Box 6, Folder 1, Complete Folder

Box 6, Folder 1, Complete Folder

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CHAIR1{1Hf
G~ @-f~kH
VICE-C!L.\IIU.fAN
WALLACE S'l'EWART
S.W'.JIBTARY-TRI::.\SUR}ill
DR. R. H. BP-.I~BANE
\I. KENNETH STRINGfJ{
523-5071
892~353
892-2800
MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COMHISSIOK MEETING
Ja.nuary 28, 1969
The Local Education Commission met: at the Instructional Servi_ces Center
at 11:30 a.m. ~n Janua!"J 28, 1969 with the following in attendance _:
Voting M~mbers
Mr. Walter Allen
Mr. J. H. Cawthon
Mr. Wa.lt Davis
Mr. Dick Lane
Mr. Devereaux Mcclatchey
Mr. A. B. Padgett
Mr. Marthame Sanders
Mr • . Wallnce Stewart, Cha.irri1an
Mr. Kenneth Stringer
Mr. William Teems, III
Mr. H.B. Watson
Dr. Asa Yancey
Ex-Officio Members
Miss Eleanor Burgess
· Dr. John Letson
Mrs. Helen McGinty
Mrs. Lucille Perrino
Mrs. Anna Pearl Scott
Guests
Mr. Dave Clark
Mr. Jchn Ferguson
Mr. J olm Grindle
Mrs. Dorothy Guy
Mr. Nick Powers
Mr. Jerry Wootan
Staff
Curtis Hensen
Mr. Wallace Stewart stated that there were two primary purposes for the
meeting:
them.
one , to receive the various reports and two, to decide what to do with
Before r eceivmg the report from Mr. John Ferguson, Mr. A. B, Padgett reviewed the authorization granted by the commission to his committee to secure
·professional assistance in studying the leg-9.l structure required to merge the
two school systems. He then introduced Mr. Fer guson who gave the report. Comments and questions concer ni ng the report follow.
A questi on for further consider ation was that maybe the Board should be
�--,
V
.,
'
composed of enough raembers at large to match those elected from the rcspecti-re
districts plus one additional member al: large so that there would be an od.d
number. This would give both the representation from thepeople plus other
feature.s desirable for a schcoJ. board.
The statement in Section 12 cor,.cerning aturnal vs. contimdng contracts needs
to be clarified.
In SE·ction 14 dealing with purchases over $1,000. shouJ.d be stated so that
it would not be cumberson or b'urdensom upon the board chairman who, as it is no'.·!
stated, would have to sign thousands of purchase .requests.
C~ncerning land and other trust ftu1ds, an expression was macie that it should
be determined if complications or difficulty '.·rould arise if an attempt were made
to transfer the title of such property -f::o another school system such as the new
one being proposed.
Section 20 should be changed to state that the county could not levy taxes
on property inside the city limits for school bond purposes. ·
The trustees for the pension board for the City of Atlanta teachers c.:::.nnot
be abolishea. since the pension f1.md covers all cit y employees jncluding teachers.
It ·was stated tha.t November, 1970 would be the earliest date to vote en a
constitutional amendJnent, therefore, there did not seem tc be any und1.1e haste in
presenting reconunenda. tions to the local delegation.
The question was asked, what does the Local Education Commission do now with
all the material and data gathered and compiled to date?
Mr. Dick Lane made the motion that the Local F.,ducation Commission, throug'h
the executive committee, forward a copy of all materials from the Local Education
Commission to the chainnan of the Fulton Coun't'J and DeKalb County delegations for
study and appraisal. The motion was seconded by Mr. Walt Davis and passed 1mani-·
rnously. A cover letter from the cha irman of the commission is to accompany the
report presented.
Mr. Powers then gave his report concerning teacher benefits . He gave an
analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each aspect of teacher benefit programs in both the Atlanta and Fulton County school systems along w-i.th suggestions
to improve coverage in each system.
Both Mr. Powers and Mr. Ferguson are to make corrections identified during
the meeting and send corrected copy to the chairman of the commission.
Meeting adjourned at 3:15 n.m.
Appr oved By:
Chairman
Recording Secretary·
�l
LO(Al 1Ell)lij(£Jl@N c@rJH\i!SS~o,~~
of Atlmmt~
WAlJ.ACE STEWART
892-2800
021d
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Fuh on (aunty" Ge@r@ia
r
VICE-CHAIIU1Atl
SECRETA~Y-TRFA~
DR. R.H. ERlSB~
523-S071
W. KENNETH STRINGER
892-03S3
March 14, 1969
MEMORANDUM
To:
From:
Re:
Members of the Local Education Commission
Curtis Henson, Recording Secretary
Corrections in Report Presented January 28, 1969
Attached is a set of replacement pages to be inserted in the
report prepared by Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc.
These are
• the corrections identified at the last Local Education Commission
meeting and deal only with the retirement plan.
�SECTION IV
RETIREMENT PLAN
The Retirement Plan for City of Atlanta employees was initially adopted in
192 7.
The Pension Act for the employees of the Fulton County Board of
Education first was passed in 1937.
Since both plans were originally adopted
they have undergone several changes, the most recent major revision
occurring in 1962 for both Plans.
The Plans have been contributory s i nce
their inc ept ion with th e policy tha t th e res p ectiv e Boa rds match the amount s
contributed by the employees ,
Hi s toric a lly, each incr ease in benefit s h as
gen e r at ed a co r resp on ding increase in t h e rat e of emp l oy ee contributions.
Furth er , in order to receive t he higher b enefit s ac tiv e employees have had the
option of " repaying " contributions they would h ave pa id had the curr ent contri bution l evel existed since the employee was hir ed,
Since active employees do not have to accept increased b enefits (and " make up "
back contributions ), the present Retirement Plan covers employees at several
different benefit levels with diff er·ent rates of employee contributions,
However,
since the majority of employees who w ere active in 1962 have opted to take the
increased benefits and all employees hir ed since 1962 automatically are covered
for those benefits, we will discuss the provisions of the Retirement Plan as
they currently exist.
-20-
'l.'OWERS, PERRIN, FORSTER & CROSBY
�Comparison of Plans
The provisions of the Retirement Plans of both Fulton County and the
City of Atlanta are almost identical.
The following description w ill p oint
out where differences exist in Plan provisions.
Normal Retireme nt
Date:
Employees are eligible to retir e on full
unr e du ce d p e n s ion afte r compl e ting 2 5 years of
service and attaining age 60.
Employe es
may w ork to a ge 65 at their option.
Early Retirement
Date:
E m ployees ar e e lig ible to r e tir e e arly o n a
r e du ced p e ns i o n a t a n y ti me aft er comp l e ting
2 5 y e ar s of s ervi c e and attaining a ge 55 .
Pensio n is reduce d 1 / 1 2 th of 2% for each month
th e empl oyee i s l ess t h an 60 .
Normal Retireme nt
B e nefit :
2 % of f i r s t $3 00 of monthly Ear nings , p lus
1 1/ 2% of m o nthl y Earni ngs in excess of $300
times years of
11
credita b l e 11 service.
Earnings
equal average of h i ghest five years of earnings
during employme nt.
-21-
TOWERS, PERRIN, FORS'l'ER & CROSBY
�-
- --
- - - - - - - --
In no event will normal b e nefit plus
Maximum Benefit:
Primary Social Security exceed 75% of
Earnings on which benefit is determined.
After 10 years service benefit accrued to
Disability Benefit:
date is payable.
Pre-Retirement Death
Benefit:
If employee is killed in the line of duty during
first five years of employment, his beneficiary
receives 1 / 5th of full 25 year service pens i on ;
after five years , p r o-rata portion of full serv ic e
pen s ion.
(Fulto n County• s Plan apparently
do es not co n t a i n t h is p r ovi s io n, )
Pos t- Reti r eme n t D eath
Benefit :
C ert ai n eligible depe n dents are entitled to 50%
of the b e n efit being r ec e i ve d b y the pensioner,
If the b eneficiary is more t h an five years younger
t h an the pensioner, such benefi ci ary• s pension
is reduced 1 /12th of 2% for each month that she
is m o re than five years younger than the pensioner .
No reduction if beneficiary is age 60 or over.
- 22 -
TOWERS, PERRIN, FOHS'.r'ER & CROSBY
�Employee Contributions:
5% of Earnings;
6% of Ear nings if desire
post-retirement death benefits.
Termination of
Employment:
Return of all employee contributions.
Minimum Benefit:
If a pensioner (or pensioner and beneficiary)
dies prior to receiving at least the total amount
of his contributions, the balance will be payable
to the pensioner's estate.
Make-up of II Back"
Contributions:
All active employees during 1962 could elect
the increa sed benefits by paying "back" contributions,
Once determined, such amounts could
be paid in a lump sum or in 60 monthly installments.
If not elected within six months from
Effective D a t e , 4% interest is charg ed from
Effective Date to the dat e the employee elects
to be cover e d und er the incr ease d b enefits .
In addition, both B o ards mat ch the amounts of empl oyee curr e nt a nd
contributions.
The matching of
11
11
back 11
ba c k 11 contr ibutions may be amortized
over a 2 0 year period.
- 23 -
TOWERS, PERRIN, FORSTER & CROS BY
�Suggested Plan
An examination of the above provisions demonstrates that both Plans are
identical with one minor exception.
We do recommend that a combined
Plan contain the provision to allow for the payment of benefits if an
employee is killed in the line of duty.
(The Fulton County Plan apparently
does not have this provision.)
We suggest that no changes of a major nature be considered during th e
period the merger is taken under consideration.
Comments on Suggested Plan
This paragraph w ill discuss that area w here both present Plan s do n ot
hav e complete identical provisions. W e s u g gest that the prov i s ion f o r pa yment of benefi t s in the e vent a n emplo yee i s killed in the lin e of duty be
maintained .
The probability of such an e v ent is remote , but does exist
f o r s chool bu s d r ive r s and t ea cher s w ho m u s t tr a v el be tween employment
locati on s.
Met hod of F inan cing
The Retirement Plan f o r the Fu l t o n C ounty Scho ol pers onnel is maintained
and accounted for separately from the retirement p l an for other Fulton
County employees.
The City of Atl anta maintains one overall Reti reme nt
Plan which covers both Board of Education employees and other City
- 24 -
TOWERS, PERRIN, FORSTER & CROSBY
�personnel.
(Policemen and Firemen are not included.) No separate
accounting policy is followed solely for employees of the Board of
Education.
The financial information and numbers of employees we
·will be ref erring to in this subsection were taken from interviews with
Miss Lula Carson of Fulton County and Mr. Gus Langford of the City of
Atlanta.
In addition, the most recently available audit reports of both
Funds were used, i.e. , December 31, 1967 as certified by H. G. Jackson
& Company for the City of Atlanta and June 30, 1968 as certified by
Respess and Respess for Fulton County.
It is important to note at this
point that .the City of Atlanta f ollow s a cash accounting s y s tem; w her e a s
Fulton County follows an accrual accounting s ystem ,
The fallowing financial information is pertinent to this study.
- 25 TOWERS, PERRIN, FORS'l'ER & CROSBY
�-- ---- - ---== =----==---====-===~
CITY OF ATLANTA
Number of
Active M e mbers:
Unavailable
Monthly Employee
Contributions :
$337, 070 (School)
99, 390 (Non - school)
Number of
Retired Mem bers:
Monthly Benefit
Payments:
Fund Assets:
FULTON COUNT Y
2,62 9
$77,543
2001 (No breakdown
available between school
and non-school)
279 (plus 5 4 pr e -1952
retirees w ho receive
benefits d i rectly from
County )
$292, 000 (School)
73, 000 (No n- sc h ool)
$68,592 (plus $ 7, 30 6
fr om County f o r
pre- 1 952 retiirees ). ·
$12,591,328 (Cash and
inves tments at co st)
$1 0 ,1 0 4,979 (Includes
$ 7 38,485 due as
matching funds)
An examination of the above information clearly shows that the City of Atlanta
Retirement P l an is sub s t antially l arger than that of Fulton County.
Further,
the majority of the City of Atlanta Plan ' s members, contributions and, the r efore, liabiliti e s and fund a s sets ar e a tt r ibuted to Boa r d of Education p er s onnel
For this reason, we feel that a combined Board of Education Plan should
include the non-school employ e es of the City of Atlanta.
Failure to do so
may b r ing s er ious financi a l disad vantage t o a pla n maintain e d so l e l y for t h e
City of Atlanta non-school p e rsonne l.
- 26-
TOWERS, PERRIN, FORSTER & CROS BY
�Should the Plans merge, the sur v i v ing political entity w ould ·i nh e rit th e
responsibility of paying all e x isting pensioners' benefits and making matching
contributions on all future employee contributions.
(The oblig ation for
' payment of benefits to the 54 pre-1952 retirees in the present Fulton County
Plan w ould in all likelihood rem.ain an oblig ation of th e County .) Furth e r, t he
contributions from the Teachers' Retirem (;! nt System of Georgia w ould continue
to be paid to· the combined Fund.
As the nature of this repo r t i s preliminary, it was deemed inadvisable a t this
time to perform cost proj e ctions or dete r minations of assets and liabilitie s of
the t w o present plans.
How e v er, should the merger come to fruition , it w ill
be necessary to p e rform a detail e d audit of both plans and , w e su gg e st, an
actua r ial v aluation to determine the r e lative financi a l strength of bot h p re s ent
plans and the su rvi v ing pla n.
I n add ition , t h e e x act amount of mat c hi n g con -
tri buti ons due (bo th current and " make- up") w ould h a v e t o be determi ned as of
t h e effe c tive date of th e c ombi ned p lan, and arr angements m a d e with t h e
existin g spon s o r ing political bodies fo r future payme nt t o t h e combined fund.
The cu rrent f u nds a re investe d i n U .S . Government Treas u ry Notes, Bills and
Bonds and Certificates of Deposit at most la c.al banks and savings and loan
a s sociations.
In addition, cash accounts are maintained .
ex isting arrangement would not be altered.
- 27 -
TOWERS, PERRIN, FORSTER & CROSBY
In all lik e lihood this
�Installation Procedure
As stated previously, the actual establishment and installation of a combined
plan would prudently be done only after an analysis of the present financial
situation of both Plans and the necessary legislative requirements hav e been
completed. ·· Once the new sponsoring political body accepts the financial
obligation and liabilities of a combined Plan, · the actual
11
transf er 11 and com-
bination of people and funds can be accomplished with relative ease throu g h
bookkeeping procedures.
It would be necessary to appoint a new combined Pension Board and to establish
an administrative team charged with the responsibilities of detailed r e cord
keeping, payment of benefits a nd othe r admin istrative requirements.
Further , the combined Plan w ould requi re re d r afting of the P e n s ion Act a nd
sponsor ship in the Legis l ature.
Shou ld the m erger b e acc ompl ished, i t is vitally imp or t a nt to communicate
t o employees ( especi a lly tho se n ~aring reti reme nt) t h e purpose of the combined
arrangement and to assure t hem tha t benefit s will n ot be affected .
-28 -
TOWERS, PERRIN , FORSTER & CROSBY
�SECTION V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY
An analysis of all benefits currently prov ided by both Systems show s that
they are quite compatible.
The medical plans are di££ erent from a conceptual
design standpoint, but the benefits provided -are similar.
From this we con-
clude that the' plans may be merged with relative ease.
The result of combining the plans should reduce the gross overall costs
from those of maintaining two separate systems.
Assuming that the employee
contribution rates currently applicable to the City of Atlanta medical plan
(employee pay all except for $1. 00 per month toward major medical) are
adopted, the present employees of Fulton County will pay l e ss than they are
currently paying for employee coverage but slightly more for dependents
coverage.
Howeve r , benefits will b e increased.
Next Steps
The responsibility for a decision to continue further rests wi th the respective
School Systems.
An ultimate decision will be contingent on many factors,
one of which should include an actuar ial valuation of both present retir e ment
plans to determine their respective l evel of fund ing and financial condition.
-29 TOWERS, PERRIN, FORSTER & CROSBY
�_Atemo
DATE
From CHARLES L. DAVIS
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NOTICE
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION WILL BE
HELD AT 12:00 NOON ON THURSDAY, JULY 25, AT THE INSTRUCTIONAL
SERVICE CENTER OF THE ATLANTA SCHOOL ~YSTEM, 2930 FORREST HILLS
DRIVE, S. W.
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From: Curtis Henson, Recordi ng Secretary
The enclosed proposed plan of study was dis tributed and dis cussed
at the July 31 meet ing of the Local Education Commission of Atlanta
and Fult on County.
ECH/ dh
August 3, 1964
�METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
City of Atlanta and Fulton County Boards of Education
2930 Forrest Hill Drive, S.W.
Atlanta , Georgia
30315
September 7, 1966
TO:
Members of the Local Education Conmission
FROM: Curtis Henson, Recording Secretary
The next meeting of the Local Education Conmrl.ssion will be
held in the Conference Room of the Atlanta Public Schools'
Administration Building, 224 Central Avenue, at 10 a.m. on
Thursday, September 22, 1966. The primary purpose of this
meeting is to review the plan of action developed by Dr.
Pierce. A copy is enclosed.
CH: cw
enclosure
�ATLANTA-FULTON COUNTY EDUCATION COMMISSION
PROVISIONS FOR CREATIHG AN ATLANTA-FULTON
COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The General Assembly of Georgia at the request of its representatives
from Fulton and DeKalb counties created a Local Education Co1mri.ssion in 1964
and charged the Commission with responsibility:
To study the desirability and feasibility of combining the
school systems of Fulton County and the City of Atlanta, including the portion thereof lying in DeKalb County; to provide that
said Commission may draft a plan or plans for the combining of
such school systems and submit same to members of the General
Assembly from Fulton and DeKalb Counties.
The Commission was appointed and conducted the requested study, releasing
its report in February, 1966.
The report reconnnended the dissolution of the
Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts and the creation of a new district
in their stead.
A plan for creating the proposed new district was included
in the report which outlined the steps necessary for carrying out this recommendation.
The report of t he Commission was accepted by the legislative delegation
representing Fulton and DeKalb counties.
After due deliberation of the
recommendations, the legislative group secured approval for continuation of
the Commission and reque sted it to carry out the steps which it had defined
as being necessary for dissolving the present school districts and creating
the proposed new district.
This memorandum outlines the tasks involved in creating the proposed
new district and suggests how these steps may be executed.
Five distinct but
related tasks are essential in carrying out this latest charge to the
Connnission.
They are:
�1.
Legal work which is necessary in order to dissolve the two present
districts and to create the proposed new district.
2.
Educational planning necessary to assure orderly and effective
transition from the present two districts to the proposed single
district.
3.
Suggestion on the initial role of the new board of education.
4.
A program for developing public understanding of the proposed new
district and the reasons which support its creation.
S.
Allocations of responsibility fQr getting done the necessary tasks.
Each of the five steps is outlined briefly in the following pages.
The
assumption is made that the plans for the proposed district and the characteristics of the district included in the 1966 report of the Commission are
acceptable.
They are, therefore, reported in this doc1.nnent where appropriate.
LEGAL WORK
Substantial legal tasks must be undertaken and completed in order to
establish the proposed new school district.
