job they held. Making up new jobs in the form of new regions or new “ supports” also helps. When all else fails, make up a new job title.
I can’t understand why more taxpayers don’t care how much of their money is squandered and how much
Dekalb’s students suffer.
Where can I find the 2019-2020 teacher pay scale?
I just looked at the new salary schedule on the employee website. Is this salary schedule updated with the $3,000, or are we going to get an additional $3,000? This salary schedule looks completely different from the one we saw a few months ago.
Providing the payment of $3000 in one lump sum would sure be a great moral booster. Let’s face it. The moral is shifting…
Stan,
I’m confused. Has there been a decision on the $3000.00?
Hope to heat your response.
How exhausting trying to keep up with all the shadiness in Dekalb.
Thanks Stan for keeping us up to date.
@Concerned Teacher…. we are getting the $3000 amd a step.
@trying to stay..
If it is a lump sum, then it doesn’t count as salary for the purpose of determining retirement wages in TRS.
Teachers will step and get the $3,000 as a supplemental. I’m not sure if the supplemental will show up in the salary schedule.
Stan, the salary schedules show the addition of the $3000, along with the step increase. Now, I would like to know if the state is going to make the $3000 permanent or not. I do believe that Gov. Kemp planned for it to be permanent and NOT a one time supplement. If DCSD is not going to make the $3000 permanent, even if the state does, then what will you do with the $3000 for each certified teacher that comes from the state next year? Wouldn’t it be illegal for you to use the money for other things?
This school year will be my 30th year with DCSD. The new salary schedule tops out before 30 years. So this year I will be making $363 less than the 30+ step that was reflected in the 2018-2019 salary table. I did get an $11 per paycheck raise in January, but would have been better off with the previous salary table.
@concerned educator,
Where are you finding the salary schedule that shows addition and step? I’ve looked at HCM page and I can’t find ANY salary schedules posted. Other metro ATL school districts make it easy to find salary schedules…
@veteran teacher, i agree…the new salary schedules (that did not follow the MAG study recommendations) did not benefit those of us with experience/longevity.
Hi Dismayed! I found the teacher salary scale yesterday so had to figure it out again today! Go to the DeKalb County webpage. Go to the bottom and click on “Careers”. Then on side column click on “Employee Resources”. This is the page with “Salary Schedules” listed. Click on the teacher salary schedule. Looks better to me! But not sure of what DeKalb step I am on. Human Resources needs to send out the usual letter about our salary (before we get it).
@ this and that,
thank you. you would think it would be under compensation since people looking for employment and comparing metro districts aren’t going to look under employee resources!
Hi, @Dismayed,
@This and That is right on. That is where they have hidden the salary schedules:) As you can see, they have added the $3000 raises to all relevant salary schedules, including the Counselor Salary Schedule, which also includes SLP’s, OT’s, PT’s, etc.
I felt so proud that DCSD was finally doing what was right in God’s sight, i.e., providing the state sanctioned raises for ALL certified educators. However, according to Stan, DCSD is planning on making the raise a one time $3000 supplement, instead of making it permanent as, I believe, Gov. Kemp and the Legislature planned it. This means that they can take it away next school term; again, playing political games, and disrespecting their educators. I should have known it was too good to be true. But I will contact the Governor’s office to find out if they actually planned for the raise to be permanent or just a one time supplement. Because, if the raise is to be permanent, then treating it as a one time supplement would be illegal. So, what they really would be doing is taking away the raise that we earned earlier this year, and using the “one time supplement” as an excuse for doing so.
All the salary schedules are posted in HCM (including the bus drivers) except the classified, when will that be posted?
DeKalb is a Strategic Waiver School System.
Legally they do not have to give teachers the $3000. Dr. Bell, the CFO, mentioned that several times during the budget hearings. To his credit, Dr. Green finally proposed giving all teachers the $3000 and that’s what the BOE-approved FY20 budget does.
Martha Dalton, the education reporter on WABE, had a good piece that explains this “flexibility”
that districts have to give, or not give, the $3000. It’s at https://www.wabe.org/gov-kemp-promised-teachers-a-raise-but-state-funds-dont-cover-everyone/
She explains why Districts don’t have to give the $3000 to teachers and she explains why the funding from the State of Georgia doesn’t necessarily cover all teachers in the district.
Sooooo, the real questions is Are Teachers Getting a $3,000 raise for this school term for sure? I see no point in paying executives more money rather than paying the teachers what we are owed!
Teachers are absolutely getting the $3,000.
@Anonymous, I have been an Educator for a long time, and the process for determining teacher salaries has always been that the state pays the bulk of a teacher’s salary, and then the county provides a supplement, which is added to the state contribution to create the total. I have NEVER heard of the state providing a supplement. This breakdown use to occur on the salary schedule itself; DCSD does not do this. So, one can only assume that they will be reducing our salary by $3000 during the next school year, if they decide to treat the $3000 raise as a supplement, which, historically, only the county contributes.
Stan,
Why is it that teachers with the most experience do not get the full $3000? My big raise in January was a $0.94 per month.
All teachers step and get the $3,000 supplement.
Knox Phillips Leaves
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-schools-set-lose-another-key-leader/H5jf5QKwsRPnkcVSlrFOfJ/
Dr. Know Phillips is now consulting the system. Why? No other cabinet member who left did so. When the other executives left the system, they did so quietly and immediately. He is definitely playing games with taxpayer money and the board approves this foolery.
^ I am saddened by Dr. Phillip’s departure. Dr. Phillips is competent and knows what he is doing, unlike several other members of the Superintendent’s Cabinet.
Can you give us an update regarding principals/AP openings? Are there any?
