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2010 Education Panel Discussion
How Education / Business Partnerships Improve Georgia Schools
March 19, 2010 - 7:30 AM to 9:45 AM
Sponsored By:
Georgia Pacific
GE Energy
North Highland
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The Value Of School Board Governance
by John Rice, Gary Price and Phil Jacobs
March 5, 2009
L
ast year we watched as the Clayton County School System was placed on probation by the
accrediting organization, SACS (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). Some 3,500
teachers, 52,000 students and their parents were at the mercy of school board members whose actions
led the system to being placed on probation.
As Clayton struggled, students feared that if the system lost accreditation, they might not
be able to go to the college of their choice and they would not be able to use HOPE scholarships.
Teachers worried about the loss of income and future employability in other systems. And parents
and businesses braced for the impact a failing school system would have on their community.
We all know Clayton ultimately lost SACS accreditation in September. Meanwhile, the
Governor, the State Superintendent of Schools and the State Board of Education could only watch.
They had no legal authority to intervene, to turn the system around and to help those students and
teachers.
SACS reports that in the last 10 years, about one-fifth of Georgia's systems had trouble
meeting accreditation requirements. Just recently, Haralson County was placed on probation.
Clayton's loss of accreditation gives Georgia the distinction of having one of only two systems in
the nation to ever lose accreditation (the other was DuVal County, Florida, in the 1960s).
In April, the State Board of Education had the foresight to ask for ways to improve
Georgia's school boards so that we can prevent another situation like Clayton. The State Board of
Education asked four partners - the Georgia Chamber, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Georgia
Partnership for Excellence in Education and AdvancED (parent organization for SACS) - to form a
90-day task force to research best practices in board governance.
The Commission for School Board Excellence was formed in June, comprised of 25-plus business
leaders, school board members, school superintendents and members of the legislature. We co-chaired
the commission holding four meetings around the state from June until September, with Helene
Lollis, president and CEO of Pathbuilders, Inc., chairing a supporting advisory committee including
education stakeholders like the Georgia School Boards Association, the Georgia Superintendents
Association, the Georgia Department of Education. Dave Peterson, chairman of North Highland
Company, provided excellent pro bono consulting to the commission.
The commission tapped best practice systems across the state and nation. We learned that
there are excellent examples of good school boards in our state including right here in Atlanta
with Dr. Beverly L. Hall's leadership along with the Atlanta Public School Board.
The recommendations include ways to improve school board governance with ethics, training,
clarification of roles and responsibilities, and additional qualifications. We recommended these
improvements for all Georgia school boards so that no system ever has the need for intervention.
However, if another school system is in jeopardy, the commission wanted the assurance that someone
- the State Board of Education or the Governor - could do something to turn the system around. We
included a temporary state intervention as a last resort in our recommendations.
Governor Sonny Perdue announced at the Georgia Chamber's annual Eggs & Issues breakfast
and his State of the State address that he would include the commission's recommendations in his
legislative package. Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED (parent organization for SACS)
said, "If Georgia adopts a significant majority of the commission's recommendations, Georgia will
be a lead state in good school board governance."
Governor Perdue's legislation will make a very positive difference in public education. Now,
more than ever, we understand the critical difference school boards can make on student
achievement. We owe it to our students and communities to support Governor Perdue's legislation
this year.
Commission for School Board Excellence co-chairs:
John Rice, vice chairman of GE and president & CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure
Gary Price, market managing partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and chair of the regional education policy committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber
Phil Jacobs, retired president of AT&T (formerly BellSouth) in Georgia and past chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
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