It is not possible to define
with certainty all of these tasks at present because there is no existing
overview of legislation and court decisions affecting the present Fulton
Cot1nty and Atlanta School Districts although major task areas can be defined.
These follow:
1.
Compil e and analyze the legi slat ion and court decisi ons whi ch
curr ently affect the Atlanta and Fult on County School Districts.
Since thi s has never been done , ther e is no way of knowing at
present t he pr ecise dimensions of this t a sk.
2.
Prepare the legislation which must be adopted in order to abolish
the Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts.
Until the necessary
�research has been completed, there is no way of knowing just what
this step involves • . Whether a .single piece of. legislati on general
in nature ,rill suffice or whether specific measures repealing separate ~a~s relating to such subjects as taxation, bonding capacity,
and so forth, are required remains to be seen.
3.
Provide for meeting present a~d future unfilfilled legal and moral
commitments of the Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts.
'
.
Indebtedness, outstanding bonds, retirement provisions and tenure
rights are examples of such cormnitments.
Current welfare provisions
for personnel may be continued or provisions can be made in new
legislation to protect earned rights of present personnel through
incorporation in any new welfare provisions which might be created
for the school district.
Establishing eligibility of the new school
district for s t ate funds is an illustration of another type of protect ion, as is assurance that current salary levels ,rill not suffer
in the transition.
4.
Arr ange f or the transfer of propert ies of present school districts
to t he proposed new distr ict.
5.
Prepare a cons titutional amendment f or creati ng the new school di strict.
This is an essential st ep under Geor gi a l aw.
The amendment
should be expres sed in gener al t erms insofar a s feasible, leaving as
many of the speci f i c provisions concerning t he district a s possible
to be taken care of outside the frame,rork of constitutional mandates.
The amendment would necessarily specify the boundaries of the
district, define its basic structure, and outline its powers.
Such
would be done within the limitations of other constitutional pr ovisions affecting schools and school districts.
For example, the_
�amendment would have to be consistent with the constitutional
definition of the State's r~sponsibility for public schools.
'!
Legal provisions to be made either by constitutional amendment or statutory acts incl~de creation of a board of education of
seven members elected at large for terms of six years, one from each
.of seven subdivisions of the district of approximately the sarae
number of persons.
The amendment or enabling legislation should
prescribe how the subdivisions are to be formed and how they are
to be redivided as population changes dictate.
Provisions should
be made for the initial board to be elected as follows:
three
members to serve the full six-year term, two members to serve fouryear terms, and two members to serve two-year terms.
Thereafter,
the board members would be elected as existing terms of members expire.
Vacancies should be filled by appointment of the board until
the next election at which time unexpired terms will be filled by
the voters.
It will also be necessary to make provisions for a referendum
to determine whether or not the amendment is to be approved (approval
of voters of both districts is thought to be necessary).
Provisions should be made in the event the constitutional amendment is approved for the board members of the Atlanta and Fulton
County Districts to serve as the board of education for the new district until the new board is elected and can talce office.
A schedule
should be worked out, if needed, for shifting to the seven-man board
elected as herein prescribed.
�Board members should serve without compensation, receiving
pay only for necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their
duties as members of the Board of Education
The proposed new district should consist of the present At lanta
District, including the part which is in DeKalb County, and the
present Fulton County District.
A fundamental task is providing for a sound fiscal base for the
proposed school dist rict.
Establishing eligibility for St ate funds,
I
establishing eligibilit y for Federal funds, and providing for sound
local support are necessary considerations.
f
The school board should
be authorized to determine ~he property tax for supporting the school
i
syst em, as the Atlanta Schopl Board does at present.
Furthermore , a
uniform property assessmen~ plan for the entire district should be
adopted and homestead exemptions eliminated.
Sources of local school
suppor t i n addition to the pr operty tax should be found.
6.
If the pr oposed new school district is ·approved by t he voters , a
transition committee should be es t ablished immediatel y to work out
the many plans and details essential t o an or derly transition from
two districts t o one.
The transition committee should include the
two superintendent s of school s , the chairman of each board of education, the fiscal officer of each s chool system, the assistant superintendent for instruction of each school system, and such other individuals as may seem appropriate.
This committee should be r esponsible
for the detailed transition plan to be appr oved by each board of
education.
7.
If the single school district is approved, the two present school
systems should continue as at present for the balance of the s chool
�year in which approval occurs and an additional full year in order
to allow time for completion of needed transition plans.
8.
The board of education for the new district should be elected as
soon as possible after the approval of the constitutional amendment
and should formally organize itself without delay and proceed at
once with the selection of a superintendent.
A superintendent
should be employed and he should .begin his work as far in advance
of the creation of the new school district as is possible .
9.
EKecute any other legal assignments which are appropriate in the
light of the analysis of pertinent legislation and court decisions
and necessary provisions to assure creation of a school district
conforming to recommendations of the Commission in its 1966 report.
EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
An enormous volume of work must be completed before the proposed school
district can go into operation.
I1any policies must be decided upon and much
specific and detailed planning completed in order to assure the proper functioning of the new district.
Hajor categories of policy development and needed
provisions for operational guides under each are listed below.
As is true
of legal aspects described above , a precise definition of all of the steps
necessary in this stage of planning is not possible presently and must await
further exploration of current policies and practices of the tlro school systEIIIS.
Finance
1.
Develop guides and procedures for making the annual school budget.
2.
Develop plans and procedures for purchasing.
�r
3.
Develop plans for necessary and appropriate financial accounting.
4.
Develop a budget for the new school district.
Personnel
1.
Develop a system of personnel records for professional and other
school personnel.
2.
Develop salary schedules for professional and other personnel.
3.
Develop a retirement system or systems.
4.
Develop policies concerning employment practices for both professional and non-professional personnel.
S.
Develop policies regarding tenure, sick leave, vacations, leaves
of absence for prof essi onal growth, and others as needed.
6.
Propose a method of combining the two central office staffs.
1.
Develop a system of r ecords f or pupil accounting.
2.
Make r ecommendations concer ning the visiting teacher pr ogram.
Pupils
Administrative Structures and Regulations
1.
Develop a plan for the internal organization and administration of
the new school district incl uding appropriat e policies and definitions of responsibility.
2.
Reach decisions on administ rative and supervisory services to be
provided.
3.
Develop policies regarding the size of schools.
4.
Develop general school regulations such as length of the school day,
ntm1ber of days in the school year, and designate holidays.
�5.
Develop a school calendar for the first year of the new system.
6.
Reconnnend the future of the Metropolitan School Development
Council.
Curriculum
1.
Determine the curricula to be offered.
2.
Develop plans for kindergartens 'in schools now in the Fulton County
District.
3.
Develop policies for selection and distribution of instructional
materials.
4.
Determine the special professional personnel to be provided such as
librarians, school psychologists, counselors, and reading specialists.
5.
Ascertain the curriculum adjusnnents which are necessary in the
transition period and suggest how they are to be made.
6.
Recorrnnend policies regarding expansion of school programs with
special reference to junior colleges, vocational and technical
education, and adult education.
7.
Hake recommendations concer ning t eacher loads, including pupilteacher ratios.
Services
1.
Reach decisions on services to be provided by the school districts
such as transportation, food, and health services and how they
should be provided.
2.
Determine the non-professional personnel to be provided such as
�.,.
lunchroom workers, custodians, and secretaries.
3.
Reconnnend plans for st oring and handling textbooks and other instructional supplies.
· Maintenance
i!:m! Operation
1. · Develop policies regarding kinds, numbers, types, and levels of
competence needed by personnel ~n Maintenance and Operation.
2.
Develop policies and procedures on the maintenance and operation
programs.
3.
Develop policies and procedures concerning work assignments and
responsibilities of personnel.
Other
1.
Make reconnnendations concerning organizations which should exist i n
the new s chool districts such as Parent -Teacher Associ ati ons, local
t eacher s associations, and the various student organizations .
INITIAL ROLE OF THE PROPOSED N:Bv BOARD OF EDUCATION
Just how specifi c a bluepri nt f or transit i on should be is t o a considerable extent a matter of def inition.
At one extreme is a plan which provides
only the basic legal provisions necessary for bringing the new district into
being.
At the other extreme is a plan which includes the multitude of basic
policies, operational procedures and allocations of responsibility essential
to the effective functioning of a school district.
The plan presented in this document embraces the first extreme and also
the second to the extent that the Connnission accepts responsibility for the
essential educational planning which must precede the operational phase of a
�new ~istrict.
As already indicated, this planning consists largely of
d~yeloping reconnnended policies and procedures consistent with the basic
charter of the proposed new district as outlined above and decisions of the
, Connnission with respect to the nature and quality of programs and services
it thinks the new district should provide.
However, only that which is man-
dated by law will be binding on the new Board of Education.
In a sense, the Commission is acting in these matters as an agent of a
school district which is yet to be created and what it proposes in the realm
of educational planning is for study and action by the ne,v Board of Education
unless areas are involved where decisions have been made already.
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROPOSED NEW DISTRICT
Since public schools are the business of the public, every opportunity
should be seized upon to help the public keep as fully informed as possible on
school problems, issues, needs, and the nature of good schools.
A well informed
public is essential to successful decision making on educational policies and
plans.
Therefore, a major task in considering the proposed basic shift in the
educational structure of Atlanta and Fulton County is developing and distributing among all citizens adequate information on the proposed change and the
reasons which lead to the proposal.
The report of the Corranission with its
treatment of both sides of the issue of a single school district should be
made available to all citizens and its contents should be widely publicized.
Therefore, if the proposed constitutional amendment is adopted and a referendum
is held, the referendtun should be preceded by a systematic and well organized
public information program.
�11Ia.ss
media of commu..,ication should be employed to develop interest and
public understanding.
Newspaper coverage should be stressed.
and television should be used extensively.
30th radio
The pros and cons of the pro-
, posed district reorganization plan should be presented through all three
media.
In addition, presentations to civic clubs, Parent-Teachers Associa-
tions, and other formal groups should be stimulated.
should be used in this program.
Uany informed citizens
Among such citizens should be leaders from
all walks of life, especially school leaders, including Joard of Education
members.
Dy the time the election is held, all citizens should be fully
informed on the issues at stake.
In no other ,ray is it possible to reach an
adequate decision on the school organization issue.
GETI'ING THE JOB DONE
It is the responsibility of the coordinator appointed by the Commission
to prepare and submit to the Commission the transition plan as outlined
above.
An adequate plan requires bringing into play an array of specialized
competence beyond the ken of any single individual; therefore, extensive use
should be made of carefully selected consultants.
The legal work should be entrusted to Mr. Pete La.timer, Attorney for the
Atlanta Doard of Education, and Hr. Jaraes Groton, Attorney for the Fulton
County 3oard of :Education.
Dr.
n.
L. Johns, University of Florida, or some one of comparable
stature in school finance , should be sucured as a consultant on all planning
involving finance, purchasing, and accounting.
Dr. Willard Elsbree, Emeritus Professor of Education, Teachers College,
Columbia University, or some other authority in personnel, should be secured
�as a consultant on policies and procedures concerning all categories of
personnel.
This assignment would include proposed salary schedules and wel-
fare provisions.
Curriculum authorities should be consulted as needed.
A committee of leading citizens should be appointed and given responsibility for conducting an adequate public information program.
The Commission
should appoint this committee upon recommendation of personnel by the Atlanta
and Fulton County school superintendents and approval by the two boards of
education.
Appropriate professional personnel should be available to the
committee.
Appropr iate personnel from the two school systems should be involved i n
t he development of proposed policies and procedures, especially in infor mation
and eval uation r oles.
THP:jp
8/12/66
�MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION MEETING
September 22, 1966
The Local Education Commission met in the Conference Room of the
Administration 3uilding of the Atlanta Public Schools at 10:00 a.m.,
September 22, 1966, with the following in attendance:
Connnission Members
Hr.
Hr.
Dr.
Mr.
P. L. Bardin
J. H. Cawthon
Rufus E. Clement
F.d s. Cook, Sr.
Mr. Alan Kiepper
Dr. John W. Letson
Mr. Thomas Hiller
Mrs. Alan Ritter
Mr. W. L. Robinson
Mr. lvilliam If. Teem,III
Fred ·J. Turner
Dr. Paul D. West
Hr.
Consultants and Staff
Dr. Truman Pierce
Mr. Ja,.~es Groton
Mr. A. C. Latimer
Dr. Curtis Henson
Minutes of the April 27, 1966 meeting were unanimously approved.
The Ex:ecutive Committee reconunended Hr. Martha.me Sanders to fill the
unexpired term of Hr. James White. Hr. J. H. Cawthon made the motion that
Mr. Marthame Sanders be appointed to the Commission. The motion was seconded
by :Mr. Fred Turner and passed unanimously.
A letter of resignation was read from Dr. James L. Miller, Jr. The
motion made by Hr. Tom Hiller that the resignation be accepted was seconded
by Mr. W. L. Robinson and passed unanimously.
Dr. Pierce reported on the proposed plan of work entitled "Provisions
for Creating an Atlanta-Fulton County School District". He stated that the
section dealing with the legal work had been discussed in some detail with
Mr. James Groton and that the steps as outlined seemed to be adequate
at this tim.e.
Following Dr. Pierce's presentation, Mr. Robinson made the motion
that the repor t be received. It passed unanimously.
Mr. Robinson stated that the method of electing school board members
for the new di ~trict should be clearly defined. He made the motion that the
report s t ate that board members are to be elected on a school districtwi de basis by the qualified voters i n a special, non-partisan election. The
motion was seconded by Dr. Clement and passed unanimously.
Dr. Clement made the motion that t he proposed new 3oar d of Education
consist of nine member s - one member from each of nine subdivisions of
a pproximately the same population - all elected by the total electorate.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Ed Cook, Sr. and passed unanimously.
Dr . Clement made the motion that the wording in the plan of work be
changed to read, Board Members will be compensated at the rate of $300
�per month with the chairman being paid an additional $50 per month.
motion was seconded by Hr. Robinson and passed unanimously.
The
It was suggested that the report contain the statement that any seat
on the Board of Education vacated for any reason will be filled by appointment by the Board until the seat can be filled by a regular school board
election which will be held every two years.
How the length of office for the initial aoard will be determined was
discussed. Hr. Robinson made the motion that a conunittee of five members
be appointed to make a reconnnendation to the full Conunission on how the
length of term for each Board Member of the initial Board will be determined.
lll' • . Bardin, Dr. Pierce, and three other members appointed by }fr. Bardin
are to serve on this Cormnittee. The motion was seconded by Hr. Tom Miller
and passed unaniinously.
·
Mr. Fred Turner made the motion that the plan of action -as amended be
adopted by the Cormnission. The motion was seconded by Hrs. Alan Ritter and
passed unanimously.
Mr. Cawthon made the motion that Dr. Lyle Johns, University .of Florida,
be . employed to ·make the necessary . s.t udy in the area of f ina.nce. The ·mot ion
was seconded by Mr. Torn Hiller and passed unanimously.
Mr. Tom Miller made the motion that Dr. Willard Elsbree, Emeritus
Professor of ~ducation, Teachers College, Columbia University be employed
to conduct the necessary study in the area of personnel and that if he is
not available, the Executive Connnittee have the authority to select a
substitute. The motion was seconded by Mr. Fred Turner and passed unanimously.
In all cases, the rate of remuneration for each person who works for
the Connnission and the tasks to be accomplished will be approved in advance
by the Execut iv~ Connnittee.
It was agreed that a copy of the amended Plan of Action be sent to
each member of t he two school boards.
Mr . Grot on and Mr. Latimer outlined the work to be accomplished in
the legal area . The Connnission agreed that the lawyers be given t he
author ity to st art work as outlined in t he following t hree areas:
1.
2.
General Power s
Revenue from sources other than Local School Tax
3 . Power t o Incr ease Bonded Debt and As sumption of Bonded Debt
The lawyer s are t o keep t he Commission i nformed about progress, cos ts, and
proposed next steps. The Connnission will select and appr ove each additi onal
item to be studied before act ion i s taken by the lawyers .
It was suggested that Dr. Pierce and the lawyers proceed as expeditiously
as possible and that the Commission meet again in approximately 30 days to
hear progress reports. At the October meeting, plans for an interim report
will be discus·s ed.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
Approved By: ____________
Chairman
- 2 -
Recording Secretary
�MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION MEETING
September 22, 1966
The Local Education Commission met in the Conference Room of the
Administration Building of the Atlanta Public Schools at 10:00 a.m.,
September 22, 1966, with the following in attendance:
Commission Members
'
Hr. P. L. Bardin
Hr. J. H. Cawthon
Dr. Rufus E. Clement
Mr. F.d S. Cook, Sr.
Mr. Alan Kiepper
Dr. John W. Letson
Mr. Thomas Hiller
Mrs. Alan Ritter
Mr. l-'!. L. Robinson
Mr. William 11. Teem, III
Hr. Fred J. · Turner
Dr. Paul D. West
Consultants and Staff
Dr.
Mr.
Mr.
Dr.
Truman Pierce
James Groton
A. C. Latimer
Curtis Henson
Minutes of the April 27, 1966 meeting were unanimously approved.
The EKecutive Committee reconnnended :Ur. Martha.me Sanders to fill the
unexpired term of Hr. James White. Hr. J. H. Cawthon made the motion that
Mr. Harthame Sanders be appointed to the Commission. The motion was seconded
by Mr. Fred Turner and passed unanimously.
A letter of resignation was read from Dr. James L. Miller, Jr. The
mot ion made by Hr. Tom Miller that the resignation be accepted was seconded
by Mr . W. L. Robinson and passed unanimously.
Dr. Pierce reported on the proposed plan of work entitled "Provisions
for Cr eating an Atlanta-Fulton County School District". He stated that the
section dealing with the legal work had been discussed in some detail with
Mr. James Groton and t hat the steps as out lined seemed to be adequate
at this time .
Following Dr. Pierce ' s presentation, Mr. Robinson made t he motion
that the report be received. I t passed unanimously.
Mr. Robinson stated t hat the met hod of electing school board members
for the new district should be clearly defined. He made the motion that the
report state that board members are t o be elected on a school districtwide basis by the qualified voters in a special, non-partisan election. The
motion was seconded by Dr. Clement and passed unanimously.
Dr. Clement made the motion that the proposed new 3oard of Education
consist of nine members - one member from each of nine subdivisions of
approximately the same population - all elected by the total electorate.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Ed Cook, Sr. and passed unanimously.
Dr. Clement made the motion that the wording in the plan of work be
changed to read, Board Members will be compensated at the rate of $300
�per month with the chairman being paid an additional $50 per month.
motion was seconded by Hr. Robinson and passed unanimously.
The
It was suggested that the report contain the statement that any seat
on the Board of Education vacated for any reason will be filled by appointment by the Board until the seat can be filled by a regular school board
election which will be held every two years.
-
How the length of office for the initial Board will be determined was
discussed. Hr. Robinson made the motion that a committee of five members
be appointed to make a reconunendation to the full Conunission on how the
length of term for each Board Member of the initial :9oard will be determined.
I1r. Bardin, Dr. Pierce, and three other members appointed by Mr. Bardin
are to serve on this Conmittee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Tom Miller
and passed unanimously.
