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tion. At various times, they looked at the
West Broad School, the former Macy’s at
Georgia Square Mall, the old Hobby Lobby
off Atlanta Highway and the Georgia Power
building on Prince Avenue before settling
on a building at 394 S. Milledge Ave. It’s
currently occupied by the UGA alumni asso
ciation and fundraisers, who are moving
into One Press Place downtown.
BOE members raised questions about
the $11 million price tag and expressed
other concerns at a meeting last month.
Means then changed his recommendation
to spending $8 million to $9 million on a
new structure at the old Gaines School site,
previously used to house students whose
schools were being rebuilt, but which is
no longer needed for that purpose. Still,
he made it clear that he prefers the South
Milledge option.
“I think we acknowledged earlier,
the governance culture is awkward and
intense,” Means said. “As superintendent,
I’ve never put forward
a recommendation I
didn’t believe in. This
is the first time.”
Means warned the
board that locating
the central office at
Old Gaines could
cramp plans for a public library, entrepre
neurship program and Boys & Girls Club on
the property. Costs could also balloon over
estimates. But if the decision is put off any
longer, “we’re putting the career academy in
jeopardy,” he said.
Most administrators are currently
sharing the H.T. Edwards building with
the growing career academy, which needs
more space. Some others are housed at
Whitehead Elementary, which will even
tually need that space for classrooms.
The split means that administrators can’t
always walk down the hall to talk to each
other, or have to use makeshift office space
in another building when they meet, Means
said. “It actually puts children in jeopardy,”
he said.
According to Means, the seller has
agreed to give the district another 30 days
to do an appraisal. The board will vote on
whether to cancel the contract on 394 S.
Milledge, extend it, move on to Old Gaines
or some other option at its Oct. 10 meeting.
Earlier in the meeting, Means told
board members he is forming a new advi
sory group made up of members of par
ent-teacher organizations and Local School
Governance Teams, which make school-
level decisions as part of CCSD’s charter
agreement with the state. That will improve
communication between the administration
and parents, because the existing parent
advisory board has no organization to
report back to, he said.
Several board members pushed back
against sidelining the parent advisory
board. “I think they feel shut out,” Patricia
Yager said. “I don’t think we should be shut
ting down something that seems important
to parents in our district.”
Means called that “a perspective,” and
said “this discussion highlights a gover
nance challenge that is clear and present
right now.” Board members shouldn’t be
involved in how he
chooses to commu
nicate with parents,
Means said. President
LaKeisha Gantt asked
how board members
should express their
concerns, and Yager
said she had asked Means how best to pass
along constituents’ opinions to him, but
didn’t receive an answer. “You may not have
liked the answer, but you were given an
answer,” Means replied.
A financial presentation following that
discussion included information about
CCSD’s legal expenses, but did not list the
$15,000 a year Means is paying an attor
ney from a firm in Wisconsin, his previous
home. Board member Greg Davis inquired
about the discrepancy. “We’ll get back to
you,” Means said.
In other business, ACC Manager Blaine
Williams briefed the board on tax allocation
districts, a redevelopment tool ACC officials
are considering using for the downtown
and Newton Bridge Road area. And Human
Resources Director Lynn Dukes told the
board that CCSD needs to start offering
signing bonuses if it hopes to recruit and
retain top young teachers. [Blake Aued] ©
I don’t think we should be
shutting down something
that seems important to
parents in our district.
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OCTOBER 9, 2019 | FLAGPOLE.COM
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