First Trial Related to Atlanta Cheating Scandal Begins

August 23rd, 2013

The first day in the trial for a former APS executive director has wrapped up.

Earlier this year, Tamara Cotman was among the initial 35 former Atlanta Public Schools educators indicted on charges that included acts of racketeering and theft by taking.

But in June, Cotman and three others were indicted on additional charges of influencing potential witnesses.

Cotman’s attorney asked for a speedy trial related to the second indictment.

Friday, August 23rd the state began presenting its evidence against Cotman.

The prosecution says the evidence will show Tamara Cotman pressured principals to improve test scores and then not to cooperate with investigators.

Fulton County Chief Senior Assistant District attorney Clint Rucker told the jury that the state would prove Cotman intimidated and also retaliated against others that seemed to cooperate with the investigation or ask too many questions.

“Even if you go to Ms. Cotman and you tell her directly, listen there’s cheating going on, you will hear from the witnesses that actually did that. And they’ll tell you what Ms. Cotman said and how she did nothing…nothing at all.”

Taking the witness stand were former APS board member Khatim Sherrer El and former executive director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, Kathleen Mathers.

Using oversized charts and graphs provided by the prosecution, Mathers showed District attorney Fani Willis and the court specific schools in Tamara’s Cotman’s region that show significant changes on the 2009 CRCT.

When he was on the stand, Khatim El told the court that the APS board began its road into dysfunction when the so called Blue Ribbon Commission began investigating allegations of cheating.

El said some members wanted to protect Dr. Hall and others were seeking the truth.

Back to Kathleen Mathers, she testified that the inadequate findings from the Blue Ribbon Commission failed to meet the state’s standard and that’s why a state investigation followed.

The trial of Tamara Cotman resumes next week.