Mr. Fred Turner made the motion that the plan of action -as amended be
adopted by the Conmri.ssion. The motion was seconded by Hrs. Alan Ritter and
passed unanimously.
Mr. Cawthon made the motion that Dr. Lyle Johzis:, Univer.si ty .of Florida,
be . employed to ·make the necessary . s.t udy in the area of f inanc·e. 'lhe ·motion
was seconded by Mr. Tom Miller and passed unanimously.
Mr. Tom Miller made the motion that Dr. Willard Elsbree, Emeritus
Professor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University be employed
to conduct the necessary study in the area of personnel and that if he is
not available, the Executive Corrmittee have the authority to select a
substitute. The motion was seconded by ~fr. Fred Turner and passed unanimously.
In all cases, the rate of remuneration for each person who works for
the Conunission and the tasks to be accomplished will be approved in advance
by the Executive Committee.
It was agreed that a copy of the amended Plan of Action be sent to
each member of t he two school boards.
Mr . Groton and Mr. La.timer outlined ·the work to be accomplished in
the legal area . The Conunission agreed that the l awyers be given the
authority t o st art work as outlined in t he following three areas:
General Power s
Revenue from sources other than Local School Tax
3. Power t o Incr ease Bonded Debt and As sumpt ion of Bonded Debt
The lawyers are t o keep the Conunission informed about pr ogress, costs , and
proposed next steps . The Conmission will sel ect and appr ove each additional .
item to be studied before act i on i s taken by the lawyers.
1.
2.
It was suggested that Dr . Pierce and the lawyers proceed as expeditiously
as possible and that the Conmission meet again in approximately 30 days to
hear progress reports. At the October meeting, plans for an interim report
will be discussed.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
Approved By: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Chainnan
- 2 -
Recording Secretary
�LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia
CHAIRMAN
P. L .
VICE CHAIRMAN
BARDIN
OTIS M . JACKSON
1440 BANK OF GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
3121 MAPLE DRIVE, N . E .
30303
ATLANTA , GEORGIA 30305
524-2626
237-4729
October 14, 1966
REMINDER

TO:
Members of the Local F.ducation Commission
FROM:
Curtis Henson, Recording Secretary
This is to remind you that the next meeting of
the Local Education Commission will be held at
10:00 a.m., October 24, 1966, in the Conference
Room of the Atlanta Public Schools' Administration
Building, 224 Central Avenue, s.,1.
CH:cw
SECRETARY-TREASURER
W . KENNETH STRINGER
1393 PEACHTREE STR E ET ,
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
873-3578
N .E.
30309
�LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
OF
ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY
PROVISIONS FOR CREATING AN ATIANTA-FULTON
COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Appr oved September 22, 1966
�ATLANTA-FULTON COUNTY EDUCATION COMMISSION
PROVISIONS FOR CREATING AN ATLANTA-FULTON
COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The General Assembly of Georgia at the request of its r epresenta tives
from Fulton and DeKalb counties created a Local Education Commission in 1964
and charged the Commission with responsibility:
To study the desirabili ty and feasib ility of combining the
school systems of Fulton County and the City of Atl anta, including the portion thereof lying in DeKalb County; to provide that
said Commission may draft a plan or plans for the combining of
such school systems and submit same to members of the General
Assembly from Fulton and DeKalb Counties ,
The Commission was appointed and conducted the requested study, releasing
its report in Febr uary , 1966 .
The report reconnnended the dis s olution of the
Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts and the creation of a new dis trict
in their stead.
A plan for creating the pr oposed new district was included
in the -report which outlined the steps necessary for carrying out this recom~
mendation.
The report of the Connnission was a ccepted by the l egislative delegation
representing Fulton and DeKa lb counties.
After due deliberation of the
recommendations , the legisla tive group secured approval for continuation
f
the Commission and requested it to carry out t he steps which it had defined
as being necessary for dissolving the present school districts and creating .
the proposed new district.
This memorandum out lines the tasks involved in crea ting the proposed
new district and suggests how thes e s t eps may be executed .
Five distinct but
related t a sks are essential in carr ying out this l a t est charge to t he
Commission.
They are :
�l
1.
Legal work which is necessary in order to dis solve the two pr esent
districts and to create the proposed new district.
2.
Educational planning necessary to assure orderly and effective
transition from the present two districts to the proposed single
district.
3.
Suggestion on the initial role of the new board of education.
4,
A program for developing public understanding of the propos ed new
district and the reasons which support its creation.
5.
Allocations of responsibility for getting done the necessary ta sks .
Each of the five steps is outlined briefly in the following pages .
The
assumption is made that the plans for the proposed district and the characteristics of the district included in the 1966 report of the Commission are
acceptable .
They ar e, therefore, reported in this document where appropria te .
LEGAL WORK
Substantial lega l tasks must be undertaken and completed in order to
establish the proposed new school district.
It is not possible to define
with certainty all of these tasks at present because there is no existing
overview of legislation and court decisions affecting the present Fulton
County and Atlanta School Districts although major task areas can be defined .
These follow :
1.
Compile and analyze the legislation and court decisions which
currently affect the Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts .
Since this has never been done , there i s no way of knowing at
present the precise dimensions of this task .
2.
Prepare the legislation which must be a dopted i n order t o abol ish
the Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts .
- 2 -
Unt il the nece ssary
�research has been completed, there is no way of knowing j ust what
thi s step involves .
Whether a single piece of -legislation general
in nature will suffice or whether specific mea sures repealing s ep~
arate laws relating to such subjects as taxation , bonding capa ci ty,
and so forth, are required remains to be seen.
3.
Provide for meeting present -and future· unfulfilled legal and moral
commitments of the Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts.
Indebtednes s , outstanding borids , retirement provisions and tenure
rights are examples of such commitments .
Curr ent welfar e pr ovisi ons
for personnel may be continued or provisions can be made in new
legislation to protect earned rights of present personnel through
incorporation in any new welfare provisions which might be cr ea ted
for the school district.
Establishing eligibility of the new school
district for state funds is an illustration of another type of protection , as is assurance that current salary levels will not suffer
in the transition.
4.
Arrange for the t r ansfer of properties of present school dis tri cts
to the pr oposed new district.
S.
Pr epare a constitutional amendment fo r cr ea ting the new school di s=
t r ict .
This is an essential step under Georgia l aw.
The amendment
should be expr es s ed in gener al terms insofar as feas ible, l eaving as
many of t he specif i c pr ovisions concer ning the dis tri ct as pos s ible
to be t aken care of outside the framewor k of constitutional manda tes ,
The amendment would neces saril y specify the boundarie s of the
district, defi ne i t s bas i c struc ture, and outl ine its powers.
Such
would be done within t he limitati ons of other constitutional provisions affecting schools and school distr icts .
- 3 -
For example, the
�7
amendment would have t o be cons istent with the constitutional
definition of the Stat e 1 s r esponsibility for public schools.
Legal provisions t o be made either by constitutional amendment or statutory acts include creation of a board of education of
nine member s elected at l arge by the qualified voters of the
district in a non-partisan election for terms of six years, one
from each of nine subdivisions of the district of approximately the
same number of persons.
The amendment or enabling legislation
should prescrib e how the subdivisions ar e t o be fo r med and how
they ar e to be redivided as popula tion changes dictate.
Pro-
visions should be made for terms of members of the initial board
as follows :
thr ee members to serve the full-six year term, three
members to serve four -year terms , and three members to serve twoyear terms ,
Thereafter, the board members would be elected in
regular school board elections as existing terms of members expire .
Vacancies for any reason should be filled by appointment of
the board until the next r egular school board election at which
time unexpired terms will be filled by the voters.
It will a lso be necessary to make provisions for a referendum
to determine whether or not the amendment is to be approved (approval
of voters of both di stricts is thought to be necessary).
Provisions should be made in the event the constitutional amendment is approved for the board members of the Atlanta and Fulton
County Districts t o serve as the board of education for the new dis trict until the new boar d is elected and can take office .
A schedule
should be worked out, if needed , for shifting to the nine-man board
elec t ed as her ein prescr ibed .
- 4 -
�Board members should be paid three hundred dolla rs per month ,
with the chairman being paid an additional fifty _dollars per month .
The proposed new district should consist of the present Atlant a
District, including the part which is in DeKalb County, and the
present Fulton County District .
A fundamental task is providing for a sound fiscal base for the
proposed school district .
Establishing eligibility for State funds ,
establishing eligibility for Federal funds , and providing for sound
local support are necessary considerations .
The school board should
be authorized to determine the property tax for supporting the school
system, as the Atlanta School Board does at present .
Furthermor e , a
uniform property assessment plan for the entire district should be
adopted and homestead exemptions eliminated.
Sources of loca l school
support in addition to the property tax should be found.
6.
If the proposed new school district is approved by the voters, a
transition committee should be established immediately t o work out
the many plans and details essential to an orderly trans i tion fr om
two distr icts to one.
The transition committee should include t he
two superintendents of schools , the chairman of each board of education , the fiscal officer of each school system, the a s sis tant super i ntendent for instr uction of each school system, and s uch other i ndividuals as may s eem appropriate .
This committ ee should be res pons i ble
for the detailed t ransition plan to be approved by each boar d of
education .
7.
If t he singl e s chool distri ct is appr oved , the two pre s ent school
systems should continue as at pre s ent for the balance of the s chool
- s -
�year in which a pproval occurs and an additional full year in order
to allow time for completion of needed transitien plans .
8.
The board of education for the new district should be elected as
soon as possible after the approval of the constitutional amendment
and should formally organize itself without delay and proceed at
once with the selection of a superintendent .
A superintendent
should be employed and he should begin his work as far in advance
of the creation of the new school district as is possible.
9.
Execute any other legal assignments which are appropriate in the
ligqt of the analysis of pertinent legislation and court decisions
and necessary provisions to assure creation of a school district
conforming to recommendations of the Commission in its 1966 report .
EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
An enormous volume of work must be completed before the proposed school
district can go into operation .
Many policies must be decided upon and much
specific and detailed planning completed in order to as sure the proper functioning of the new distr ict.
Major categories of policy development and needed
provisions fo r operational guides under ea ch are listed below .
As i s true
of legal aspects de scribed above, a precise definition of all of the s teps
necessary in this stage of planning is not possible pres ently and must await
further explorati on of curr ent policies and practices of the two school systems .
Finance
1.
Develop guides and procedures fo r making the annual school budget.
2.
Develop plans and procedures for purchasing.
~
6 -
�-;
3,
Develop pla ns f or necessar y and a ppropr i a te financia l a ccounting ,
4,
Develop a budge t for the new school distr ict ,
Personnel
l,
Develop a system of per sonnel records for professional and other
school personnel ,
2,
Develop sal ary schedules for profes sional and other personnel .
3,
Develop a retirement syst em or systems ,
4.
Develop policies concerning employment practices for both profes sional and non-professional personnel .
5,
Develgp policies rega rding tenure , sick leave, vacations, leaves
of absence for profess i onal growth , and others as needed.
6.
Propose a method of combining the two centra l office staffs.
l,
Develop a system of records f or pupil accounting .
2,
Make r econunenda tions concerning the visiting teacher program.
Pupils
Administrative Structur es and Regula tions
1.
Develop a plan f or the internal organiza t i on and administration of
the new school distr ict including a ppropr iate policies and definitions of re spons ib ility.
2.
Rea ch decis ions on a dminis t rative and super vis ory services to be
provided .
3.
Develop policies regarding th
si z
of schools ,
4,
Develop general school r egula tions such as length of the school day ,
number of da ys in the school year, and designate holidays.
- 7 -
�S.
Develop a school ca lendar for the first year of the new system.
6.
Recommend the future of the Metropolitan School Development
Council .
Curriculum
1.
Determine the curricula t o be offered ,
2.
Develop plans for kindergartens in schools now in the Fulton County
District .
3.
Develop policies for selection and distribution of instructional
materials.
4.
Determine the specia l professional per s onnel to be provided such as
librarians, school psychologis ts, counselors , and reading specialists,
S.
Ascertain the curriculum adjustments which are necessary in the
transition period and suggest how they are to be made ,
6.
Recommend policies regar ding expansion of school programs with
specia l r efer ence to j uni or colleges, vocational and technical
education, and adult education,
7.
Make recommenda tions concerning tea cher loa ds, including pupilt eacher ratios ,
Services
1.
Rea ch deci sions on s ervices to be provided by the s chool dis trict s
such as transporta tion, f ood , and health services and how they
should be pr ovided ,
2.
Determine the non=professi onal personnel to be provided such a s
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�lunchroom workers , custodians, and secre t ar ies .
3.
Rec ommend plans for storing and handling textb ooks and other instructional supplies.
Maintenance and Opera tion
1.
Develop policie s regarding kinds , numbers , types , and levels of
competence needed by personnel in Maintenance and Operation.
2.
Develop policies and procedures on the maintenance and operation
problems ,
3.
Develop policies and procedures concerning work assignments and
responsibilities of personnel .
Other
1.
Make r ecommendations concerning organizations which should exist in
the new school dis tricts such as Parent-Teacher Associations, l ocal
tea chers ass oc i a tions, and the various student organizations .
I NITIAL ROLE OF THE PROPOSED NEW BOARD OF EDUCATION
Just how s pecific a bl uepr int f or transition should be is to a considerable extent a matter of definition .
At one extreme is a plan which provide s
only the basic lega l pr ovi s ions necessary for bringing the new district i nto
being .
At the other ext reme is a plan which include s the multi tude of basic
policies , operational pr ocedures and alloca tions of r esponsibility essential
to the effective functi oning of a s chool district.
The pl a n pre s ented in t his document embra ces the first extreme and als o
the second t o the extent that the Commis s ion accepts responsibil ity for the
essential educa ti onal planning which must prec ede the operational phase of a
-
9 -
�new district o As al ready indica ted , this planning consists l argely of
developing rec ommended polici es and procedures consistent with the basic
charter of the propos ed new district as outlined above and decisions of the
Connnission with res pect t o the nature and quality of programs and services
it thinks the new distr ict should provide .
However, only that which is manda ted
by law will be binding on the new Board of Educa tion o
In a sens e , the Commission is acting in these matters as an agent of a
school district which is yet to be created and what it proposes in the realm
of educational planning i s for study and action by the new Board of Education
unless area s are involved where decisions have been made already.
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROPOSED N"Ei DISTRICT
Since public schools ar e the business of the public, every opportunity
should be seized upon to help the public keep -~s fully informed as possible on
school problems, is sues , needs, and the nature of good schools.
A well informed
public is es sential to successful decision making on educational policies and
plans .
Therefore , a ma jor t a sk in considering the proposed basic shift in the
educational structur e of Atlanta and Fulton County is developing and distributing among all citizens adequate information on the proposed change and the
reasons which l ead to t he proposal .
The report of the Connnission with its
trea tment of both sides of the iss ue of a single school district should be
made available to al l ci tizens and its contents should be widely publicized .
Therefore , if the proposed constitutional amendment is adopted and a r efer endum
is held , t he r efer endum should be preceded by a systematic and well or ga nized
public i nformati on program .
=
10 -
�Mass media of corrnnu_n.ication should be employed to develop interest and
public understanding .
Newspa per coverage should be stressed .
and television should be used extensively .
Both radio
The pros and cons of the pro-
posed district reorganization plan should be presented through all three
media.
In a ddition, presentations to civic clubs, Parent-Teachers Associa-
• tions , and other formal groups should be stimulated.
should be used in this program.
Many informed citizens
Among such citizens should be leaders from
all walks of life, especially school leaders, including Board of Education
members.
By the time the election is held, all citizens should be fully
informed on the issues at stake.
In no other way is it possible to reach an
adequate decision on the school organization issue.
GETTING THE JOB DONE
It is the responsibility of the coordinator appointed by the Corrnnission
to prepare and submit to the Corrnnission the transition plan as outlined
above.
An adequate plan requires bringing into play an array of specialized
competence beyond the ken of any single individual; therefore, extensive use
should be made of car efully selected consultants .
The legal work should be entrusted to Mr. Pete Latimer , Attorney for the
Atlanta Board of Education, and Mr . James Groton, Attorney for the Fulton
County Board of Education.
Dr . R. L. J ohns , Uni ver s ity of Florida, or some one of comparable
stature in school fi nance , should be secured as a consultant on all planning
involving finance, purchasing , and accounting .
Dr. Willard Elsbree, Emeritus Professor of Education, Teachers College ,
Columbia University, or some other authority in pers onnel , should be secured
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�as a consultant on policies and procedures concerning all ca tegories of
personnel .
This assignment would include proposed salary schedules and wel-
fare provisions .
Curr iculum authorities should be consulted as needed.
A cormnittee of leading citizens should be appointed and given responsi'bility f or conducting an a dequate public information program.
The Cormnission
should appoint this committee upon recommendation of personnel by the Atlanta
and Fulton County school superintendents and approval by the two boards of
education.
Appropr iate professional personnel should be available to the
cormnittee.
Appropriate pers onnel from the two school systems should be involved in
the development of proposed policies and procedures, especially in information
and evaluation r oles .
TMP : jp
s/12/66
Amended and appr oved
September 22, 1966
by Local Educat ion Cormnis sion
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�:Ifa
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
/
of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia
P. L .
W . KENNETH STRINGER
OTIS M . JACKSON
BARDIN
3121 MAPLE DRIVE ,
1440 BANK OF GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
SECRETARY-TREASURER
VICE CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
30303
!524-2626
1393 PEACHTREE STREET ,
N .E.
·573.3575
237-4729
MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COHHISS ION 1-'.IEE'l'ING
October 24, 1966
The Local Education C~'lttnission met at 10:00 a.m. in the Conference
Room of the Administration Building of the Atlanta Public Schools with
the following in attendance:
Conmtlssion Members
Mr. P. L. Bardin
Mr. Alan lCiepper (Represented
Dr. West)
Mr. Harry \fost (Represented Mr.
Mr. Hartha.1ne Sanders
Alan Kiepper)
Hr.
Leonard Robinson
Hr . Earl Landers
Mr. J. H. Cawthon
Dr. John u. Letson


iir. Otis Jackson


Dr. Rufus Clement
r1rs. Alan Ritter
N .E .
ATLANTA , GEORGIA 30309
3030!5
Consultants and Staff
Dr. Truman Pierce
Hr. A. C. Latimer
Hr. Lee Perry
Dr. Curtis Henson
llinutes of the September 22, 1966 meeting were unanimously approved .
Mr. Leonard aobinson, chairman of the committee appointed to recomme 1
how the length of term for each board member of the initial board of
education for the new school district will be determined, presented the
report. The committee recommended that the statement regarding the election
of board members specifically state the following:
l.
The winner in each sub-district will be the candidate receiving the largest nmnber of votes.
2.
In the event of a tie the Orand Jury will be asked to detennine
the winner.
J.
The Grand Jury will be asked to designate the length of term
of office of eQch of the nine successful candidates for the
�initial board of education. Three members ,ri.11 be designated
to serve two-year terms, three members to serve four-year
terr.is, and three members to serve six year tenns.
Iir. Robinson made the motion that the Commission receive the report.
