DECATUR, Ga. — The Decatur School Board was already at odds with a growing chorus of community members who raised questions about a proposed Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) and the district’s finances.
That chorus reached a crescendo over the weekend of May 23. Parents learned that Superintendent Gyimah Whitaker’s podcasts were recorded at a studio owned by her husband, Jason. His podcast, The JWhit~ Podcast, espoused negative views toward Muslim and transgender people.
School board members who appeared on her podcast said they were not aware that her husband owned the studio. Whitaker has said through a spokesperson that no public money was spent on making the podcast there. She also said she does not share her husband’s views.
But the questions and anger did not go away. Now, the school board faces a high-stakes meeting on Thursday, where board members will decide what, if anything, to do in response to the controversy.
A group of community members, including parents, a student and a former City Schools of Decatur teacher, held a news conference on May 27 and made several demands. At the top of the list is a full and independent investigation of CSD finances.
Tracey Nance, a Decatur parent and former Georgia Teacher of the Year, said there needs to be more transparency from the school district and school board.
“Public schools are not private institutions,” Nance said. “Public money demands public accountability, and trust is not something communities owe leaders automatically. Trust is earned through transparency, honesty, and integrity.”
The other demands of the group include:
— A public recommitment to diversity, equity and inclusion policies in both word and practice
— Greater transparency and accountability from district leadership and the school board
— Commitment to defining what collaborating with the Beacon Hill Grassroots Coalition of parents, educators, students, and community leaders looks like and working towards guiding equitable decision-making policies and rebuilding trust.
— Protect and preserve the sacred ground at 346 W. Trinity Place and find alternative sites to early childhood learning to include a second evaluation of Soulshine as an option for the ECLC by a different evaluator
— Urge CSD to partner with the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC) and Archaeology in the Community Task Force to conduct a professional, community-engaged archaeological (phase 1b) survey of 346 W. Trinity Place.
— City Schools of Decatur and city of Decatur obtain different firms for legal representation for each entity and CSD terminates its contract Wilson, Morton & Downs LLC
Source: Community advocates
During an episode of Jason’s podcast reviewed by Decaturish, he said transgender identity does not exist.
“God made man and woman. There is no such thing as trans men, trans women, other binary groups or cis men, cis women. There’s no such thing,” he said about a woman speaking in the video. “Those are made-up, fairytale terms.
People at the press conference asked Whitaker to condemn his views more forcefully. They wondered whether their experiences with discrimination in the district were a sign that Whitaker secretly shares his opinions.
Lena Kotler-Wallace, a parent of transgender children in CSD, was forcibly dragged out of a school board meeting last year when she objected to the school board’s decision to rescind the district’s equity policies, a decision the board later reversed. School Board Chair Carmen Sulton asked for Kotler-Wallace to be escorted out of the meeting after she called the board cowards for rescinding the equity policies.
Kotler-Wallace said her child’s experience with transphobia in the classroom forced her to homeschool them.
“When my middle child came out as trans, I believed that City Schools of Decatur would be a safe haven for her… and that was true until it wasn’t,” she said.
Kelly Pulliam, a former CSD teacher and parent, said she felt safe when her son came out as transgender. She said she decided to resign after Kotler-Wallace was dragged out of the school board meeting.
She’s still in touch with current teachers and said teacher morale has dipped while spending at the central office has increased. According to CSD budgets, the general administration budget increased from $1.5 million in 2023, the year Whitaker was hired, to $3.2 million in the tentative fiscal year 2027 budget. The school district’s spending on instruction in 2023 was $54.5 million. In the tentative 2027 budget, it is $66.9 million.
“As we watched the central office grow… and outside consultants being hired to do work that we could have been doing at the school level…, it brings morale down to a low that is hard to put into words,” Pulliam said.
In another episode of Jason’s podcast, he ridiculed Muslims and said they are “low-IQ people” who look like “sixth-century goat herders.”
That video, published four months ago, has been removed from YouTube. Decaturish recorded a video of the relevant comments in case they were deleted.
Samir Ahmed, a Decatur High School Student and Muslim Student Association co-president, called on Whitaker to forcefully renounce her husband’s statements.
“They’re hurtful, they’re impacting the people she’s dedicated to serve,” he said. “She’s in a community leadership position – she’s supposed to be dedicated to guiding and leading the community.”
