Author Archives: Nancy Jester

Education And Economic Development

Posted on April 21, 2015 | Comments Off on Education And Economic Development

Nancy Jester is a tireless advocate for children and taxpayers in Georgia. Nancy was elected to serve on the DeKalb Board of Education and became the first person to find and publish deceptive budgeting practices that plundered the accumulated reserves of the 3rd largest school system in Georgia.  She is currently the Commissioner for DeKalb County District 1 and frequently sends out notes and updates across the county and state.
Recently she gave a legislative update to the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce and gave the Inspirational Speech at the DeKalb County Board of Education saying,
“I’ve heard officials talk about we’re making progress and that should count.  It is right to note that we have made some progress and I commend you and the leaders and teachers in the schools.  But, it’s also important to talk about relative progress.  Because, as somebody that really enjoys looking at the data, we know there is a trend toward progress.  So, we have to dis-aggregate what is the noise of progress, what is the flow of progress from what is really achievement increasing.”
She followed that up recently with this email update on education and economic development:
By: Nancy Jester
DeKalb County Commissioner District 1

PROGRESS ?

If you are wondering what “progress” DeKalb schools has made, here’s a table of the 2014 CCRPI data. Out of 10 school districts in the metro area, DeKalb is last place for aggregate achievement in elementary and middle schools. It is circling the drain with APS and Clayton in High School achievement. Please note that Valdosta city schools outperform DeKalb’s elementary schools by 17% points despite the fact that they have 24% points more economically disadvantaged students than DeKalb.
In a report last year, Angelou Economics concluded a market assessment with these sobering facts. Compared to the benchmark counties, DeKalb:
1.Had the highest rates of violent and property crimes.
2.Had the lowest population growth from 2000-2013.
3.Was the only county to have negative employment growth.
4.Has the highest percentage of rental units; a sign of instability.
The report specifically cited the educational system as a weakness and a threat to improving economic conditions.

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Posted in Board Meetings, Nancy Jester, School Choice

DeKalb County Schools Budget

Posted on May 16, 2013 | 4 comments

By: Nancy Jester
The DeKalb budget has been in the news lately.

The Superintendent is projecting more revenue will be available for the FY14 budget. Specifically, the Superintendent is projecting DCSS will end FY13 with revenues exceeding expenses. The primary source is accumulated money in the after school program accounts for various schools.
The after school programs accumulate money for the individual schools they serve. These funds are to be used at the discretion of the school leadership for purchasing resources for their school; much like fundraising money. It appears the accumulated money in these accounts is being appropriated to make the overall budget scenario rosier than it otherwise would be. The majority of the other funds cited as recently found, are “potential” or “estimated”. I most definitely oppose the use of after school program funds to be pooled into the general fund for budgeting purposes. It is a complete breach of trust. As for the other “potential” and “estimated” revenues, I have two thoughts: (1) DeKalb citizens should be vigilant so DCSS does not return to its previously, overly optimistic and spendthrift ways and (2) Will DCSS fire the individuals responsible for grant administration that, allegedly, failed to collect on grant administration money due the district? The failure to collect this revenue for years cannot be placed on a CFO that served approximately one year and came to the district in the middle of developing the last budget. Furthermore, this past fiscal year is one of the few we can point to that showed fiscal restraint and will end without seeing expenses exceed revenue. Had DeKalb been as prudent with past budgets, we would not have found ourselves in deficit. I have not seen the financial statement for FY12 (the state is currently auditing that year) but DCSS may have exceeded its budgeted expenditures by over $30 million. One simply cannot run a school district like that.
While I am pleased to hear the Superintendent say he will be cutting central office staffing, I will reserve judgment until I see and can verify the cuts. One item we have not seen on the chopping block is transportation to magnet programs over and above what is legally required by the district. Last year, had we cut this, we could have saved almost $3 million dollars. That money could buy back one furlough day or hire almost 50 teachers. Has the Board asked the Superintendent to look into these types of trade-offs within the budget?
The next budget hearing has been postponed until June 3rd. I hope the administration is working on these issues. Stay vigilant because, with citizens’ attention focused elsewhere, the Spring and Summer months often bring questionable votes with negative consequences. Remember cell towers?

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Posted in DeKalb County School District