The motion was seconded by Dr. Rufus Clement and passed unanimously.
After discussing the recommendations of the Committee, Hr. Robinson
made a motion that the report be adopted. The motion was seconded by Hr.
J. H. -Cawthon and passed unanimously.
Dr. Pierce reported that Dr. Johns had spent two days in Atlanta and
was moving along satisfactorily with his assignment.
Hr. Latimer gave a progress report of work of the lawyers to date.
It was apparent that the total report would not be completed in time for
action of the 1967 legislature.
~fr. nobinson made the motion that a progress report be presented
to the legislature on the first day of the 1967 session. This report
should include decisions made and work completed to date, an outline of
work which is yet to be ·completed and ·a time table for -completing it,
and a request that the life of the Commission be extended for another
year. The motion was seconded by Hr. Otis Jackson and passed unanjmously.
Mr. Jardin instructed Dr. Pierce and }fr. La.timer to assume the
major responsibility for drafting the report.
The next meeting of the Conmission will be at 10:00 a.m. on December
5, 1966 for the purpose of receiving and discussing the progress report.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30
Approved By :
a.m.
Recor ding Secre tary
Chairman
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�A PROGRESS REPORT
to the
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION FROM DEKALB AND FULTON COUNTIES
by the
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION OF
ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY
November, 1966
�Tentative
THE LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION OF
ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY
Purpose
This document reports progress made by the Atlanta and Fulton
County Education Commission in developing detailed plans for creating
a new school district to take the place of the Atlanta and Fulton
County districts as instructed by the General Assembly of Geor~ia when
it extended the life of the Commission in 1966.
The document consists
of decisions and plans which the Commission has made for creating a
single school district, an outline of remaining tasks of the Commiss i on, provisions which have been made for completion of these tasks,
a statement of budget needs , and a time schedule.
Background
Ref erence to the previous work of the Commission is nece s sar y
f or the purpos e of under stand i ng proper ly thi s repor t.
The commission
was created by an ac t of the Gener a l As sembly adopted by t he 1964 s ession which gave the Commi ss ion r espons i bility "to study the desirability and feasibility of combining the s chool sys t ems of Fulton County
and the City of Atlanta 9 including the portion thereof lying in
DeKalb County ; to provide that said Commission may draft a plan or
plans for the combining of such school systems and submit same to
members of the General Assembly from Fulton and DeKalb Counties. "
�The tasks assigned to the Commission turned out to be difficult
and complex requiring studies involving law, economics, public finance,
school costs 9 population analysis, school personnel, welfare provisions,
school district structure, educational needs, existing educational programs, and curriculum development.
These studies analyze current
status and project probable future developments. · The studies provided
the information required by the Commission to execute its assignment.
The first report of the Cotmnission ; an interim one , was released
in January of 1965.
It briefly reviewed the substantial history of
local concern for how education should be organized in the AtlantaFulton County area as reported in various studies, some essentially
educational in nature while others dealt broadly with problems and
issues faced by the growing Atlanta metropolitan area.
The major con-
tribution of this report was the careful identification , description ,
and analysis of advantages and disadvantages of a single school dist rict i rt place of the Atlanta and Fulton County districts.
The report
poi nt ed out the dif ficulties to be overcome in creating a s ingle d i st r i ct .
I t also de scribed the proposed single district and s uggested
a t enta tive budget for completing the assignment of the Commission .
In Februa ry of 1966 , t he Commis s i on r e leased a report entitled,
"District Reorganization f or Better Schools in Atl anta and Fulton
County."
Building on the int erim report summarized above, this docu-
ment inquired into the effect on educational programs of transition to
a single district, the effects on financing education and listed a
number of important questions concerning the proposed district for
which answers were provided.
With the background thus developed , the
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�r.
Conunission was in position to reach a decision on whether or not it
should recommend a single school district .
The decision of the Commission was that a single district should
be created to take the place of the present Atlanta and Fulton County
districts.
It found that the consolidation of the Atlanta and Fulton
County districts was less desirable than dissolving them and creating
a new district in their stead inasmuch as the disadvantages of neither
district would need to be perpetuated, wpile the advantages of each
could be retained.
The report included seventeen other recommendations
which defined required legal steps to be taken in creating a single
district , described how the new district should be organized, and suggested financial provisions.
The report then defined t wenty-nine
transition tasks to be undertaken concerning primarily school programs
of the present districts.
A Public Inf ormation Services Program was
suggested to help achieve broad public understandin~ of the proposed
new distr i ct.
The report ended with an analysis of recent develop-
ments of significance to the school district reorganization issue.
The repor t was presented to the Legislative Delegati on of DeKalb
and Ful ton count i es befor e it was released .
The Delegat i on accepted
t he r eport and requested additiona l information on current and proj ected s chool r evenues fo r t he At l anta and Fulton Ccunty School districts , a f urther analys is and comparison of expend iture patterns of
the two districts, a projection of s chool revenue and expenditure
patterns for the two districts, and comparisons of projected revenue
patterns and expenditure patterns of the two dis tricts with the proposed single district.
Requested also was a comparison of current
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�educational programs of the two districts and the comparison of these
programs with those projected for the new district.
Finally, the
Delegation asked that the necessary steps for establishing and placing
in operation the proposed district be spelled out in a definite nattern
which would serve as a blueprint for transition.
A report issued in January of 1966 provided the requested information except for the actual transition blueprint.
The latter is the major
concern of this report.
The first phase of the work of the Commission for the present year
consisted of defining and outlining as specifically as possible the
various tasks which should be undertaken and completed in establishing
the proposed district.
Responsibilities for completing these tasks
were allocated and necessary authorizations were made accordingly.
Using this outline as a guide , the Commission has reached important
decisions and made substantial plans for creating the proposed new
school district.
These decisions and plans are presented in the re-
maining pages of this report.
Decisions and Plans
Once the Commission dec ided t o recommend a single district, it
then turned its attention to the tasks which would have to be completed in carrying out this recommendation.
These tasks may be cate-
gorized as follows:
1.
The legal work required to dissolve the p~esent districts
and to create the proposed new district.
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�2.
The educational planning necessary in order to assure
effective transition from the present districts to the
proposed new district.
3.
Suggestions on the election, terms of office of board
members, and initial role of the Board of Education for
the new district.
4.
A program for developing adequate public understanding of
the proposed new district and the reasons which support its
creation.
5.
Allocations of responsibilities for getting done the necessary tasks.
_L egal l-Jork
Mr. A. C. Latimer, Attorney for the Atlanta Board of Education,
and Mr. James P. Groton , Attorney for the Fulton County Board of Education, have been retained by the Commi.ssion to be responsible for the
necessary legal work .
The log:J.c of this decision is obvious since
their experience and present responsibil i ties will ser ve them well i n
t his undertaking .
Ext ensive r e s earch for t he purpose of identif ying, ana lyzing, and
clar ifying a voluminous body of legisla t i on of both general and l ocal
dimensions regarding educat ion in the Atl ant a and Fulton County s chool
districts is underway.
Relevant court dec isions are be ing subjected
to the same type of study.
There is no other way to ascertain the
requirements for dissolving the two pre s ent distri.cts.
When this has
been done , legislation will be prepared for dissolving the districts.
- 5-
�7
Then , new legislation essential to establishing and maintaining the
proposed district will be prepared along with required constitutional
provisions.
Attorneys Latimer and Groton have prepared a detailed outline
of work which must be done before the new constitutional provisions
and legislation can be drafted.
This outline consists of fourteen
different subjects which are being considered separately.
The study
of each subject involves :
1.
identifying and analyzing existing laws and regulations
µertaining to the Atlanta and Fulton County school systems
which will have to be considered , amended , or repealed;
2.
determ:f.ning the legal problems which reQuire special attention , and
3.
establishing the end results to be accomplished by the new
legislation.
The fourteen subjects and a brief paragraph on progress achi eved
follow:
1.
Gener al powers. --Present statutes, regula tions, and cour t
decision s t o be considered , amended , or r epealed have been i dentif ied
as have problem ar eas t o be considered .
The new l egislat i on i s t o
cover powers general ly appropria te to school systems under the Georgia
Constitution and such other
powers as are required t o borrow, to
contract with other governmental bodies , to sue and be sued, to operate
school buses, to accept donations, bequests, and so forth, to operate
educational programs from kindergarten through college, including
vocational schools, relationships with adjoining school systems , and
-6-
�to establish a new district that is a political subdivision of the
State.
2.
Local taxation for schools.--Present statutes, regulations ,
and court decisions to be considered , amended, or repealed have been
identified as have problem areas to be considered.
The new legislation
is to cover uniform property tax assessments throughout the district,
provide for elimination of homestead exemptions, establishment of
annual millage , tax levies , tax collections, and tax sources other
than the property tax .
3.
Revenues from sources other than local school tax.--Present
statutes , regulations, and court decisions to be considered, amended,
or repealed have been identified as well as problem areas to be considered.
The new legislation is to cover authorization of appropria-
tions from city and county governments , intangible taxes, transportation funds , and escheats.
4.
Power to increase --12.onded debt and assumption of bonded debt. --
Present statutes, regulations, and court decisions to be considered,
amended, or repealed have been identified.
to be dealt with have been defined.
Problem areas which have
New legislation is to cover power
to levy property tax, millage limitation , restrictions on retirement
of debt , assumption of county school debts , and assumption of city
school debt s.
-7-
�5.
Repealer.--Present statutes , regulations , and court decisions
to be considered , amended, or repealed have been identified,
areas to be considered have been defined.
Problem
The new legislation is to
repeal or amend the Fulton County one and one-half mill constitutional
amendment and Fulton County constitutional amendments on millage limitation, bonded debt limitation, and pensions.
6.
!1ethod of adoption.--Questions to be considered include
whether or not a single constitutional amendment will suffice or if
multiple amendments will be required; provision for courses of action
if multiple amendments are required and some are adopted while others
are not,·, whether the amendment(s) is to be general or local, what vote
is required, who is eligible to vote, and how the ballot should be
worded.
7.
Succession ~o school property and contract rights.--Present
statutes, regulations, and court decisions to be considered, amended,
or repealed have been identified .
been defined .
Problem areas to be considered have
New legislation is to cover .the transfer of county
s chool properties to the new distr ict and the transfer of city pr oper t i es to the new dis tr ict.
8.
Assumpt i on of l i abilities and cont r a ct obl iga tions . --Present
sta tutes, regul ations , and court deci sions t o be con s i dered . amended,
or repealed have been ident i fied .
It ha s been a scertained that no
notable problem areas exist under this subject .
New legislation to
be passed is to cover debts other than bonds , obligations, liabilities.
and State School Building Authority lease payments.
- 8-
�9.
Personnel.--Present statutes, regulations, and court decisions
to be considered, amended, or repealed have been identified.
It has been
determined that no notable problem areas exist under this subject.
New
legislation is to cover contracts, pay scales , tenure, and fringe benefits.
10.
Boundaries of the new district.--Present statutes, regulations,
and court decisions to be considered , amended, or repealed have been
identified.
It has been ascertained that· no notable problem areas
exist under this subject.
The new legislation is to provide that all
of Fulton County and the part of Atlanta which is in DeKalb County are
to be included in the new district.
Provision for the addition of new
territory and other schools is to be included.
11.
Board of Education.--The present statutes, regulations, and
court decisions to be considered, amended , or repealed have been identified.
Problem areas to be considered have been defined.
The new legis-
lation is to cover composition of the Board , eligibility for Board
membership , term of office , election districts , powers, duties, responsibilities, compensation, and changes in composition and s i ze of election
distr icts .
Provision is to be made for terms of office of init i al boar d
members.
12 .
Superintendent of schools. --Present statutes, r egulat ions , and
court decisions to be con s i dered , amended , or r epealed have been identified.
It has been e s tabli shed t hat no notabl e problem ar eas exist under
this subject .
New legisl ation i s t o cover criteria of e ligibility, pro-
vide for appointment by the Board , determine the term of office, and
enumerate powers , duties, and responsibilities.
- 9-
�13.
Transitiong_rovisions. --New legislation is to provide for an
interim board of education to consist of the Atlanta and Fulton County
boards, interim administration provisions, and an effective date for the
new district to become operative.
The legislation is to prescribe a
schedule of steps to be taken if the constitutional amendment(s) is
adopted.
14.
Pensions.--Present statutes, regulations, and court decisions
to be considered, amended, or repealed have been identified.
areas which must be considered have been defined.
Problem
New legislation is
to prescribe for either a new pension system or membership in the
State teachers' retirement system s merging of the county school pension system into the new system, transition of city school employees
from the city general pension system, and authority to receive contributions for pension funds from city and county governments.
Educational Planning Necessarv to Assure
Orderly and Effective Transition from
the Present Two Districts to the
Proposed Single District
The transition from two districts to one is to be as orderly and
systematic as is possible without interruption or dislocation of educational programs and personnel (student s professional, and other).
To achieve this purpose requires a great amount of planning involving
the development and approval of new policies and procedures.
Major
areas of decision and policy development have been defined as outlined
below.
It should be noted that much of this planning is to be expressed
in the legal framework of the proposed 11-ew district, some of which is
- 10-
�l
reflected in the legal work as reported above.
Certain other aspects
of planning and policy are not necessary for the legal framework, some
of which appropriately wait until a decision is reached on whether or
not the proposed district is to be established.
If voters reject the
new district~ this planning will not be necessary ; if they approve, there
will be time to complete such planning before the new district becomes
operatiye .
The areas for policy and procedure development and achieve-
ments under each area are listed below.
Minor repetition occurs because
of the need to give direction to the legal work already described.
District organization and administration.--The new district is to
include all of Fulton County and that part of Atlanta which lies in
DeKalb County.
The district is to have a board of education of nine
members elected at large by the qualified voters of the district in a
non-partisan election for terms of six years, one from each of nine
subdivisions pf the district of approximately the same number of persons.
The legislation is to prescribe how the subdivisions are to be
formed and how they are to be re-divided as population changes require.
Three members of the initial board shall serve full six-year terms,
three members shall serve four-year terms~ and three members shall
serve two-year terms as determined by the Fulton County Grand Jury.
Thereafter , board members are to be elected for six-year terms in
regular school board elections as existing terms of members expire.
Vacancies i n board membership are to be filled by appointment of the
board until the next regular school board election at which time unexpired terms will be filled by the voter s.
- 11-
�In the event the constitutional amendment(s) is approved , the
Atlanta and Fulton County School District board members are to serve
as the board of education for the new district until the new board is
elected aad can take office.
Board members are to be paid $300 per month with the chairman being
paid an additional $50 per month.
Provision for transition.--If the proposed new district is approved by the electorate , a transiti on committee is to be established
immediately by the Atlanta and Fulton County School District boards
acting as a single board upon the joint recommendation of the superintendents of the t wo districts.
Thi s committee is to be responsible for
the many plans and procedures concerned with education programs which
a smooth transition will require.
The committee is to include the two
superintendents of schools ~ the chairman of each board of education ,
t he fiscal officers of each school system, t he assistant super i ntendent
for i nstruction of ea ch school system and such other individua ls as
may seem appropriate.
The transitiou plans worked out by t his com-
mit t ee are t o be approved by t he boar ds of educa t i on .
If the s ingle school d i str i c t i s appr oved , the t wo school systems
are t o continue a s at pr e s ent for t he balance of the school year in
which approval occurs and an additional calendar year in order to allow
time for completion of needed t ransition plans.
The board of education for the new distri.c t, if approved, is to be
elected as soon as possible after approval and should formally organize
itself without delay and proceed at once with the selection of a superintendent of schools.
The superintendent is to be employed and is to
- 12-
�begin his work as far in advance of the creation of the new school
district as is possible.
The superintendent of schools.--The superintendent is to be appointed by the board of education and given such powers a s are necessary to act as the chief executive officer of the school district.
His term of office, compensation, and other benefits shall be established by the board of education.
Financial provisions.--The proposed new district is to be fiscally
independent.
While major local support is to come from the property
tax, provision is to be made for local support from other forms of
taxation.
Bonding capacity of the new school district is to be 10 per cent
of the assessed valuation of taxable property.
The homestead exemption in Fulton County is to be abolished.
Assessments of property for school tax purposes is to be uniform
and in accordance with legal provisions.
Legal provisions and policies of the new school district are to
permit full utilization of financial support from state, federal, and
other sources.
Dr. R. L. Johns of the University of Florida has been employed to
recommend provisions for financing the proposed new school district
and to develop guides and procedures for purchasing and financial
accounting and for preparation of the annual school budget.
is now working on this assignment.
- 13-
Dr. Johns
�Personnel . --Dr . Will ard S. Elsbree, Teachers College, Columbia
University , ha.s been employed to develop salary schedules for professional and other personnel of the proposed school district, a retirement system or systems 1 policies regarding tenure , sick leave 1 vacation ,
leaves of absence for professional growth and others as needed, develop
a system of personnel records for professional and other personnel, and
propose a method of combining the two central office staffs.
Dr. Els-
bree is working on this asaignment.
Curriculum. - -It is necessary to determine the va rious curricula to
be offered by the proposed school district , develop policies for selection and distribution of instructional materials , recommend policies
regarding expans ion of s chool programs with special r eference t o
junior colleges , vocational and technical education, and adult educat i on, determine the special professional -personnel to be provi ded such
a s school l i brarians , schl)ol psychologi sts , couns elors, and reading
s pec ial ists, develop plans for kindergartens for schools now in the
Fulton County District and make recommendat ions concer n ing teacher l oads,
including pupil-t eacher ratio .
Work in this area has not gone beyond
definiti on of what is to be undertaken .
Pupi ls . --A sys t em of records for pupil accounting is t o be developed for the proposed di strict and recommenda tions concerning the visit i ng
teacher program .
These t asks are yet t o be undertaken .
Serv ices . --Decisions a re to be made on the kind s and amounts of
services to be prov ided by the school district in areas such as transportation, food and health.
How these are to be provided is to be
-14-
�suggested.
The number and kinds of nonprofessional personnel to be
employed by the new school district such as secretaries, lunchroom
workers, and custodians is to be determined.
Plans for storing and
handling textbooks and other instructional supplies are to be worked
out also.
This is another area of planning which, except for definition and
direc~ion, can await a decision on the fate of the proposed district.
Maintenance and operation.--Policies are to be developed regarding
kinds, numbers, types, and levels of competence needed by personnel in
maintenance and operation ; policies and procedures concerning maintenance and operation programs : policies and procedures concerning
work assignments and responsibilities.
These policies and procedures can await development until the
fate of the proposed district has been established.
Initial Role of the Proposed
New Board of Education
Early responsibilities of the new board of education have been
touched on in the section above.
The new board is to be elected as
soon as possible and is to begin functioning as a board immediately
thereafter.
As indicated previouslys its early major responsibility
will be the selection of a school superintendent for the new district.
When this has been done, the superintendent is to assume responsibility
for recommending the many policies and procedures which must be worked
out before the new district becomes operational.
The transition com-
mittee referred to earlier will have done much preliminary work along
-15-
�these lines and will undoubtedly recommend to the superintendent many
of the needed policies.
Developing Public Understanding
of the Proposed New District
A well-informed public is essential to reaching a wise decision on
the school district issue.
