Atkinson gets $114,583 for leaving, plus payment for any unused vacation, according to the agreement. It takes effect at midnight Friday if the board approves it. The agreement calls on the board and Atkinson to work together to produce a “mutually approved joint public statement that is brief and non-disparaging.” Read the rest @ AJCMeanwhile, The Champion reports that, in order to face the GA Board of Education,
the county school board voted 6-1 to hire the law firm of Wilson, Morton & Downs to represent it. Board member Nancy Jester voted against the measure and Marshall Orson was absent. Read the full report @ The ChamipionAs to why they must spend additional funds instead of using the district's legal resources when they meet with the Board of Education on February 21, The Champion explains that
Walker said, “If we had felt we could do it in-house we would be looking in that direction. We feel that we’re trying to galvanize the resources necessary to help us be successful in responding to those [AdvancED] requirements.” ... “They’re going to help us assess many of the concerns that were raised by [AdvancED] and help us see elements of it that we did not see,” Walker said. “No board member, to my knowledge, has ever violated one of [AdvancEd’s] standards. We’re not talking about breaking the law. We’re talking about standards that many of us don’t see the implications of the so-called infractions that we may have made.”A list of "so-called infractions" can be found in our post on the SACS (AdvancedED) report.