@DSW2contributor – I disagree with your assessment of Phillips. I worked under him as a teacher when he was an AP (the highest post he ever held till central office). He was a terrible leader.. lots of smoke in Mirrors and never followed up on anything started. definitely friends and family in the central office. If you’re a Dekalb tax payer… be glad he’s gone!!
I know that Flat Rock is getting a new principal- he left after 2 years for Henry County. This is not a loss for DCSD and I hope Henry County sees through his deceit and incompetence sooner than DCSD ever would. Henry County made an announcement about his hiring around April, yet he’s still listed as the principal on the DCSD website.
On Monday, Dr. Green will present to the Board a contract to pay Dr. Phillips $200/hour for consulting services–an amount that exceeds the current hourly rate of the Superintendent himself. The contract is posted here: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=4054&AID=1064956&MID=75267
DSW 2 Contributor,
Is this a comparative analysis?
When he fast tracked from AP to the Palace, he was the person over testing who scheduled EOCs and AP exams on the same day. Maureen Downey published a story about this.
Have you ever heard him try to explain testing data? I still don’t know what Dekalb actually does with all this “ data” and my students take at least four different assessments that the school district assigns or helps administer.
He seems like a nice enough guy, but if he’s considered competent, I’m even more concerned.
The only corporation listed in the Georgia Secretary of State’s database with the name Serendipity Education filed its incorporation paperwork with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office on March 13, 2019. It does not list the Buckhead Loop address that is listed in the Independent Contractor Agreement.
Wow.
Also, if you look at the Scope of Work that this brand new company will perform, it includes some of the basic functions of a district.
Apparently there is no one left in the District who can credibly report data such as Georgia Milestones scores or graduation rates. Outsourcing the Strategic Planning function is worrisome too.
We are in sad shape, boys and girls.
Stan,
Please explain the Board’s rationale for the following:
1. Why did the Board not require Green to put a transition plan in place BEFORE Phillips’ departure. Green had to have known for months that Phillips was leaving. This is a contrived crisis resulting from poor management.
2. How does the Board justify paying a former employee $200/hour (the equivalent of $400,000/year) to provide “consulting services” for basic district functions?
3. How did the district determine that these services are “critical” (other than Green and Phillips saying they are)? It would be cheaper to just hire/appoint a replacement.
4. If these services are so critical to the functioning of the district, why was this contract not put out for a bid when the Board was notified that Phillips was leaving?
If someone is at the level of an Associate Superintendent, it seems that this individual would be leading a group or a department. It seems like someone else in the department would be able to continue and understand the work. If we have people in leadership roles and they are the only person who can do the job, then that is a real problem for DeKalb. This is not to say or suggest anything negative about anyone. Suppose Dr. Phillips had moved out of the country? Suppose a family emergency had demanded his undivided attention?
What would DeKalb do then?
Several district level administrators have left DeKalb. How have we handled all of these? Did we have to hire consultants to handle all of these? I really hope that all voters are looking at the decisions that are being made in DeKalb and remember that when it times for elections.
^^^^^Stan, I’m surprised that the Scope of Work between Serendipity Education Inc and DCSD does not mention anything about protecting private student data.
This USDOE document “Responsibilities of Third-Party Service Providers under FERPA” might be of interest:
https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/sites/default/files/resource_document/file/Vendor%20FAQ.pdf
^^ Joy, I saw Keisha Lance Bottoms interviewed after her speech last month at the Atlanta Press Club. Bottoms said that *her* City Hall’s reputation was so bad that the good people she needs won’t even consider applying for jobs there. The interview is not online, but here’s an Atlanta Business Chronicle article about her remarks:
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2019/06/18/mayor-bottoms-i-will-be-very-happy-when-this.html
Fifth paragraph says ” Bottoms said the climate of scandal has made it difficult to attract people to work for the city, either professionally or in a volunteer role”. I’m not a fan of hers, but good for her for acknowledging the problem.
DCSD is in the same boat, but Dr. Green is unaware and/or unwilling to admit it. The economy is good, professionals can easily find work, so qualified & competent candidates are just not bothering to apply for DCSD jobs. We can’t fill all the opening we have and many of the teachers we are hiring are teachers that other districts have passed over (declined to hire.)
Stan,
Leaders leave school districts all the time. The entire scope of work is basic job functions that should be completed by other employees. If the district has $100,000 to spare, it should be into some other critical need in the district. All of this is coming on the heels of a procurement audit that revealed huge gaps in financial oversight. Didn’t Green just face criticism for another questionable contract to hire an over-priced PR firm…without Board approval? Burying a $200 per hour golden parachute at the end of the agenda of a summer board meeting is also questionable.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-school-chief-hires-firm-without-formal-board/IcOutuu6msu19nzx4NFddJ/
As someone has stated, this is foolery. The board has only ONE employee, Dr. Green. Vote against this foolishness. Newly formed business as of 03/13/2019. Contract work at $200/hr until Dec. 2019. C’mon, people. He and Green will leave together at year end. (Singing) “We gonna ride our horses down the Old Time Road (DeKalb). Ride until we can’t no mo’.” The board MUST send a clear message with this foolery. Stamp it, NO!
DSW2,
I respect you a great deal. I understand your comment. What I cannot understand is how we can have a major area like testing and only one person understands what is happening in the department? Also why would it take from August until December to train someone else. A forty hour week at 200 dollars an hour is $ 8,000 dollars a week. How many teachers do we have that make that amount of money? I think I know the answer to that question. The school system is willing to pay a brand new company that kind of money. Who has vetted this company? Something does not seem right about this.
Joy, Assessment & Accountability is just a four-person shop:
https://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/assessment-and-accountability/
My impression is that Dr. Knox was doing his share of the work himself.