Therefore, a systematic, comprehensive,
carefully coordinated program to develop and distribute among all citizens adequate information on the district reorganization plan and the
reasons which support it is needed.
The Commission report which develops
the arguments for and against a single school district should be made
available to citizens and its contents widely publicized.
Mass media
of communication are to be employed to assist in developing inter.est
and public understanding .
Newspaper coverage is to be widely employed.
Both radio and television are to be used extensively.
Arguments for
and a gainst the proposed district should be presented through these
media .
Pres entations to civic clubs , parent-teacher associations , and
other formal groups are to be stimulated.
Many informed citizens are
to be employed in this program, citizens repr esenting all walks of life .
A committee of leaders in communi ty affairs is to be charged with responsibility f or organizing and coordinating this program.
The com-
mit tee is t o be appoi nted by the boards of education upon r ecommendation
of t he superintendent s of schools .
Remaining Tasks
The major unfinished task is completion of the necess ary legal work.
While a great deal of this has already been done , the needed legislation
- 16-
�remains to be drafted.
This cannot be done until the extensive research
on existing statutes, regulations 9 and court decisions bas been completed
and questions arising therefrom have been answered.
Roughly one year is needed for finishing this task.
The work in finance which Dr. R. L. Johns is doing should be completed within six months .
· Retirement provisions, tenure 9 sick leave, leaves of absence,
salary schedules 1 personnel records 5 and a plan for combining the two
central office staffs being developed by Dr. Willard Elsbree should be
I
completed within six months.
Curriculum studies, developing pupil accounting provisions , deciding on transportation , food , health , and other services to be provided.
and provisions for maintenance and operation need not progress much beyond the present planning stages until it is known whether or not the
proposed district is to be created .
As indicated above, the machinery
for discharing these steps has been def ined and can be put in mot i on on
s hor t no tice .
Budget
To be deve loped.
Motivating Assumpt i on of the Commission
The first decis ion of the Commission was that the sole criterion
by which it would determine its recommendation on the issue of school
district organization in Atlanta and Fulton County is what will best
serve the educational welfare of those to be educated in Atlanta and
-17-
�Fulton County?
Adhering to this fundamental guide has provided a
source of confidence to the Commission.
TMP ~jp
December 2 , 1966
-18-
�LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia
CHAIRMAN
VICE CHAIRMAN
P. L .
OTIS M. JACKSON
W. KENNETH STRINGER
3121 MAPLE DRIVE, N . E .
1393 PEACHTREE STREET, N . E .
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 3030!5
ATLANTA , GEORGIA 30309
237-4729
' 873-3578
BARDIN
1440 BANK OF GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
30303
!524-2626
SECRETARY-TREASURER
MINUTFS .
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION MEETING
December 5, 1966
The Local Education Colllilission met at 10:00 a.m. in the Conference
Room of the Fulton County Administration Juilding with the following in
attendance:
Commission Members
Hr. P. L. Bardin
Ifr. J. H. Cawthon


iir. Earl Landers


· Dr. John W. Letson
Mrs. Alan Ritter
Mr. Leonard Robinson
Mr. Wallace H. Stewart
Hr. rcenneth Stringer
Hr. Harry West (Represented
Mr.· Alan · Kiepper)
Dr. Paul D. West
consultants
and
Staff
Dr. Truman Pierce
Mr. James Groton
Dr. Curtis Henson
Ivf.i.nutes of the October 24, 1966 meeting were approved with one
correction: llr. Jerry Wootan, not Mr. Alan !uepper, represented Dr.
Paul \1/'est at the last meeting.
Dr. Pierce presented the proposed 11 Progress Report to the
Legislative Delegation from Deitalb and Fulton Counties. 11 As the report
was read, various points were discussed and clarified. Mr. James Groton
explained the section pertaining to the legal work which is presented
on pages 6-10.
It was pointed out that the study should state specifically the
procedure to follow in the selection of the new superintendent and the
procedures to follow until the official term of office of the two
superintendents have been fulfilled. Currently, one superintendent
is elected by the electorate for a specific term of office. The other
superintendent is appointed for a prescribed number of years.
,Ir.
Robinson made the motion that the report be received, that
Ur. Bardin be authorized to transrilit it to the members of the legislature,
�and that thanks be extended to Dr. Pierce for his good work. The
motion was seconded by Mrs. Alan Ritter and passed unanimously.
Mr. Groton l{as instructed to draft a bill to extend the life
of the Connnission for one year. The Connnission approved using the same
form as the 1966 bill, that the names of the Commission members
currently serving be included, that Dr. John Letson be authorized to
name a replacement for Dr. Ja1:1.es Miller, and that the bill include a
section authorizing the Fulton County and Atlanta Joards of Education
to pay the cost of the Local Education Cormnission on a 40-60% ratio,
respectively.
The bill from Dr. R. L. Johns in the amount of $231.18 for
consultant services, October 10 and 11, 1966, was approved for payment.
The Commission also approved that approval for employment of all
consultants and others carried with it authorization for payment for
services rendered.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
APPROVED BY :
Chairman
Recording Secretary
- 2 -
�CHAIRMAN
P. L.
VICE CHAIRMAN
BARDIN
1440 BANK OF. GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
1124-2828
SECRETARY-TREASURER
W.
OTIS M. JACKSON
30303
3121 MAPLE DRIVE,
N.E .
KENNETH STRINGER
1393 PEACHTREE STREET,
N .E.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 303011
ATLANTA , GEORGIA 30309
237-4729
' 873-31178
MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COMM;tSSION MEETING
April 19, 1967
The Local Education Commi~sion met in the Board Room of the
Felton County Administration 3uilding at 9:00 a.m. on April 19, 1967
with the following in attendance:
Members


Mrs. Ethel 3rooks


Mr. J. H. Cawthon
Mrs. Joseph Ford
Mr. Otis Jackson
Mr. Alan Kiepper
Dr. John W. Letson
Mr. A. B. Padgett
Mrs. Alan Ritter
Mr. Kenneth Stringer
Mr. William M. Teem, III
Dr. Pav.l. D. West
Consultants and Staff
Mr. James Groton
Mrs. Martha Gaines
Dr. Curtis Henson
Mr. A. C. La.timer
Dr. Truman Pierce
Mr. Otis Jackson served as Chairman and introduced the new
members of the Conmission.
Recognition was given to the passing of Mr. P. L. Bardin in
December. It was announced that a wreath was sent in the name of the
Commission. Members of the Commission reimbursed Mr. Kenneth Stringer
for the wreath.
The Con:mission took recognition of the death of Mr. Fred J. Turner ·
who was an invaluable member of the Commission and who had devoted many
years of his life in service to the Atlanta Conmrunity. It was agreed
that a resolution of sympathy be sent from the Conunission to Mrs. Turner.
Mr. Latimer gave a brief report of the work of the lawyers and
the problei'llS encountered. He proposed that the COlllllission hire a lawyer
and a secretary to spend full-time on the research required for the
report, and that office space be rented in the First National Bank
Building. The work of the lawyer would be supervised by Mr. Latimer
and Mr. Groton who would be responsible for the final draft for the
report. The estimllted cost will be a~proximately $1,300 a month.
�Mr. Cawthon made a motion that the Commission approve the plan
as outlined and that Hr. Latimer and Mr. Groton proceed as expeditiously
as possible in employing the staff members and completing the work outlined. The motion, seconded by Mr. A. B. Padgett, was unanimously
approved.
Dr. West read a resolution from the Grand Jury appointing Mr.
Otis Jackson to the Fulton County 3oard of Education. Congratulations
were extended to Mr. Jackson.
The Commission unanimously elected Mr. Otis Jackson to continue
to serve as Vice-Chairman and Mr. l(enneth Stringer as Secretary-Treasurer of the Comnission during 1967. The office of Chairman will
be filled at the next meeting.
Dr. Letson was requested to propose a replacement for Hr. Turner.
An expression of gratitude was expressed to Mr. Alan Kiepper for
his capable and dedicated services which he has rendered to the County,
the School System, and to the Commission. His leaving Atlanta will
be a great loss to the total contnunity. The Commission wished for him
Godspeed. }fr. Xiepper ~"'Pressed appreciation for the kind remarks and
asked that his name be kept on the mailing list of the Conmission.
Dr. Pierce made a brief progress report. He stated that this
Commission, tmlike previous Comraissions, had made the decision that
the two school systems should be joined as soon as possible. The
Conmission had taken the position that this decision and the plan
developed would fulfill its obligation. However, the delegation felt
that a more complete plan should be presented and instructed the
Commission to develop a more comprehensive plan of combining the two
systems. Consequently Dr. R. L. Johns was employed to develop the
unit on finances and business management and Dr. Willard Elsbree and
Dr. John Phay to develop the section on personnel. 30th reports are
scheduled to be completed by June 1st. A copy of these two reports
will be sent to the members of the Corranission prior to the next meeting
which will be held at 12:30 p.m. Monday June 19, 1967.
Mrs. Martha Gaines was instructed to make the appropriate news
releases and to feel free to contact members of the COOBnission for
advice and consultation.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
Attachments
Approved Sy:
necor ding Secretary
Chairman
- 2 -
�7
I
LOCAL EDUCATION CO MISSION
of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia
SECRETARY-TREASURER
CHAIRMAN
VICE CHAIRMAN
P. L . 8.t.llDIN
1440 BANK 01' 01!:0IIOIA BUILDINO
OTIS M . JACKaoN
W . Kl!:NNHH STRINGl<R
3121 MAPLI! DRIVE. N . E .
ATLANTA. Gl!:OIIOIA 303011
1393 PEACHTRl!:I!: 6TREl!:T. N.E.
ATLANTA , GICORGIA 30309
237.472g
873-31178
ATI..ANTA. GICOIIOIA
30303
!1&4-2828
May 1, 1967
Mrs. Fred J. Turner
330 Blackland Road, N. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Dear Mrs. Turner:
The members of the Local F,ducation Connnission deeply
regret the passing of Mr. Fred Turner. All of us feel
that we have lost a personal friend as well as a valuable
member of the Connnission.
A resolution of our sympathy is attached.
Sincerely,
E. Curtis Henson
Recording Secretary
FX::H : cw
attachment
�LOCAL EDUCATION cor"i,~,1 S10
of At lanta and Fulton County, Georgia ·
CHAIRMAN
, .... 0
P'. L . IIAIIDIN
IIANK c.- 01[DIIOIA
AT\.ANTA, 0l[OIIOIA
IIUILDINQ
30303
VICE CHAIRMAN
8ECRETARY~REA8URER
OTle M . JACKeoH


Sill! MAP'LI[ DIUVI[ . N.lt .


ATLANTA , 00:0IIOIA 303011
t30:S Po:AcHTIIEI[ &T11En , N .I!.
ATLANTA, Ol<OIIOIA 30300
ll37-.. 7lUI
873-31178
aa ... aaae
A
RESOLUTION:
The members of the Local Education Corrunission
in formal session on April 19, 196? hereby express
to Mrs. Fred ~rurner and family their deep sorrow at
the death of Mr. Fred J. Turner, whose forceful and
dedicated service to the Local Education Corrunission
· since 1964 has been of irruneasurable value.
Mr. Turner's insights, dedication to civic responsibilities, wisdom and leadership will be greatly
missed by all members of the Commission.
The Commission does hereby note i n i ts records
the passing from this life of a man who was esteemed
by his associates, loved by his friends, and respected
by aZZ .
W . KO:NHl!TH 8TIIIHOl!R
�LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia
CHAIRMAN
P. L.
VICE CHAIRMAN
BARDIN
1440 BANK OF GEORGIA BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
30303
1524-2626
OTIS M . JACKSON
W . KENNETH STRINGER
3121 MAPLE DRIVE , N . E .
1393 PEACHTREE STREET , N . E .
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30305
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30309
237 - 4729
873 - 3578
April 11, 1967
TO:
Members of the Local F.ducation Commission
FROM:
Curtis Henson, Recording Secretary
This is to remind you that the next meeting of
the Local Education Commission will be held at
9:00 a.m., April 19, 1967 in the Fulton County
Board Room, 165 Central Avenue, S.W.
CH:cw
SECRETARY-TREASURER
�ROSTER
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
of
ATL\NTA AND FULTON COUNTY
1967
Dr. R.H. Brisbane - 521-0412
Morehouse College
223 Chestnut St., S. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30314
Marthame Sanders
51 LaFayette Drive, N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
Ex. Officio Members:
J. H. Cawthon - 761-1974 (Home)
1840 H:ontrose Drive - 761-8421 (Bus.)
East Point, Georgia 30044
Dr. John W. Letson., Supt.
Atlanta Public Schools
522-3381, E,ct. 201
Dr. Rufus E. Clement - 523-6431
223 Chestnut St., s. W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30314
Dr. Paul D. West., Supt.
Fulton County Schools
572-2211
John T. Cunningham - 96~..-6874
2910 Stonewall Tell Road
College Park, Georgia 30022
lv.
L. Robinson, President
Fulton County 3oard of lliucation
Box 169
761-2831
College Park, Ga. 30022
Otis M. Jackson - 237-4729
3121 l faple Drive, N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Eds. Cook, Sr. - 876-7311
114 I.ferrit ts Ave., N.w; 30313
President, Atl. 3oard of Ed.
Thomas H. Hiller - 762-2311
General Offices - Delta Ai r Lines
Atlanta Municipal Airport 30320
Earl Landers, Adrnn. Asst. t o Hayor
City Hall
522-44-63
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
A. B. Padgett - 688-4117
Candler Building
Atlant a, Georgia 30303
Mrs. Alan Ritter - 475-5425
P.oute 2, Bent Oak Farm
Alpharetta, Georgia 30201
lfallace H. Stewart - 872-0731
International Business Machines Corp.
1439 Peachtree St., N. E. 30309
W. Kenneth Stringer - 873-3578
1393 Peachtree St., N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
William M. Teem, III - 237-8235 (Home)
825 Loridans Circle, N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Fred J. Turner - 524-7133
Willia.'Il Oliver 3uilding
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
•
Alan Kiepper, Fulton County Mgr .
Fulton County Admn. Bldg. 572-2907
165 Central Avenue, S.W. 30303
Mrs . Ethel J . 3rooks - 799-1539
856 Harwell Road, N. W.
At lanta, Georgia 30318
~frs. Joseph H. Ford - 874-3622
550 Cresthill Ave., N. E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30306
Co- Ordinator
Dr. Truman Pierce., Dean
School of Education
36830
Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
Recording Secretary
Dr. E. Curtis Henson, Coordinator
Metropolitan School Dev. Council
La.}!Yers
·
Mr. James Groton, Fulton Co. Bd. F.d.
Mr. A. C. Lati.m.er., Atl. Bd. Ed.
�),
'/
SCHOOL DISTRICT ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT
IN ATIANTA AND FULTON COUNTY
Report
of the
Local Education Commission
of
Atlanta and Fulton County
Georgia
�LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
OF ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY
~- L. Bardin, Chairman
Thomas M. Miller
Otis M. Jackson, Vice Chairman
Mrs. A. L. Ritter
W. Kenneth Stringer, Secretary
&
Treasurer
Wallace H. Stewart
Dr. R. H. Brisbane
William M. Teem, III
J. H. Cawthon
Fred J. Turner
Dr. Rufus E. Clement
James White, Jr.
Dr. James L. Miller, Jr.
EX-OFFICIO
Dr. John W. Letson
Dr. Paul D. West
Oby T. Brewer, Jr.
W. L. Robinson
Earl Landers
Alan Kiepper
STAFF
Dr . Tr uman Pierce , Coordinator
Dr. Curtis Henson, Recording Secretary
�TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
v.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
x.
XI.
INTRODUCTION.
....
......
1
WORK OF THE COMMISSION
2
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES
3
ADVANTAGES OF A SINGLE DISTRICT
5
DISADVANTAGES OF A SINGLE DISTRICT
DECISION OF THE COMMISSION.
NEXT STEPS.
....
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
....
16
....
.......
......
AFTER THE REFERENDUM?
21
22
30
.
32
...................
34
DEVELOPMENTS SINCE CREATION OF THE COMMISSION
APPENDIX .
20
�SCHOOL DISTRICT ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATIONAL
ADVANCEMENT IN THE ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS
INTRODUCTION
The present generation is witnessing a revolution in education.
Underlying causes of this revolution include social and economic changes
of unparalleled speed and magnitude,- the development of an increasingly
complex society and a rapidly accelerating accumulation of useful knowledge.
The necessity for all persons to secure more education of higher quality
than ever before and to continue the quest for learning throughout life
becomes more apparent with each passing year.
No useful role for the
uneducated remains and the cost of ignorance is more than society can
afford.
Major characteristics of the educational revolution follow:
enrolling children in school at an earlier age, extending the upper limits
of formal schooling, providing education programs adapted to the cultural
background of the student in order to equalize educational opportunity, an
enormous increase in the kinds and amounts of instructional materials , in
school use of a larger number and variety of specialists, technological advances which enhance the effectiveness of teaching, improvement in organization
for teaching and improvement in the quality of teaching .
Fast growing d:i.men~
sions of modern school systems include junior colleges, vocational-technical
schools, early childhood education progr ams and adult education programs.
Additions and improvements in schools are increasing greatly the cost
of education.
Upward trends in cost will continue into the indefinite future
if schools are to meet the demands placed upon them by the public .
�The revolution in education places a premium on wise, long-range planning by school districts.
Because of population growth and diversity of
educational need, metropolitan areas pose difficult educational problems which
require much study.
Careful, long-range plans for educational advancement
are essential in these districts, as in others, if schools are not to suffer
in the future.
School personnel, members of boards of education and other
citizens in the Atlanta and Fulton County school districts are well aware of
these conditions and are giving thought to the future advancement of education
in the area.
Such planning for the f uture was given official status by the General
Assembly of Georgia in 1964 when it created the Local Education Commission
of Atlanta and Fulton County.
The Corrnnission was authorized,
To study the desirability and feasibility of combining
the school systems of Fulton County and the City of Atlanta,
including the portion thereof lying in DeKalb County; to provide that said Corrnnission may draft a plan or plans for the
combining of such school systems and submit same to members
of the General Assembly from Fulton and DeKalb Counties.
WORK OF THE COMMISSION
The tasks assigned by the General Assembly to the Corrnnission were
complex and formidable.
After considerable study, the Corrnnission adopted a
plan which, if followed, would enable the Commission to discharge its responsibilities.
This plan was revised from time to time as the study progressed
and as modifications which would improve the study were identified.
The .work
of the Corrnnission consisted of completing the steps described below.
1.
A review of previous studies which gave attention to the same
problems the Corrnnission was ask~d t o study.
2.
A study of social, economic and educational trends in the met r opolitan area of Atlanta.
- 2
�3.
A study of developing educational needs and programs.
4.
A study of the Atlanta and Fulton County schools with particular
attention to finance.
5.
An analysis of the educational reasons which support the creation
of a single school district .
6.
An analysis of the disadvantages of a single school district.
7.
The identification and description of steps which would be
necessary to create a single school district.
8.
Tasks which would have to be completed in effecting a transition
from the present districts to a single district.
9.
