Education

Atlanta Mayor, Education Officials React To School Cheating Verdict

April 1st, 2015

After six months of testimony and nearly eight days of deliberations, the verdicts from the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial are in. Eleven out of 12 educators have been convicted of racketeering.

The lone person acquitted of all charges was former Dobbs Elementary School teacher Dessa Curb. Former school superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall was going to stand trial separately. She died last month.

After hearing the verdict, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told reporters that the scandal “marked one of the darkest periods in the life of our city.”

“I am hopeful that with the jury’s verdict today, we can finally close this chapter and move forward with the education and development of our young people,” Reed said. “I want to thank Judge Baxter and the Court for their service.”

Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue also thanked the judge. And he said he considers the verdict justice for educators.

“The shameful actions by a small handful do not represent the overwhelming number of passionate, dedicated Georgia educators who work late grading papers, spend their own money to furnish their classroom and would never dream of doing anything to harm a student in this way,” he said.

Thirty-five educators had originally been indicted by a grand jury two years ago, but many of those took plea deals.

“This has been a sad and tragic chapter for the Atlanta Public Schools that has now come to a close,” said Billy Linville, spokesman for the Atlanta Public Schools. “APS, the board of education, Dr. Carstarphen, the new superintendent, have implemented and are implementing new reforms to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.”

Teachers and school principals were accused of changing standardized test scores.

“We just believe in due process,” said Dr. Sid Chapman, President of the Georgia Association of Educators. “We really hate that anyone was caught up in this and hope we don’t have this kind of problem in the future.”

Ten of the educators were taken into custody right after the verdicts. The eleventh, who is pregnant, will remain out on bond. Judge Jerry Baxter scheduled a sentencing hearing for next week.

Fulton County’s verdict overview is below.

APS Verdict Overview

Lisa George, Michelle Wirth and Rose Scott contributed to this story.

An earlier version of the story incorrectly misspelled and mislabeled former Gov. Sonny Perdue as “Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue.” The text has been corrected.