NAACP DeKalb County Branch

Dear Members,
We may have won the battle but the war rages on. The School Board is still looking at closing schools for the coming year. On April 29, 2010, we came together to discuss the situation and other options to the budget crisis instead of closing schools. Below is a summary of the discussion. We will continue to study and address this matter.
Next you will find information on a new initiative announced on May 4, 2010, comprised of business, civic, government and community stakeholders to facilitate improved school board leadership. It is called eduKalb. Please read the information below and we look for great things in the community from all of our citizens.

Serving DeKalb,
Yvonne
DeKalb NAACP
Yvonne Hawks, Esq., President
3011 Rainbow Drive, Suite 180A
Decatur, Georgia 30034
Telephone 404 241-8006
Fax 404 751-2743
E-mail naacpdek@bellsouth.net
Website http://www.dekalbganaacp.org/
2010http://www.2010.census.gov/
MAKE SURE YOU'RE COUNTED!
To comment on this and other subjects go to our blog at http://www.dekalbganaacp.blogspot.com/

Discussions at Meeting on Thursday, April 29, 2010

Schools in the Northern section are overcrowded.

What are the kinds of errors made by the Tax Assessors?

Closing more schools will have a domino effect:

. in loss of jobs
. decrease in new homeowners in DeKalb County area
. Negative effect on local area businesses and any potential new businesses
. An decrease in Tax Base
. Increased class sizes
. Psychological impact
. Parent schedule adjustments
. Transportation

The closing of schools will lead to increased spending that will be seen in taxes on vacant, unoccupied buildings , increased insurance on vacant & unoccupied buildings, a need for security to eliminate vandalism.

Unoccupied buildings will require continued maintenance to deter deterioration.

Questions:

. How much will transportation costs actually increase?
. What are the kinds of errors made by the Tax Assessors?
. If schools are closed, where and how are supposed funds that are saved allocated?
. Have alternative resources been sought to fund the schools?
. If schools are low in enrollment, why are there so many trailers occupied?
. Why aren’t the students in trailers moved to increase enrollment?
. What types of “CREATIVE FINANCING” options have been sought to keep the schools open?

Solutions:

. Shift teachers from high performing schools
. Bring children back to their home schools
. Get corporate sponsorships to run extracurricular activities (basketball, football, baseball, softball, and soccer teams), to take alleviate the cost.
. Move students from trailers to increase enrollment in low enrollment schools
. Have the school system reposition the upcoming Middle & High School students
. Charge Student Assessments ~ $20.00


Overall, the DeKalb County NAACP , “Does not Support any school closings”, “No schools closed at all” and offer “NOT WHICH schools, BUT NONE”!


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Tuesday, May 4, 2010
eduKALB Announces Intent to Guide School Board Advancement
A press conference was held today by eduKALB, a nonprofit organization with ties to the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, that is "seeking quality school board leadership in DeKalb County." The stated mission of eduKALB is to facilitate improved school board leadership through civic engagement, community awareness and enhanced professional training. eduKALB plans to host community forums around the county to identify, support and train candidates for school board this November. Five of the nine school board seats are up for reelection this fall. They will endorse a slate on candidates and create voter awareness surrounding this election. Beyond the election, eduKALB plans to continue to offer training to the board of education.The group's website states, "During election cycles, the eduKALB Board advocates for credible and competent candidates who will provide effective governance to the DeKalb County School System. The organization will endorse a slate of candidates beginning with the November 2, 2010 General Election. The organization also hosts various education forums and seminars to educate the public regarding the roles and responsibilities of school board members and to educate potential candidates on sound governing principles.""The eduKALB Board is comprised of business, civic, government and community stakeholders representing the diversity that is DeKalb. These men and women are committed to public education and the role it plays in shaping the workforce of tomorrow."Watch for them. Sign up for their newsletters. They will be hosting events in your area and seek the support of the entire community, as our communities are only as good as our schools.For more information,

LEADERSHIP
Gregory B. Levett, Sr. - Co-Chair
Chris Marquardt, Esq. - Co-Chair
Robert Newcomer, Esq. - Treasurer
Leonardo McClarty - Secretary

DIRECTORS
Delores Crowell
Ernest Brown
Bettye Davis
Sadie Dennard
Sara Fountain
Allyson Gevertz
Barbara Holliman
Brenda Landers
Kerry Ramsey
Donata Renfrow, Ph.D.
David Schutten
Arnie Silverman
Rocio Woody
Honorable Ken Wright

www.edukalb.org