Deciding on whether to recommend a single district.
Throughout the entire course of the study the overriding concern of the
Commission was to reach the decision that would serve the best interests of
those who are to be educated in the Atlanta and Fulton County school districts.
The deliberations of the Commission and the information considered in
these deliberations, relevant to the purposes of the study, are sununarized
briefly in the following pages.
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES
The char~e of the General Assembly to the Commission springs from a
background which spans years of citizen concern for good schools in the
Atlanta metropolitan area .
During these years, several special studies
of the metropolitan area have paid attention to the schools and their problems of advancement.
The Local Government Commission of Fulton County recommended in 1950 a
Greater Atlanta Development Pr ogram.
- 3 -
The report of the Commission included
�reference to the schools and the possibility of merging the Atlanta and
Fulton County school districts.
The report took the position that, ultimately,
merger was desirable, but not ·at that time because of differences in expenditure levels and in school programs of the two districts.
The General Assembly created a Local Education Connnission in 1958 to
study the two school systems and to submit a plan or plans for their improvement to members of the General Assembly from Fulton and DeKalb Counties.
This Connnission also sttrlied the question of merging the two school systems
and concluded that while this would be desirable in the future, it was
neither desirable nor practicable at that time.
The Connnission recommended
the creation of a Metropolitan School Development Council which would make
it possible to achieve some of the advantages of consolidation.
The proposed
council was established and has become an effective instrument for carrying
out joint programs of the two school systems.
These programs include the
Juvenile Court School, Educational Broadcasting, Public Information Services
and In-Service Education.
The Fulton County Board of Education appointed a study commission in
1963 to seek ways to overcome the financial crisis in which the Fulton County
Schools found themselves because of a City of Atlanta annexation program.
The annexation program was recommended by the Local Government Connnission in
1950 and was carried out in the early fifties.
As a result of this program,
72 percent of the taxable wealth of the Fulton County School District and
nearly 50 per cent of its s tudents were annexed by Atlanta.
The repor t of
this Connnission also took the position that the school districts should undert ake merger when fea sible and recommended t hat steps be taken to determine
what would be invol ved in bringing about a singl e district.
- 4 -
�All studies, since 1950, which have concerned themselves with education
in Atlanta and Fulton County have given serious consideration to the creation
of a single school district in place of the two existing districts.
These
studies have taken the position that consolidation should be undertaken when
feasible.
The two districts, meanwhile, have grown closer together in levels
of financial support and in educational programs.
Furthermore, there has
been a marked increase in the number of cooperative undertakings in pursuit
of connnon interests.
However, differences remain which would have to be
reconciled if a single district is created.
ADVANTAGES OF A SINGLE DISTRICT
Major advantages of a single district over the two present districts
number fifteen.
These advantages are concerned with the basic structure for
education, adequately financing the schools, equalizing educational opportunities,
and improving the quality of education.
Actually, all concerns of the study
focus on the improvement of the schools.
There follows a statement of each
advantage and a brief discussion of its meaning.
!
Better School District
Will Be Provided
Adequate criteria for determining the soundness of a school district
have been developed by educational authorities.
These criteria are con-
cerned with such things as a sufficient number of children in the district
in order to make possible rea sonable educational effectiveness and cost
economy, adequacy of the district as a unit of local government, availability of an adequate local tax base, adequate bonding capacity, reasonable
tax leeway and some degree of fiscal independence .
When these criteria are
applied to the present districts of Atlanta and Fulton County, neither is
- 5 -
�revealed as a satisfactory district.
six criteria:
Fulton County meets only one · of the
the number of children to be educated.
bonding capacity.
Atlanta lacks adequate
If the two districts were combined, the resultant district
would be more adequate, primarily because of fiscal resource, than is either
when considered separately.
Educational Opportunities Can Be
Equalized Morg Easily
The right of every indivi dual to secure an education is inherent in a
democracy.
The modern definition of this right is that every individual
must secure an education appropriate to his purposes, interests, abilities
and needs.
Equality of educational opportunity, therefore, does not mean
the same education for all, but it does mean the same level of quality for
all insofar as this is possible.
The extreme diversity of cultural in-
terests and backgrounds which are found in the metropolitan area of Atlanta,
and i n any other metropolitan area, require a wide range of educational
programs adapted to these basic differences in people.
The current nation-
wide interest in providing more realistic educati onal programs for children
in slum areas is an indication of concern for this kind of need .
The Atlanta
district is heterogeneous in composition while the Fulton County district is
more homogeneous.
Combining the two would make it possible to provide in a
more economical and efficient manner the variety of educational programs
which are needed.
The equalization of educational opportunities in Atlanta and Fulton
County is virtually impossible under the present district organization.
A
single district would contribute much to making this a manageable task with
minimum difficulties.
- 6 -
�N.ew and N.e eded Educational Programs
Could Be Provided More Economically
Neither school district has yet provided post-secondary education programs for which there is great need.
Perhaps the fastest growing trend in
American education is the development of comprehensive junior colleges.
These institutions provide two years of academic work either for terminal
purposes or for transfer to a senior college.
They also usually offer pro-
grams in vocational-technical education and in adult education.
It is in-
creasingly clear that continuing education is a must for the adult citizen
of tomorrow.
of education.
The kind of world in which we live requires increasing amounts
A recent Educational Policies Commission report takes the
position that two years of education beyond the high school should be provided
at public expense for all high school graduates.
Fulton County is not financially able to provide junior colleges under
its present tax structure.
It would not represent the best economy for each
district to provide its own junior colleges.
A program to serve the metro-
politan area would provide the best means of meeting this growing educational
need.
The two districts have already found it profitable to cooperate in the
provision of vocational and technical education as shown by a new vocationaltechnical school which is to serve both districts.
Plans are in the making
for construction of a second institution of this type.
More Adequate Curricula for Special
Student Groups Can Be Provided
The variety of curricula needed to meet the diverse educational needs
referred to above requires special education programs for small groups of
selected students .
These programs serv~ children with serious physical
- 7 -
�handicaps, those suffering from severe mental retardation, children with
extreme emotional difficulties, the exceptionally bright, and those with
unusual talents.
Since such programs are needed for only small numbers of
children, they can be provided more economically if the student population
to be served is drawn from both the Atlanta and Fulton County districts
rather than for each school district to offer its own programs.
Furthermore,
the educational quality of offerings can be improved more readily in a unified
district.
Certain Educational Programs and Services
Can Be Pi·ovided More Satisfactorily
The richness and depth of both teaching and learning are being enhanced
by new discoveries concerning human growth and development.
The contributions
of science to the effectiveness of teaching and learning processes are increasing at a rapid rate.
Integrating into curricula the accelerating flow of new
and useful subject matter which the modern school program must offer if it
is to remain effective is an increasingly difficult problem.
The modern school must be staffed by professional personnel who keep
up with these continuing developments that affect their productivity.
System-
wide and continuous career development programs for personnel have become a
necessity .
This educational service can be provided better on a larger district
basis rather than in terms of the present separate districts.
The development
and use of various learning resources and the appropriate utili zation of
technological advance s in teaching can be stimulated and fostered better
thr ough a single school district.
- 8 -
�Needed Improvements in Educational Quality
Can Be Achieved More Readily
The search for better schools is a common thread running through all
considerations involved in deciding the consolidation question.
Unless the
ultimate consequence of unifying the two school districts is a better quality
of education, there is little need to pursue the issue.
Changes in financing
schools, in administrative and supervisory services and in the scope and
variety of educational offerings can be justified only if they bring about
better education.
The educational advancement which is essential to sound
progres~ of the Atlanta metropolitan area requires a unified approach and
not a series of separate and structurally unrelated school programs.
The search for educational quality is now both universal and continuous.
The pursuit of quality is complex because it is concerned with everything
that has a bearing on educational programs offered by a school district.
The unification of efforts to improve quality would certainly maximize both
opportunities and resources for enrichment of educational offerings.
Comprehensive, Long-Range Planning
Can Be More Effective
The increasing magnitude of educational responsibility has been stressed
in earlier statements.
The quantitative demands as well as the qualitative
demands of this responsibility will continue to increase.
Projections which
have been made through the next several years show no letdown in the rate of
population growth in the Atlanta metropol itan area .
The indicated increase
in the educational load calls for the most intelligent planning of which the
people respensible are capable .
Since this growth ignores school district
-
9 -
�•
lines, · adequate planning for new enrollment also must ignore these lines
insofar as actualities permit.
Comprehensive, long-range planning cannot
be satisfactory if it is segmented on the basis of school district lines
which have no constructive significance in the context of the metropolitan
area as a whole.
For the same reasons long-range planning for improvement in the quality
of education can be more effective if done for a single district rather than
the present separate districts.
More Effective Solutions to Connnon
Educational Problems Are Possible
Educational problems are not confined to areas marked off by school
district lines.
Some educational problems are unique to certain types of
districts, as is true of Fulton County and Atlanta.
But many such problems
are connnon to the school districts of an area , state , region or nation.
problems which are common seem to be on t he increase.
Those
The school district
which embraces as nearly a self-sufficient socio-economic unit as is possible
provides the best structural framework for t he consideration of educational
problems .
Solutions to thes e pr obl ems should not be restricted by ar ti-
f icial distr i ct l i ne s which ignore t he facts of l ife .
A uni fi ed district
would pr ovide for a mor e constructive approach to problem s oluti on than does
the present dual appr oach.
This is all the more important s ince most of t he
educational problems to be face d are common t o t he two districts.
More Effective Research Programs
Can Be Stimulated and Executed
As good schools have become more central t o personal and connnunity
- 10 -
�advancement, the place of research in education has become more apparent.
Sound analyses of existing programs, the identificat~on and description of
strengths and weaknesses, and the determination of grounds for change require
research.
Planning ahead to be sure there will be adequate classrooms and
teachers for the children in school at the beginning of a given year rests
on research.
School systems without strong _research programs cannot achieve
their maximum effectiveness.
The complexity of a metropolitan area and the
interrelationships of roles of its _different segments require comprehensive
research programs based on trends and needs of the entire area rather than
of sub-units such as separate school districts.
Furthermore, economy and
wise management dictate a metropolitan-wide approach to research.
Needed Experimentation and Educational
Invention Can Be Achieved More Readily
Major advances in our society depend heavily on invention and experimentation.
nology.
This fact is well recognized in the world of science and tech-
The role of invention and experimentation in the improvement of
social institutions such as schools is equally important.
Schools, like
the communities in which they exist, must change as society changes.
New
curriculum materials should be developed and tested on experimental bases.
New knowledge of human growth and development should be applied to teaching
and learning on experimental bases.
New teaching procedures and methods
should be tested through tryout and evaluation.
Heavy reliance upon invention and experimentation are crucial to needed
educational advancement.
There is no need for the school systems within
Fulton County to engage in separate programs of this nature .
- 11 -
The interests
�of both districts can be served better by unified programs, to say nothing
of economies which could be effected.
More Extensive Use of Selected Educational
Facilities and Learning Resources Is Possible
Centers for acquiring, creating, distriputing and servicing curriculum
materials such as publications, filmstrips, video tapes, films and the
necessary equipment for appropriate ~se of these materials are becoming common.
The creation of teaching materials for local use and on the basis of needs
unique to the local situation is an important function of these centers.
The
use of television in teaching and in professional development programs is
increasing.
The needed facilities for extensive television programs in the
metropolitan area can be centered easily in one location.
It is not necessary to duplicate the facilities and resources mentioned
above in different school districts serving the same metropolitan area.
A
single center can provide a constant flow of materials far richer and more
comprehensive than would be possible if available financial support is used
to provide centers in the separate districts.
Equity and Balance in Financial Effort
and Support Can Be Achieved
An axiom of educational finance, which is accepted universally, is
that wealth should be taxed where it is in order to educate children where
they are .
The most glaring deficiency in the structure of public education
in the Atlanta area violates this axiom.
is the City of Atlanta.
The center for commerce and industry
·C ontributions of most Fulton County citizens to
- 12 -
�the economy of the metropolitan area are made largely in the City of Atlanta
where they do their work.
This wealth enriches Atlanta primarily, although
earnings paid to the individual may be spent wherever he chooses.
The City
already recognizes these facts of the economy of the area by helping to support schools in the Fulton County District through al½ mill countywide
property tax.
The industrial wealth of the metropolitan area which is a
major source of school revenue lies largely within the City of Atlanta.
No equitable system of financ~al support and effort is possible which
does not take into account these economic facts.
A single tax program for
the metropolitan area with the revenues distributed according to educational
need is the only available satisfactory answer to the problems of providing
adequate support for the schools.
This is Atlanta's problem as well as
Fulton County's problem because of the highly complex interdependence of
the economy of the two districts.
A single school district would be the
most simple and prudent way to achieve the goal of equity and balance in
financial effort and support.
Greater Financial Stability is Possible
The disadvantages of heavy reliance on the property tax for the support
of schools are well known.
The primary advantage is that revenues from
property taxes fluctuate less than do revenues from more sensitive barometers
of economic health.
Desirable stability in the financial structure of a ·
school system in the final analysis is related to the soundness of the
economy of the district and the fairness of its system of taxation .
The
better balanced the tax program, the more stable the financial base of the
schools.
The more complete the area served by the school district is as an
- 13 -
�economic unit in its own right, the more stable will be the local tax base
for schools.
It is obvious that combining the Atlanta and Fulton County districts
into a single school system would provide a far sounder economic base for
year-to-year stability in school support.
Economies Are Possible
Consolidation cannot be justi~ied solely as an economy measure, if
this is defined as an actual reduction in expenditures.
Any plan for inrrnediate
unification of the Atlanta and Fulton County School Districts would cost more
than the sum of the current budgets of the two systems because, assuming that
the same quality of education is to be provided in the entire district,
costs would need to be equalized upward instead of downward.
Nevertheless,
some financial economies are possible because of the elimination of duplicate
programs and services which can be handled better through a single system.
In this connection, special reference is made to experimentation, invention,
research, certain district-wide programs and services, specialized curricula
for small student groups and others enumerated earlier.
These programs
could be provided at higher quality levels and at a lower unit cost on a
unified basis than would be possible in dual programs.
However, the greatest economic gain to be derived from consolidation
would be in the creation of opportunities to purchase more with the edu- _
cational dollar rather than in the utilization of fewer dollars.
This kind
of economy is of much greater importance than is the mere saving of money.
One good test of a school district is not how little money it spends , but how much
education it buys for its exvenditures .
- 14 -
�New Educational Developments
Can Be Better Accommodated
As shown earlier, the revolution in education which is underway is
composed of both problems and opportunities.
A large school district is
in better position than a small district to stay abreast of such developments because of its more complex and varied interacting elements.
Problems and needs often fall into sharper focus in a large district
where the dynamics of change appear to express themselves with greater vigor.
Opportunities for new developments in education to be put into practice
prevail to a greater degree in the large district.
Many resources not for-
merly available to improve schools are now being made available.
The major
source of this new support is the Federal Government through numerous pieces
of legislation.
It is much easier to take full advantage of the funds thus
made available if a single district is created.
The complexities of govern-
ment relations to education are rapidly increasing.
It would be more satis-
factory to handle these relationships for the Atlanta and Fulton County Schools
through a single agency than through two agencies.
Assumptions
The above identification and description of advantages of a single
school district ar e predicated on certain as sumptions concerning the propos ed new dis t rict .
Among these a ssumpt i ons ar e the f ollowing:
1.
An adequate legal base for the new district wi ll be pr ovided .
2.
An a dministra tive structure which will make pos s i ble the necessary
leadership for educational advancement in the metropolitan ar ea
will be created.
~
15 -
�3.
An adequate plan for financing the new school district will be
adopted.
4.
Emphasis on continuously improving educational quality and
extending educational services will be ·continued.
Conclusion
Consolidation as such is of no value.
It is valuable only as it results
in educational advancement, improve~ educational opportunities for children,
youth and adults; however, it will not guarantee such advancement.
DISADVANTAGES OF A SINGLE DISTRICT
The Commission was as much interested in identifying and analyzing the
disadvantages of one school district as it was in identifying and analyzing
the advantages.
Without the weighing of advantages and disadvantages against
each other, no objective way of making a decision was open to the Commission.
Major concern was with both real and possible educational disadvantages of a
single district rather than with problems and issues which would have to be
faced if the two present districts are dissolved and a new one is created in
their stead.
However, the latter problems and issues are also important and
they were studied extensively.
this report.
They are reviewed in a subsequent section of
Possible disadvantages of the larger district are presented nex t.
Difficulties in Providing School
Programs Needed Because of
Differences in Attendance Areas
The capacity of schools to make adaptations which take into proper
- 16 -
�account the educational needs of their neighborhoods is related to the size
of districts.
Considerable uniformity of educationa~ programs in the
various attendance centers within districts has been traditional.
Because
of the range of socio-economic conditions which exist in metropolitan areas
a greater variety of educational needs is present in metropolitan school
districts.
Thus, greater variations are required in school programs than
are needed in smaller more homogeneous districts.
Current efforts to develop
more realistic school programs for _children in slum areas of cities is an
example of the need for different kinds of progr ams according to community
backgrounds.
A reasonable degree of control must be vested in the local
school community if these variations in educational needs are to be met.
Neighborhood control generates local responsibility, interest and initiative which are essential to good schools.
Unhealthy Reliance £ill Bureaucracy
Wher e at least some degree of local control is not pre sent , decisions
are necessarily removed from the local scene.
Instead of the healthy exer -
cise of community responsibility for schools , directives from a centr al
of f i ce removed fr om the community may t ake the place of l ocal initiati ve .
Thus, bureaucratic controls may grow up whi ch inevitably stress unif ormity
and discourage the community autonomy whi ch has been one of the major strengths
of public education in Ameri ca.
There is evidence to show that the larg~r
the district t he greater the likelihood that a ut hority over the neighborhood
school will be central ized in administrative offices which are usually too
far removed from the local school to be responsive to local interests and
needs .
- 17 -
�Inadequate Invention and Experimentation
-
Historically, many very large school districts have been notably
lacking in educational invention and experimentation.
Some of the major
current educational ills of our country are found in the slums of large
city districts where until recently little effort has been made to develop
school programs which would serve these areas realistically.
Innovation is
difficult in situations which do not encourage the exercise of individuality.
Uniformity and invention are not compatible.
ulations
Excessive use of rules, reg-
and directives inhibit creativity.
Problems unique to large school districts in metropolitan areas have
been the subject of much study in recent years.
Experiments with new methods
and procedures for utilizing the interests and abilities of citizens in
neighborhood school centers have been successful.
At present, the nature
of educational needs of the culturally deprived and the curriculum materials
and teaching procedures which are adapted to their backgrounds are subjects
of important research and experimentation.
The Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 provides more than one billion dollars to improve education
programs for socially disadvantaged children.
Current trends are pointing
to ways of stimulating innovation and experimentation in all school districts.
Poor Conununication
The difficulties of maintaining satisfactory channels of conununication
increase with the size of a school district.
The threads which hold a school
system together become tenuous as the district grows larger.
Greater depend-
ence must be placed on formal and impersonal means of conununication in large
districts.
Opportunities for misunderstanding and conflicting opi ni ons are
- 18 -
�greater where personal and informal contacts are missing.
