UPDATE 1: Title and article updated with new total numbers (see below for full editorial comment). (APN) ATLANTA — The Atlanta Board of Education has conceded to recouping tens of millions dollars less than the original 162 million dollars promised to the Atlanta Public School system (APS) for its participation in the Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD). In […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) has announced new legislation to prevent unethical arrangements like Erin Hames’s recent deal with Atlanta Public Schools. As Atlanta Progressive News previously reported, Hames was Gov. Nathan Deal’s education policy advisor until she left her post to work as a consultant for schools that face the possibility of state takeover […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On August 28, 2014 Georgia Stand Up hosted an education town hall attended by some members of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, including Leslie Grant (District 1), Byron Amos (District 2), Matt Westmoreland (District 3), and Chairman Courtney English (Seat 7-at-large). The public pressed Board Members to take a clear stance on Gov. Nathan […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — On March 26, 2015, Atlanta Independent School System (known as Atlanta Public Schools) filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court against “All Persons Known Or Unknown Who Claim Or Might Claim Adversely To Plaintiff’s Title To Real Property Known As 711 Catherine Street, 202 Milton Avenue, 1261 Lockwood Drive, 350 Autumn Lane, All Located in Fulton.” […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — It is time for the City of Atlanta to end the theft from Atlanta Public Schools, to end the “negotiations”–there is nothing to negotiate, unless the subject is how much to steal from school children–and to pay the approximately fifteen million dollars or more, when interest is included, to APS immediately. Hypocrisy on Cheating Scandals […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — At the Full Council Meeting of the City Council of Atlanta, on yesterday, January 06, 2015, Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong (District 5) introduced an ordinance–drafted by Council President Ceasar Mitchell–to make payments to the Atlanta Independent School System (APS) for the amounts–over 13.5 million dollars–owed by the Atlanta Beltline, Inc. The legislation would seek to have the […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — At the Monday, November 03, 2014 meeting of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, the Board voted nearly unanimously to recommend to the State of Georgia that the Atlanta Independent School System become a charter system. As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News, becoming a charter system does not mean all APS schools would become charter […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — In our continuing coverage of Georgia’s 2014 Primary Elections, Atlanta Progressive News interviewed Valarie Wilson, candidate for the Democratic nomination for State School Superintendent. Wilson brings to her candidacy over two decades of experience, both in the school system and in local municipalities. Wilson has worked over twenty years in public service, advocating for families and […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — In the Run-off Elections held yesterday, December 03, 2013, political newcomer Cynthia Briscoe Brown unseated the current Chairman of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education (APS BOE), Reuben McDaniel, for the At-large Seat 8. Briscoe Brown is probably one of the only charter school critics to have been elected to what is an almost […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — In the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education At-large Seat 9, candidates Jason Esteves and Lori James are in a Run-off for the seat being vacated by Emmett Johnson. Neither Esteves nor James returned their questionnaires timely to APN during the General Election. APN reported over the summer regarding Esteves’s connection with Teach […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Eight candidates have advanced into four Run-off races for Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education (APS BOE), Districts 5 and 6 and At-Large Seats 8 and 9. At least two of those candidates–Eshe Collins (District 6) and Jason Esteves (Seat 9)–appear to be very pro-charter. With the reelection of Courtney English (Seat 8), and the […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education (APS BOE) District 4 candidates, including incumbent Nancy Meister and challenger Taryn Bowman, both responded to a candidate questionnaire from Atlanta Progressive News. APS BOE District 4 covers Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhoods. Meister began serving in 2010 and was one of the five Board Members who, in 2010, voted to […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — There are a lot of candidates for Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education (APS BOE) this year who have shown up out of the blue. Others, like Cynthia Briscoe Brown and Anne McKenzie, have been at the table, attending Board Meetings while the school system was navigating the troubled waters of its AdvancED/SACS CASI accreditation crisis. […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — There were a few surprises Friday, as the Municipal Clerk’s Office wrapped up a full week of qualifying at Atlanta City Hall: several new candidates, a dropout and endorsement, a race switch, and a cliffhanger. New candidates to pop up during qualifying week include: Rachele Fruit for City Council President; John Paul Michalik for Council […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — It is likely no coincidence that four candidates for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Board of Education (BOE) are alumni of Teach for America (TFA), including three newcomers and one incumbent who himself is fairly new to the Board. In fact, TFA has been pushing its alumni to run for office since at least 2008, in order to […]
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