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First of Five Suspended DeKalb School Board Members Has Reinstatement Hearing

June 13th, 2013

Suspended DeKalb County Board Member Pam Speaks testifies at her reinstatement hearing.Listen to the audio version of this story.

Thursday, one of six suspended members of the DeKalb County school board had her day in court. Dr. Pam Speaks tried to convince administrative law judge Max Wood that she should get her seat back.

The district was placed on accredited probation in December, which led to a pair of hearings before the state board of education. Gov. Deal then suspended and replaced six of the nine members at the state board’s recommendation. The same law that gives the governor that authority also allows the suspended members to appeal. Pam Speaks said was exercising that right.

“I am fully aware, always was, that I am part of a board, accepted that,” Speaks said, “And also accepted the responsibility that that brings. But again, I can only control my actions.”

During Speaks’ three-year tenure on the board, the district’s accrediting agency hit the school system with two different sanctions, due mainly to board governance. Speaks, who represented herself, repeatedly stated she was never singled out for any wrong-doing.

“If I’m in a car and a car hits someone, I’m not driving, but a car hits someone, do I take the responsibility of a driver?” she asked, “No. Do I take the responsibility that I’m sitting in a car that hit? I’m in the car, so yes, I guess I have to do it that way.”

But state attorneys disagreed. They argued that as the chair of a board policy committee, Speaks failed to revise outdated policies, as recommended by the accrediting agency. And when Speaks questioned Mark Elgart, the head of that agency, about what she’d done wrong, he said she didn’t understand her role.

“For instance, the policy on chain of command, which was adopted by a prior board in 2002, should have been reviewed by your committee and changes should have been made to that policy but were not,” Elgart said, “But your failure to truly understand how to carry out your role contributed to an ineffective board.”

The state’s other witness was Ramona Tyson, a former district interim superintendent, who currently leads a team charged with helping the district regain full accreditation. Judge Wood asked Tyson whether reinstating former board members would disrupt those efforts. Tyson didn’t answer directly, but said strong governance is crucial.

“With all that has happened in the past, not just with the ‘old board,’ but the boards before them and the boards before them, we do not want to lose the momentum of the work that we’ve put in place,” she said.

Four other suspended members will also have hearings. Judge Wood declined to comment on when he’d make a recommendation to Gov. Deal. The final decision will be the governor’s.