Too Much Centralized Decision Making
The disadvantages of bigness in utilizing democratic participation in
reaching decisions stems partly from the lack of an adequate structure for
such participation and partly from the slowness of action characteristic of
large units of government.
The fact that both the soundness of decisions
and an adequate understanding of thejr meanings are enhanced by participation in their making is of great importance in education because of the
nature of teaching and learning.
It has been difficult for large school districts to avoid making many
decisions in central offices which might be made more satisfactorily in
local attendance areas.
Loss of Personal Identity
Many studies have shown that a close relationship exists between the
productivity of a person and the degree to which he feels himself to be an
integral part of the enterprise which provides his employment.
The more he
is made to feel that he is but a mere cog in a machine, the more he acts
as though this were true.
There is no substitute for warm personal re-
lationships in achieving satisfaction and success in one's work.
The kind
of environment which encourages such relationships is very hard to maintain
where large numbers of persons are involved.
Conclusion
The Atlanta and Fulton County school districts, if combined , would be
about eleventh in size among all districts in America .
- 19 -
In 1964- 65, the
�total regular day school enrollment in the two districts was 150,218 plus
special schools and adult programs.
This is about one~sixth the enrollment
in New York City which has more than one million pupils and enrolls more
pupils than any other district in the Nation.
Both the Atlanta and Fulton
County districts have reached already the size of school systems which
have suffered from the ills described above. -Therefore, if the proper safeguards are observed in the creation and establishment of the new district,
combining the school districts would. scarcely create problems of bigness
beyond those which already exist.
Just as creating a single school district would not guarantee the
educational advantages discussed in this document, neither would the ills
described inevitably follow.
Knowing the disadvantages to avoid should be
sufficient forewarning to assure the provision of an adequate legal base
for the new district, satisfactory administrative leadership and sufficient
financial support.
DECISION OF THE COMMISSION
After carefully balancing against each other the educational advantages
and disadvantages of one district in place of the two existing districts,
the Commission then defined and examined the steps which would have to be
taken in order to create a single school district for Fulton County and the
tasks which would have to be completed in the transition .
Neither set of
undertakings appeared to be faced by insurmountable barriers ; hence , the
Commission was free to make its decision on strictly educational grounds .
The evidence before the Commission scarcely permitted a recommendation
other than the creation of one school district for all of Fulton County.
- 20 -
�This is the reconnnendation.
The Atlanta and Fulton County school districts
should be dissolved, not merged .
An entirely new district should be created .
In this way none of the limitations of the present districts need be preserved and the advantages of both can be combined in the new district.
Furthermore, desirable features of a school district not currently present
in either Atlanta or Fulton County can be incorporated in the new di st rict.
NEXT STEPS
The foregoing presentat ion outli nes some of the steps taken by t he
Commission in reaching a decision on the question of merger.
Having de-
cided that, in its opinion, the educational programs needed by the children,
youth and adults of Atlanta and Fulton County can be provided better by a
single district, the Commission turned to a study of the actual steps
which would be necessary to achieve merger.
The legislati on creating the Connni ssion, in addit ion to directing the
Commission
11
To study the desirabi lity and fea sibility of combining . . .
11
(the Atlanta and Fulton County School Systems), stated that the Commission
11
may draft a pl an or plans f or the combining of such school systems . 11
The decision on whether there will be a s ingl e di st r ict will be made
by the voters of the present districts.
Hence , i f the member s of the General
Ass embly from Atlanta and Fult on County accept the Commis sion's reconnnendation,
thei r next s tep would be to dr aw up a nd submit f or passage necessary legislation for holding a referendum on the issue.
Since the voters ar e enti tled t o a ll informati on that can be provided
in order for them to make the best decision, legislation authorizing the
referendum should also spell out the essential characteristics of the pro-
- 21 -
�posed new district.
The Commission reconnnends that this legislation include
the following:
1.
A definition of the necessary legal basis for dissolving the
present districts and creating the new district.
2.
A description of organizational, administrative and tax structures
of the new district.
3.
Provisions ior safeguarding present commitments and obligations
of the two existing districts.
4.
The date on which the new district would come into being.
5.
Provision for setting up the machinery required to make the
transition from the two present districts.
Should the majority of votes cast in the referendum in each of the two
existing districts favor the single district, the proposed school district
would then be created in accordance with the specifications of the legislation. : (It is assumed that voters in each district would be required to
approve the single district before it can be created.)
The transition from two school districts to one school district is
complex and requires careful planning~
to be resolved can be foreseen.
Problems and issues which will have
Their exact nature will depend to some
extent on the specific provisions made for dissolving the present district
and creating a new district.
But the following questions may be anticipated,
and satisfactory answers to them are possible at this time.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
Since merger of the Atlanta and Fulton County school districts has
been discussed from time to time during the past twenty years , opinions
- 22 -
�already have been formed on both sides of the issue.
It may be assumed,
however, that the vast majority of citizens have had ~o opportunity to
become properly informed on the basic facts needed in order to reach a
wise decision.
Much public discussion of the facts concerning the present
districts and the proposed new district is essential to reaching a sound
decision.
These facts should be made available to all citizens.
questions will be asked and properly so.
possible answers to these questions,
Many
Citizens are entitled to the best
It is, of course, impossible to foresee
just what all of these questions will be, but it is safe to assume the following
will be of interest.
Answers to these questions are given in light of known
facts.
What Would the New District be Like?
The Atlanta district consists of 128,395 square miles of which 8.420
miles lie in DeKalb County.
The Fulton County School District includes
420 square miles of territory.
Therefore, the two districts, if combined,
would make a single district of 548,395 square miles of which 539.975 square
miles would be in Fulton County proper.
The proposed district would have had a total population of 632,600 on
April 1, 1964, including 126,400 in the present Fulton County district and
506,200 in Atlanta, of whom 43,900 were in DeKalb County.
On October 1,
1964, the total school enrollment for the regular day program, including*
kindergartens, would have been about 142,000 pupils .
Professional personnel
in the new district would have numbered nearly 5,500 individuals, and other
school employees just under 3,000 persons.
There would have been 170 elementary schools, 35 high schools and
two night high schools in the district.
- 23 -
The schools are now located as
�follows:
118 elementary and 24 high schools in Atlanta, 52 elementary and
11 high schools in the Fulton County district.
-
The school budget for 1965-66 would have been slightly under 61,500,000
dollars, with expenditures equalized by raising Fulton County School
District expenditures up to current Atlanta levels, including the provision
for kindergartens.
The 1965-66 budget for the Atlanta schools is $46,713,124.92;
the Fulton County school budget for the same year is $13,891,184, making a
total of $60,604,308.92.
The school tax digest for the 1965-66 school year is $1,448,147,960
at present assessments.
This is divided as follows:
$167,691,000 in the
Fulton County district and $1,280,456,960 in the City of Atlanta.
What Will be the Name of the New District?
The Atlanta-Fulton County School District is an appropriate name.
Enabling legislation would specify the name of the district.
What Would Happen to the Properties
of the Two Present Districts?
Properties of the two districts would become the property of the new
district.
These assets belong to the people and are simply held for the
people by the present districts.
The new district would hold them in the
same way, and their value would be unaffected by the transfer .
Buildings
and equipment would serve the same people they now serve and in the same
ways .
Children would attend the school they now attend and would be taught
by the same teachers .
- 24 -
�What Would Happen to Debts of
the Present Districts?
Nothing.
Debts of the Atlanta district amount to $41,894,556, and
for the Fulton County district, $18,100,444.
These are bonded debts
incurred primarily for the construction and equipment of needed school
buildings.
Provisions have been made already for retirement of these debts .
These provisions would be as binding if there is a single district as they
are at present.
What Would Happen to the Teachers,. Principal s,
and Other Employees of the Present Districts?
All of these individuals would retain their present positions.
The
only exception would be among administrative personnel on the district-wide
level.
Some reassignment would be necessary but no one would be assigned
to a posi tion of lesser rank than he now holds , with the exception that only
one superintendent would be needed.
What Would Happen to Salaries of Employees ?
No one would take a cut i n salary.
In f act, those teachers now in t he
Fulton County schools would receive a small salary increase since the
Atlant a salary s chedule i s slightly better than the Fult on County schedule.
Two salary schedul es would be untenable, as would be any reduction in salaries of present employees.
What Would Happen to the Present
Teacher Retirement Systems?
Each of the existing retirement systems would be retained for those
- 25 -
�who are now members as each system has provided a bind~ng contract to its
members.
No teacher could possibly lose in retirement benefits because of
a single district.
Some way should be found to provide a sound retirement
system for the proposed district with each new employee enrolling in this
system.
Perhaps the present State system could serve this purpose.
What Would Happen to the
Tenure of Teachers?
The proposed new district would not affect earned tenure of teachers
in either of the present two school districts.
All teachers would carry
with them into the new district all of the years of service and all of the
benefits of tenure which they have earned.
What Would Happen to Positions Held !2y:
Teachers in the Present Districts?
Nothing.
Teachers would continue their work in the same schools, in
the same capacity, in the same school communities and with the same colleagues.
Would the Singl·e District Cost Less Money?
No.
While various economies could be effected in a single district
resulting in some savings fov the particular services rendered, the overall
cost would be higher than the combined cost of the two present districts
because the single system would provide for the e~tire district those programs and services which are now provided by only one of the districts.
For example, the new district would provide kindergartens for all schools
as are provided in the present Atlanta district .
- 26 -
Provisions for pupil
�transportation would have to be uniform throughout the new district.
If
the Fulton County policy of transporting pupils who live one and one-half
miles or more from school or from public transportation which is provided
at a student rate were adopted for the new district, no additional cost
would be necessary.
Adding kindergartens to present Fulton County schools
would cost approximately $400,000 per year.
Capital outlay needs would be
$1½ million for the construction of 60 classrooms for kindergartens.
How Would ---the New
--
School
District be Financed?
One of the major reasons for creating a single district is to provide
a more equitable tax base for education.
In view of the fact that Fulton
County has reached the maximum tax rate for schools under present provisions
and Atlanta is approaching fiscal difficulties because of the present tax
structure, the new district would be timely in making it possible to work
out -a more reasonable plan for f i nanci ng education in both Atlanta and
Fulton County.
A tax structure which differs from that of either present
district should be sought.
The goal sought by the new tax program would be
to di stri bute among the people of the entire county the cost of education
on a fair basis.
A single district would make possible taxing the wealth
where it is and applying it to educati onal need where it exists - - a longt erm guide to f inanci ng schools.
A major source of school support should be f ound to take some of t he
' burden f r om the pr oper ty tax and to equalize responsibi lity for support.
- 27 -
�I
Would School Taxes Paid .£Y the Average
Individual Be More or Less
Than at Present?
An answer to this question is not possible without knowing the tax
structure of the new district.
However, it is safe to assume that the
av~rage tax payer will be taxed more fairly in view of one of the main advantages of creating one district.
A single tax system for education in
the entire country would certainly be fairer than either of the present
systems.
These systems leave much to be desired.
in particular is cumbersome and inequitable.
The Fulton County plan
Atlanta is now paying part of
the educational bill for Fulton County as a result of annexing 72 per cent
of the taxable wealth in the Fulton County School District and almost
50 per cent of the students.
Should a tax be levied to broaden the base of support, the tax bill
of
the property owner could be reduced.
Wouldn't~ Single District Be of
Greater Benefit to the Fulton County
District Than to Atlanta?
Perhaps initially as Fulton County's school finance problems currently
are more severe than those of Atlanta because of the city annexation program
of the last decade.
But, that which is Atlanta and that which is Fulton
County as defined by existing boundaries is unrealistic.
The economic life
of the two is so interwoven that existing boundaries simply make no sense
at all as taxing units.
The two districts are now taxing themselves at
r elatively the same rate in terms of real effort .
- 28 -
Partly because of the
�=
tax structure, Fulton County schools are in truuble fiscally.
not far behind in this respect .
Atlanta is
Hence, both districts stand to gain from
a single district if a sound tax structure is created.
Can't~ School District Become Too Large?
Probably so.
The answer depends upon whether size is permitted to
foster unhealthy bureaucracy.
districts in the Nation.
Atlanta is already one of the largest school
The new district would occupy about the same position
among large districts that Atlanta now occupies.
Are There Examples of Similar
New Districts?
Yes.
One of the latest to be created is the Nashville-Davidson County
School District.
All units of local government were merged in this instance.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, is another fairly recent example of the same kind of change.
Others could be mentioned.
No failures
of such mergers are known at present.
Is There~ Trend in Metropolitan
Government to Larger Units ,
Including Larger School Districts?
There are some indications of such a t rend , pr obably because of a
growing recognition of the need to streamline metropolitan goverrlments and
minimize overlapping and duplication.
No doubt , many additional questions will be asked concerning the proposed new district.
Obj ective answers should be provided insofar as it is
- 29 -
�possible to do so.
It is hoped that every citizen will familiarize himself
with the facts concerning schools in the present districts and the arguments
for and against creating a single district.
AFTER THE REFERENDUM?
If the voters approve a single district proposal, the time table defined in the enabling legislation would be set in motion.
Much work would
have to be done to effect the transition.
The autonomy which local school districts in Georgia are free to exercise is considerable.
The Atlanta and Fulton County school districts have
freely exercised this autonomy.
Being entirely separate districts, they
have developed their own policies, procedures and operational patterns.
While many similarities exist in these matters, there are also differences.
Creation of a new district would require careful attention to such guides
and practices.
Changes which are necessary must not work injustices on
school personnel or reflect unwisely on educational programs.
Careful and
tedious study are required which will result in the development of policies,
procedures and operational patterns needed by the proposed new district and
which may or may not exist currently in either of the present districts.
Some of the several aspects of this problem are listed below with types
of needed action indicated.
Additions to this list are likely to be necessary
in the event a single district is created .
1.
Development of a system of personnel records for professional and
other school personnel .
2.
Development of a system of records for pupil accounting.
3.
Development of necessary guides and procedures fior budgeting .
- 30 -
�4.
Development of purchasing plans and procedures.
5.
Development of plans for appropriate financial accounting.
6.
Development of a salary schedule for professional and other
personnel.
7.
Development of a retirement system, or systems.
8.
Development of policies concerning· employment practices, professional and other.
9.
Development of policies regarding sick leave, vacations, leaves
of absence, professional growth, etc.
10.
Development of policies regarding size of schools.
11.
Development of general school regulations such as length of
the school day, number of days in the school year and holidays.
12.
Development of a school calendar.
13.
Reach decisions on the school program having to do with kindergartens, special education, vocational education and other
program areas.
14.
Reach decisions on pupil-teacher ratios to be established and
maintained.
15.
Reach decisions on services to be provided by the school district,
such as food, transportation and health.
16.
Reach decisions on instructional materials and supplies which are
to be provided.
17.
Reach decisions on special professional personnel to be provided
such as librarians, school psychologists, counselors and reading
specialists .
18 .
Reach decisions on administrative and supervisory services to
be provided.
- 31 -
�r
19.
Reach decisions on non-professianal personnel to be provided,
such as lunch room workers, custodians and secretaries.
20.
Determine the curriculum adjustments which are necessary and
suggest how they are to be made.
21.
Recommend policies regarding expansion of school programs with
special reference to junior college education,
vocational and
technical education and adult education.
22.
Propose a method of combining the two central office staffs.
23.
Propose a plan for the internal organization and administration
of the new school district, answering such questions as:
Will
there be area superintendents? Will there be junior high schools?
How many grades will be in the elementary schools?
24.
Recommend the future of the Metropolitan School Development Council.
Will it have served its purpose if the new school district is
created?
If not, should it be extended to include the entire
metropolitan area?
25.
Reconlmend plans for handling textbooks and instructional supplies.
26.
Make recommendations concerning teaching loads.
27.
Make recommendations concerning the visiting teacher program.
28.
Make recommendations concerning organizations which exist in the
respective school districts, such as Parent- Teacher Associations,
local teacher associations and the various student organization~ .
29.
Make a budget for the new school district.
DEVELOPMENTS SINCE CREATION
OF THE COMMISSION
This document begins with a paragraph which states that a revolution
- 32 -
�in education is underway because of swiftly moving cultural changes of
profound impact on all areas of civil~zation.
During the course of this
study several developments occurred which have major bearings on the recommendation for one school district to serve Fulton County.
Among these
developments are the following:
1.
Mounting sentiment for a new Atlanta annexation program.
Any
such move could only aggravate further the already s·erious financial
problems of the Fultorr County schools under the present district
organization.
2.
A statewide educational study has been completed which strongly
recommends fewer, more efficient, school districts for the State.
While main emphasis is on districts of sufficient enrollment to
provide economically the wide range of educational programs and
services needed, the basic concern is with sound districts.
3.
The Federal Government has passed an education support bill for
elementary and secondary schools.
This seems to signal a new and
far stronger role of the National Governemnt in education for the
future.
Other Federal legislation which influences schools supports
this conclusion.
The impact of this changing role on school dis-
trict organization is not clear at this time.
But present indi-
cations point clearly to the importance of strengthening local
school districts.
4.
The proposed new Constitution for the State of Georgia, if passed,
will encourage the consolidation of school districts and will make
it easier for consolidation to be achieved.
- 33 -
�APPENDIX
�TABLE I
ESTIMATED TOTAL SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS IN REGULAR DAY PROGRAMS
IN THE ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY DISTRICTS
1965-1970
Years
Atlanta
Fulton County
Total
1965-66
119,204
35,020
154,224
1966-67
122,376
36,210
158,586
1967-68
125,548
37,441
162,989
1968-69
128,721
38,714
167,435
1969-70
131,893
40;030
171,923
- 35 -
�•
TABLE II
ESTIMATED ANNUAL SCHOOL BUDGETS OF THE ATLANTA
AND FULTON COUNTY DISTRICTS
1965-1970
Atlanta
Years
Fulton County
Total
-·· - -
$46,713,125
$13,891,184
$60,604,309
1966-67
51,104,159
15,002,479
66,106,638
1967-68
55,907,949
16,202,677
72,110,626
1968-69
61,163,297
17,498,891
78,662,188
1969-70
66,912,647
18,898,802
85,811,449
1965-66
1!-
~!-
Actual
- 36 -
�ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
224 CENTRAL AVE .. S .W.
ATLANTA . GEORGIA
30303
OFFICE OF
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
June 6, 1966
Mr. Earl Landers
Mayor I s Office
200 City Hall
Atlanta, Georgia
30303
Dear Mr. Landers:
May I express my appreciation and that of the administrative
staff of the Atlanta Public Schools for your willingness to accept
the civic responsibility of helping us to provide better education
for our children. Certainly your agreement to dedicate your efforts
to the work of this Committee speaks well for you and our city, for
the success of a democratic society largely depends on genuine
personal involvement of citizens in community activities for the common good. The most recent example of civic cooperation was the school
bond election . We owe you a debt of grati tude for your efforts to
info rm our people of specific building needs.
I look forward to the continuation of our work together for the
good of Atlanta children .
JWL : psh
�----=>
MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
CONFERENCE ROOM - FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
FULTON COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
JUNE 19, 1964
The first regular meeting of the Local Educati on Commissi on was
held in
the Conference Room of the Fulton County Board of Education
at 2:00 p.m.
