The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current, January 10, 2019, Image 8

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The champion newspaper., January 10, 2019, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextLOCAL THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 - 16, 2019 • Page 8 A parent asks questions about recent threats made to DeKalb schools. (Photo by Taylor Robins) Parents ask questions after school threats BY TAYLOR ROBINS taylor@dekalbchamp.com After threats were made to DeKalb County School District schools in Dunwoody, city and school district officials invited parents and other interested parties to Dunwoody City Hall to ask questions about student safety Dec. 20. Dunwoody police officials assured parents that their students are safe while on school grounds and that the threats made on Nov. 16 and Dec. 13 are not credible. During November and December, there were 17 reported threats in Dunwoody. City Schools of Decatur and other school districts in the nation also have been victims of “swatting incidents,” that are made to illicit police response. The swatting incidents are considered not credible, according to Dunwoody police. “No incident has occurred, no bomb has been located and no school shooting in reference to these incidents has occurred,” said Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan. “But it is absolutely disruptive.” District and city police responded to each threat with a lockdown or evacuation of the schools targeted. There is currently an ongoing investigation. “I’m curious to know the percentage our community is experiencing this compared to a nation or state level,” a parent asked. Grogan answered the parent by saying Dunwoody, as a whole, has not experienced many swatting incidents. Aside from the school threats, the city’s last swatting incident was about 18 months ago at an attorney’s office. Grogan said that the same phone number that places calls to threaten schools is also being used to call other areas, including Canada. Parents voiced their concerns about how and when parents are notified when a school is locked down or evacuated. According to DCSD region I Superintendent Sherry Johnson, after DCSD protocol is followed to determine if a threat is credible and safety action is determined—lock down or evacuation—the parents are then notified. Parents were not satisfied with the response, saying that they get information faster from their children than from the district. “Is there any way that we can get information saying that there is an issue and you’ll let us know more just in case our children call?” another parent asked. Johnson said information will only be sent after student safety is ensured, “The first priority is to make sure that the kids are safe and then to let the parents know.” DCSD officials also defined the levels of lockdowns a school can experience. Lockdowns range from a level one lockdown—where no one is allowed to enter or exit the school building and people inside the school can move freely—to a level three lockdown—where everyone inside the school is to remain in place and no one is allowed in or out of the school building. Parents then questioned why there were inconsistencies in safety action among the schools for the same swatting call. A DCSD elementary school was evacuated and two other DCSD elementary schools were placed on lockdown after a bomb threat Dec. 13. DCSD police officials said because they know the swatting calls come from similar phone numbers that schools will be placed on a level one lockdown. Parents then had concerns on possible future threats not being taken seriously “We treat every threat as it’s credible,” said DCSD Police Director Bradley Gober. “We go to a level one lockdown until we can assess the situation.” “You can’t make that assumption with our children,” a parent responded. Parents also expressed concerns about schools not following lockdown protocol. One parent allegedly to entered a school while a lockdown was in place to eat lunch with a student and then left. Another parent said her student had to “hide in a cubby,” during a level one lockdown. School officials said they would communicate proper protocol with school staff Mental and emotional effects caused by the lockdowns and evacuations were also discussed during the meeting. Officials said they could not answer all questions because of the ongoing investigation. v DeKalb County Government MANUEL J. MALOOF CENTER Administration Building & Auditorium 1300 Commerce Drive Decatur, Georgia Michael L. Thurmond, Chief Executive Officer Board of Commissioners District 1 - Nancy Jester District 2 - Jeff Rader Districts - Larry Johnson District 4 - Steve Bradshaw ITictrirt R - Moi-oHq n*aviio In) Commissioner pay raise controversy reaches superior court BY HORACE HOLLOMAN horace@dekalbchamp.com DeKalb County’s governing authority and a DeKalb County resident met in DeKalb County Superior Court Jan. 10 in downtown Decatur regarding commissioners’ vote to raise their pay. Judge Gregory Adams presided over the case. According to the complaint, Williams is seeking to be reimbursed for attorney and court fees as well as to have commissioners fined up to $ 1,000 for violating open meetings laws. On Feb. 27, commissioners voted 6-1 to increase their yearly salaries from a base of $40,530 to $64,637. The approval created backlash from some DeKalb County residents. On Aug. 28, several residents, along with the organization Concerned Citizens for Effective Government, filed a lawsuit against commissioners alleging the vote to increase their salary violated open meetings laws. According to the complaint filed in superior court, the compensation vote violated the open meetings law, in part, because the item was not placed on the meeting agenda. The complaint also argues the board of commissioners lack the power to increase their salaries without a county referendum. “A central tenet and foundation of self-government is consent. The basic right of citizens is to have unconstitutional laws void by the judiciary and the right of taxpayers not to have unlawful ordinances passed to exact money from the government treasury,” said Ed Williams, chair of Concerned Citizens for Effective Government, in a statement. Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr issued an opinion on commissioners’ pay raise on June 20. “The board’s failure to include their salary increase on the meeting agenda in advance of the meeting not only frustrated the purpose of the Open Meetings Act, it violated the Act’s requirement that ‘all matters expected to come before [the] agency’ should be included in the agenda,” Can- said in his letter. According to Carr, DeKalb County attorney Viviane Ernstes said putting a salary ordinance on the Feb. 27 agenda would “likely create confusion amongst stakeholders and the public concerning which entity had the authority to increase salaries.” Carr said commissioners misled DeKalb residents. “The actions of the board of commissioners in this instance fell short of the obligations imposed by the open meetings act, which are designed to ensure that the public’s trust in its elected officials is not misplaced as they carry out the people’s business,” Carr wrote. “The citizens of DeKalb County deserve better.” On Nov. 16, DeKalb County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling released an opinion stating there was insufficient evidence to support criminal intent by commissioners. “Our key factor behind the decision was the law. After thoroughly reviewing the Attorney General and County Attorney’s opinion, the Open Meetings Act and the facts of the allegations, we believe there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of criminal intent by the Board of Commissioners to violate the Open Meetings Act,” Stribling said in a statement to The Champion. For an update to this story, visit thechampionnewspaper. com.