The heart of a district
Wanda Sims Watters, Beacon Hill Grassroots Coalition, spoke about her group’s efforts to preserve the proposed site of an Early Childhood Learning Center as part of the city’s history. The Decatur City Commission recently approved the creation of the Beacon Hill Historic District.
The historic district includes 346 W. Trinity Place, the proposed ECLC site, and surrounding properties, such as the Decatur Housing Authority properties, Lily Hill Baptist Church, Ebster Recreation Center and Park, the Beacon Municipal Complex and DeKalb County offices. The area was once known as Beacon Hill, the Black community in segregated Decatur, before that community was displaced by urban renewal efforts.
The historic designation did not stop the ECLC development, but it shapes how the building will be constructed. CSD initially resisted the historic designation process.
“That one space is right in the heart of the district, and that place is very sacred, as is all of the district, but the history of that land is so spiritual and so important,” Watters said.
The $22 million ECLC building is currently in limbo after the state Legislature required a referendum for the proposed funding mechanism, a $52 million Public Facilities Authority bond. The board was considering borrowing money through Certificates of Participation, which would’ve had a higher interest rate, to pay for the project. But the board backed away from that decision. Board Member James Herndon abstained from the decision to remove COPs financing from the agenda. He works as a financial adviser for Edward Jones and has received scrutiny over whether his votes for the project are a conflict of interest because of his job.
The school board held a budget hearing on May 27 and received critical comments about the $1.6 million allocated to the ECLC project, which remains in the budget despite its uncertain future. Chief Financial Officer Lonita Broome said the budget reflects the board’s priorities.
“If any of the priorities change, the budget can be amended,” Broome said.
Transparency and accountability
If there is one recurring theme running through the overlapping controversies consuming the school district, it’s a desire for greater transparency and accountability from district leaders.
“What many families have experienced in return is not collaboration, it’s defensiveness, silence, secrecy, and increasing hostility toward the very community this board is supposed to serve,” Nance said.
The board’s defensiveness around the issue, combined with Jason Whitaker’s controversial podcast, has attracted the interest of local television reporters. Several were present at the May 27 news conference.
Following the news conference, Nance went to City Schools of Decatur’s central office to conduct an interview with WSB-TV’s Tyisha Fernandes and witnessed some of the watchdog reporter’s brief, tense exchange with school officials.
Fernandes told Decaturish she went into the central office after notifying the administration about the news conference and not receiving a response. She said the receptionist told her she was not allowed in the building.
“I didn’t have my phone out, I didn’t have my camera person, it was just me. I was in a suit,” Fernandes said. “I told her what I was there for, she said, “I’m sorry, ma’am.” They can’t let me in.”
The reporter asked to speak to the receptionist’s boss and was greeted by a spokesperson. The spokesperson said the school district had no comment about the situation and was unaware of the news conference Fernandes had emailed her about.
“I told them I’m doing a story on the lack of transparency and this is what parents are talking about,” Fernandes said.
She said it was a new experience for her as a reporter.
“I have never been treated like that at a district headquarters, ever,” Fernandes said.
CSD spokesperson Mikkal Hart Murunga said it’s standard policy at any CSD facility for staff to notify the communications team when a reporter is present at a building.
“Once inside the lobby, the spokesperson explained that they had no details about the reporter’s story, but committed to providing a response,” Murunga said. “Additionally, the spokesperson intentionally did not prevent or intervene when the reporter went on to film on district property.”
Murunga forwarded her response to Fernandes, sent around 4 p.m. on May 27.
“City Schools of Decatur was not aware of a virtual press conference taking place today,” she said. “Consequently, the district is still gathering information and is unable to make a statement at this time.”
Murunga noted that while the district cannot comment on personnel matters, there would be a meeting to discuss personnel matters on May 28 at 4 p.m.
Nance said the exchange between Fernandes and CSD officials tracks with concerns parents have expressed for the past few years. She asked whether the board exercises any oversight of the administration when it hears concerns about the district’s leadership.
“Public schools belong to the public,” Nance said. “Accountability is not optional. It’s the bare minimum.”
Reporter Jim Bass and Deputy Editor Zoe Seiler contributed to this article.
This story was provided by WABE media partner Decaturish.