Mr. W. L. Robins on, President of the Fulton County Board
of Educati on, presided.
Members present were:
P. L. Bardin, Oby T. Brewer, Jr., Dr. R.H.
Brisbane, Otis M. Jacks on, P..llen Kiepper, Earl Landers, Dr. John W.
Lets on, Dr. James L. Mille r, Jr., Thomas M. Miller, W. L. Robins on,
Wallace H. Stewart, William M. Teem, III, Fred J. Turner, Dr. Paul D. West
and James White, Jr.
The minutes of the organizati onal meeting of May 20, 1964, were
r ead ahd unanimously approved .
A r eport of the May 29th and June 5th Stee ring Committee meetings
was given and the minutes read.
It was r eported that each proposed
offic er had agreed t o serve i f e l ected .
Als c , Dean Pierce and Dean
J ohns on agreed t o serve if the Commis s i on requested them t o do s o .
The point was r ais ed and clari fi ed that the adoption of the minutes
would not constitute the election of the poopie ~hggested.
It was pointed out that Dean j ohns on is ti. hiettiber of both t he
I
General As sembly and the facul t y of the Emory
t a~
s ~hool and, t herefore,
may not have t i me to di r ect the l egal r es earch r equi red by
Educati on Commission .
of a law f i nn.
the
The natu r e of the work desired may r equire s ervices
I t was stated t hat Mr. G. Stanley J os lin had been
cons idered but that t he Steer i ng Committee t hought Dean J ohnson might
bring a fresh approach t o the study.
The sugges ti on was made that the
Commi s sion empl oy a pro j ect c oordinat or t o deve l op a p rogram of action and
identif y res ou rces needed bef or e obtaini ng l egal services.
Att orneys
for t he ,itl anta and Fulton County School Boa rds should be asked t o
advi se in t he mat t er of s el ecting a l aw firm or a lawyer t o c onduct the
neces sar y r esea r ch.
Mr . Teem made t he mot i on that the minutes of the St eering Committee
be approved as read .
The moti on carri ed.
�r
..
Mr. Turner made the moticn that Mr. P. L. Bardin be elected as
Chairman of the Local Educati on Commissi on; Mr. Otis M. Jackson be
elected as Vice-Chairman; and Mr. W. Kenneth Stringer be elected as
Secretary-Treasurer.
Mr. White seconded the motion which carried
unanimously.
The motion was made by Mr~ Turner that Dr. Truman Pierce, Dean
of School of Education, Auburn~ University, be employed as coordinator
of the study and that he be paid a fee not to exceed $3,000 for services
•
I
'
rendered from the present time until the beginning of the next regular
session of the General Assembly.
Mr. White seconded the motion.
The
question was asked if the $3,000 fee covered only the peri od of time
fr om the present until shortly after the first of January-about six
months.
It was pointed out that this was the intent of the motion and
that fees beyond the meeting date of the General Assembly would have to
be negotiated with Dean Pierce.
The motion carried unanimously.
Mr. White moved that the officers be authorized to expl ore the
matter of the legal assistance needed for this study and that they
consult with members of the Commissi on to get their views on the persons
or firms t o be retained and report their findings t o the Commissi on f or
further action.
The motion was sec onded by Mr. Cawthon and carried.
Mr. Brewer stated that the Commission should c onsider the amount
of money appropriated and the amount spent t o date.
legal c ounsel may c ost $25,000 or more,
He said that the
The Commission should have an
accurate estimate cf the t otal c ost of the st~dy and the amount of money
which may be obtained fr om vari ous s ources.
Mr. Teem moved that the Steering Committ ee and offic ers be directed
t o investigate the f i nancial assistance needed by the Commissi on t o
accompl ish i t s purpos e and als o the fi nancial s ources availabl e t o
satisfy t his assistanc e.
carried ,
The moti on was s ec onded by Mr . Stewa r t and
Mr. Robins on then relinqu ished the chair t o Mr. P. L. Bardin, the
newl y e l ected Chai rman .
Mr. White made the mot icn that the Commiss i on t hank the St eering
Committee for gett ing t he Commission off to such a fine start and on
- 2-
�the right track.
Dr. Brisbane s econded the moti on which carried
unanimously.
Mr . Bardin stated that he had been requested to appear on a
WAGA-TV prcgram next week t o discuss the work of the Commissi on.
He asked if anyone knew of any reas on why he should net appear.
Mr. Brewer stated that the Commissi on needs as much publicity as
possible c oncerning the work it is doing, the problems involved and
the · need f or the· study.
It was pointed out that ai thcugh no answers
were available at thi~ time, the pro~lems involved should be explained
to the public.
I '
nls c; the public should know tnat the Commission has
been f ormed and is off tc a good start.
It was agreed that f or the next few weeks the Commissi on should
meet only when called .
But, after the ~oi:rtmittees have been appointed
and their work designated; the Cottdn{ssi oh should meet on a r egular
schedul e .
It was emphasized
that the ~6 rk df the Coriimissi on should get started
as s oon and as rapidiy a s
meeting and pres ent an
r,t-tB~{Bie.
I '
OVS r M& lti pl
ah
Dean Pierc e should attend the next
~rid time schedule f or the stUdy .
In the meantime , bean Pierce should consult with the Steering Connnittee
and cffic e rs of the Cormnissi cn c onc erning adequat e l egal s ervices and
financ es.
Mr. Teem asked if the Tax Study Commissi on appoint ed by the City
would overlap with the work of the Educati on Commissi on.
Mr. Lande rs
stated that he thought the Study Ccrnmissi cn would add t o t he strength
of the Educat ion Commissi on and that the two Commissi ons should keep
abreas t of each other but that they should work independently .
It was
poi nt ed cut that the Local Educ at i on Commissi on had not appoi nt ed a
committee t o ma ke a fiscal study and that this committee should not
be appoint ed until Dean Pierce pres ents a plan of acti on and l egal
assis t a nce is availabl e.
Mr. J acks on made the moti on that the Commi ss i on accept the
recommendat i on that Dr . Cu rtis Hens on s erve a s sec reta ry. Mr. Whit e
sec onded the mot i on which carried unanimously .
Mr. Brewer stat ed that t o prevent mi sunderstanding the voting
- 3-
�members and the ex offici o members of the Ccmmissi on should be
identified.
Each member cf the Commissi on has a c opy d
the House
Resclution which clearly identifies members in each category.
By
calling this matter t o the attenti on of the members of the Cornmission
in a regular meeting, misunderstanding should net devel cp either within
the Commissi on or betwe en the Cornmissi cn and .other organizati ons.
The meeting was adj c,u rned at 3: 20 p.m. subject to the call of
the Chairman.
Secretary
ECH/dh
June 26, 1964
Approved:

Chairman
-4-
�MINUTES
LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
CONFERENCE ROOM OF THE
FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
FULTON COUN'I'Y ·ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
7
JULY 31, 1964
The Local Education Commission met at 2:00 p.m., in the Conference Room
of the Fulton County Board of Education for the primary purpose of reviewing
the proposed plan of study developed by Dr. Trwnan Pierce.
Members present were:
P. L. Bardin, Chainnan
Otis M. Jackson
Dr. James L. Miller, Jr.
Mrs. Alan Ritter
W. Kenneth Stringer
Fred J. Turner
James White, Jr.
Alan Kiepper, Ex Officio
Dr. John Letson, Ex Officio
Dr. Paul West, Ex Officio
The minutes of the June 19 meeting were approved.
.The minute s of the
July 2 meeting of the Steering Committee were read and approved as amended.
Prior to making a detailed presentation of the proposed study plan,
Dr. Pierce stated that the plan had been developed with the assistance of
Superintendents Letson and West and Dr. Martin and Dr. Henson. He also
stated that the proposed study outline was intended to ref l ect an understanding and awareness of past studies, current conditions and projected
developments of the metropolitan area . (A copy of the plan was distributed
to Commission members present and mailed to members absent) .
I t was emphasized that the pr oposed plan is intended as a starting
point and that changes may be made at any t ime as the study progresses.
Mr. White stated that the question before the Commission is : Should
t he two ~chools be combi ned? This question needs to be answered as soon
as possible ·and members of the Commission should be in a position to
answer quest ions and points favorable and/or unfavorable to c:cmbining the·
schools so that they can infonn the public and receive reactions.
It was pointed out t hat although the last Local Education Commission did
not specifically recommend consolidation at the time, it did outline a ten
�-2-
Local Education Commission, continued
July 31, 1964
year improvement program designed to bring the Atlanta and Fulton County Schools"
closer together and leading ultimately to a single school district.
cooperative and uniformed programs have been realized.
Many of these
Based on these studies
and othe~ information the Commission should now assume that it will proceed upon
the premise that combining the nvo systems is desirable.
There was agreement that the next step is to prepare a brief which states:
(a) findings, conclusions and reconmi.endations of previous studies, (b) advantages
and disadvantages of consolidation and (c) data to prove or support the position
to consolidate or not to consolidate.
This brief will serve as common information
to all Commission members and as a review of previous studies.
develop the brief and include Items I and
V
Dr. Pierce will
of the proposed plan of study in it.
He will present the first draft of this brief to the Commission in September.
The motion was made that since all previous studies have pointed toward
the desirability of combining the two school ~stems, the present Commission
accepts the tentative position that combining the two school systems will be
recommended and that attention be focused upon implementing the steps outlined
in the proposed plan of study presented by Dr. Pierce, ~owever, the Commission
has the right to change this decision at any point during the study.
The motion
was unanimously approved.
It was pointed out that the laws should be examined and provisions made
so that the two systems could combine without loss of revenue, services,
benefits, etc., for either system and/or for the employees.
Mr. Turner made the motion that within the limits of finances available
at the present time or in the future, the officers of the Commission be
authorized to employ legal counsel and other needed services.
The motion
wa s seconded by Mr. White and c arried unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
/
~
ECH/dh
August 4, 1964
Approved by: _____________
Chairman
,/,/'
--/·
,,G ~
Recording Secretary
J/
~
�Tentative
PROPOSED PLAN OF STUDY FOR THE LOCAL EDUCATION COMMISSION
OF ATLANTA AND FULTON COUNTY
Purposes of the Study:
11
To study the desirability and feasibility of combining
the school systems of Fulton County and the City of Atlanta, including the
portion thereof lying in DeKalb County; to provide that said Commission
may draft a plan or plans for the combining of such school systems and
submit same to members of the General Assembly from Fulton and DeKalb
Counties."
(Taken from H.R. 505-1246, as passed by House and Senate.)
The legislation creating the local Education Commission of Atlanta and
Fulton County clearly defines two specific and closely related major t asks
and assigns these tasks to the Commission.
1.
The two tasks are:
To recommend whether or not a single school district would be better
for Atlanta and Fulton County than the present separate districts
of Atlanta and Fulton County.
2.
To draw up a plan or plans f or creating a single school district
to t ake the place of the present Atlanta and Fulton County districts.
The work of the Commission would be simplified if it could first determine the answer to the question of the desirability and feasibility of a
single school system.
Should the answer be negative, the Commission ~ght
logically consider it unnecessary to propose a plan or plans for creating
a single school system.
On the other hand, the most practical. answer to
the first question is necessarily based on the results of an inquiry into
the various factors which would be involved in the dissolution of the two
existing school districts and in creating in their stead a single district.
�2
-.Obviously, -the consideration of feasibility demands the identification
and careful analysis of the requirements for establishing a satisfactory
single school district.
Therefore, the proposed outline is based on the assumption that a
thorough exploration of what the creation of a new school district means
is desirable if the most satisfactory answer to each of the two questions
is to be achieved~ The steps which are listed and discussed below are
based on this assumption.
I. Describe the new school district which might be created.
What would this district look like? What would it include?
This description should include an identification of the geographi cal
area the new district would include, the total population of this area,
the school age population and the actual school enrollment.
The number
of teacher s and other professional personnel, and t he number of other employees would be l ist ed.
The number, size, t ypes and distribution of
schools, a general descript i on of the educational progr8Jll as contemplated,
an analysis of aV'8.ilable .facilities, i?lS'tructional materials, trensporta-

.
tion, and other supporting services would be included. Wealth, sour ces of
wealth., and the nature of the economy of the district would be a part of
t he description.
A gener al overview of the or ganization and government of the distri~t
and relationships to other units of government would be included.
This
statement would st ress the f act t hat t he new district would be made up
of schools now in existence located on their present sites and functioning essentially as they do now and with the same personnel.
�3
II.
Identify and describe the legal steps which would be necessary in order to
create a single school district in place of the t wo existing districts.
What would be required to dissolve the present districts of Atlanta and
Fulton County?
How would the new district be created?
A complete listing and the precis e definition of the various legal actions
necessary in order to discontinue t he present school districts are essential .
For example, what would be done with the d.8bt.s of these districts would
have to be spelled out.
would be set forth.
The laws necesse.:':'y for creating a new district
The required constitnt ional a:;-1endment would be drafted .
Plans for the organization and admini.stration of the district would be
stated with provisions for creating a board of education, specifying the
number of members, eligibility for member ship, type of representation
(district-wide or by areas), term of office, method of selection, power s ,
duties, and responsibilities.
In addition, a plan for organizing and ad-
ministeri ng the school district should be set fo r th, including pr ovisions
f or a chief administrative official, and the spelling out of hi s powers,
duties , and responsibilities .
The neces sary legal st eps would also r equire the s etti ng f or th of a t ax
pl an f or financial suppor t of the distr ict, t he kinds of school t axes t o
be levied, provisions f or tax leeway, and provisions f or debt and debt
services.
The statement on legal requirene~ts would take into account the
impact of the proposed new State Constitution on creation of the new ctistrict and relationships of the district t o ot her t'_;j _ts of government.
Some attention should be given to the broJ.cl ge".c.2rnl problem of metropolitan
government in the Atlanta metropolitan a.:;__~e~.
�4
III.
Decisions, recommendations, policies, regulations, and operational pro..
cedures which would be essential to creating the new district and getting
it into operation .
(Not necessarily an inclusive list.)
What are the specific steps required to bring the new district into
being?
to set it into operation?
to assure satisfactory operation?
The autonomy which locQl school districts in Georgia are free to exercise
is considerable.
The Atlanta and Fulton County school districts have freely
exercised this autonomy.
Being entireiy separate districts, they have de-
veloped their own policies, procedures, and operational patterns.
While
many similarities exist in these matters, there are also differences.
Creation of a new district would require careful attention to such guides
and practices.
Changes which are necessary must not work injustices on
school personnel or reflect unwisely on educational programs.
Careful
and tedious study are required which will result in the development of
policies, procedures, and operational patt erns needed by the pr oposed new
di str ict and which may or may not cur rently exist in ei t her of the present
districts.
Some of t he several aspects of this probl em are lis t ed below with types
of needed action i ndicated.
As t he study advances , additions t o this list
are likely to be necessary.
1.
Development of a system of personnel records for professional and
other school personnel.
2.
Development of a system of records for pupil accounting.
3. Development of necessary guides and procedures for budgeting.
4.
Development of purchasing plans and procedures.
5.
Development of plans for appropriate financial accounting.
6. Development of a salary schedule for professional and other personnel.
�7.
Development of a retirement system, or systems.
8. Development of policies concerning employment practices, professional
and other.
9. Development of policies regarding sick leave, vacations, leaves of
absence, professional growth, etc.
10.
Development of policies regarding size of schools.
11.
Development of general school regulations, such as length of the
school day, number of days in the school year, and holidays.
12.
Development of a school calendar.
13 .
Reach decisions on the school program having to do with kindergartens, special education, vocational education, and other program
areas.
14.
Reach decisions on pupil-teacher ratios to be established and maintained.
15.
Reach decisions on services to be provided by the school distric t,
such as food, t r ansportation, and health.
16.
Reach decisions on instructional materials and supplies which are
to be provided.
17.
Reach decisions on special pr ofessional personnel t o be provided
such as librarians, school psychologists , counselors, and reading
specialists.
18.
Reach decisions on administrative and supervisory services to be
provided.
19.
Reach decisions on non-professional personnel to be provided, such
as lunch room workers, custodians, and secretaries.
20.
Determine the curriculum adjustments which are necessary and suggest
how they are to be madeo
�r
6
21.
Recommend policies regarding expansion of school programs with
special reference to junior college education, vocational and
technical education, and adult education.
22.
Propose a method of combining the two central office staffs.
23.
Propose a plan for the internal organization and administration of
the new school district, answering questions such as, Will there
be area superintendents? Will there be junior high schools?
How many grades will be in the elementary schools?
24.
Recommend the future of the Metropolitan School Development
Council. Will it have served its purpose if the new school district is created?
If not, should it be extended to include the
entire metropolitan area?
25.
Recommend plans for handling textbooks and instructional supplies.
26. Make recommendations concerning teaching loads.
27. Make recommendations concerning the visiting teacher program.
28.
Make recommendations concerning organizations which exist in the
respective school districts, such as Parent- Teacher Associations,
local teacher associat i ons, and the various student organizations .
IV.
A proposed budget f or the new district.
What would it cost to finance the new school district i n or der to
maint ain the level of present school pr ograms?
A budget should show the total 8Jl!Ount of r evenue needed and the allocation of funds t o the various areas of t he educat i onal program.
A com-
parison should be made of the cost of education in the two present districts and the new district calling attention to any differences in cost
and giving explanations for t he differences.
The budget should also
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show the sources of revenue and the amounts from each source.
The budget
would necessarily take into account revenues to be received from the State.
How these revenues compare with those presently received from the State by
the two separate districts should be shown.
V.
Identify and describe the advantages and disadvantages of a single school
· system in comparison to the advantages and disadvantages of the two present
school systems.
What facts and conditions support creation of a new district? What
facts and conditions support retaining the two existing districts.
What
is the proper recommendation?
The steps which have been outlined above would provide a sound basis
for answering these questions.
A decision on the single district issue
would also involve bringing up- to-date those aspects of previous studies
which deal with the present questions and the identification of changes
made since these studies were completed, legal and otherwise, which have
a bearing on the problem.
This statement should take account of the
problems and issues which would have to be faced in undertaking to
develop a single school district.
VI.
Propose a plan f or creating and putting into operation the new school
district, if it is to be created.
This step is essentially the development of a blueprint for action· to
be taken in the event a new district is desired, including a time table
/
for such action.
A statement of specific steps to be undertaken in
creating the new school district would be drawn up.
would need to be given to required legislation.
Special attention
A sequential schedule
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8
of steps should be included and assigni~ents made of responsibilities for
carrying out each step.
VII.
A time schedule should be suggested.
Design a Public Information Se:r,rices Program.
Acceptance of any proposals of t he Co~.m:ission will depend largely on
public lmowledge and understanding of SP.ch proposals.
Therefore, a wide
variety of opportunities should be provided for citizens to become acquainted with the proposals c:G.: d to u:ids r~tand their impact on education
in the metropolitan area.
He:,_ce, appropriat9 use of television, radio,
and newspapers will be L-ri order.
IndiYidnal C:..'1.d small group conferences
with selected persons is a.'1. extremely import2...~t step in this program.
Provision for adequate pubJ.ic discussions is another important step.
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