Contract ties a knot in school 'takeover' idea
If this doesn't qualify as a conflict of interest, the official definition needs updating.
A former high-ranking member of Gov. Nathan Deal's staff named Erin Hames, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has signed a $96,000 no-bid contract with Atlanta Public Schools as an adviser to help keep schools in that troubled system from being subject to state intervention.
She ought to be pretty adept at that task: As Deal's deputy chief of staff for policy and legislative affairs -- a post from which she reportedly did not resign until weeks after accepting the APS job -- she was one of the chief designers of legislation that, if voters approve it next year, will allow the state to take over struggling public schools. According to the AJC, almost one-third of the Atlanta system's schools would be subject to potential takeover under that law.
The organization she will lead, ReformEd, is funded by "two national families" the identities of whom Deal's office apparently knows but would not identify, nor would Hames.
The timeline for this sequence of events is troubling enough so far, but here's the kicker: Hames will remain on the state payroll at least over the next year as a consultant to the governor on, among other things, education issues.
So what we have is a former state official instrumental in creating a law to give the state unprecedented authority over public schools, who will now advise public schools on how to avoid falling under that authority -- while still advising the state on education, at taxpayer expense.
Common Cause Georgia Chairman Clint Murphy said it is a "clear conflict of interest and an insult to the people of Georgia."
Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said Hames is "uniquely positioned" to help APS.
No kidding.
Hank homers again
Atlanta Braves baseball legend and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron is in his 80s now, but he can still connect in the clutch.
Aaron and his wife, Billye Suber Aaron, have presented the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta with a $3 million gift that will expand the school's medical education facilities and build a new Billye Suber Aaron Student Pavilion.
Aaron's record-breaking career is familiar to sports fans worldwide, but his wife has also been a pioneer: Billye Aaron, a broadcast journalist, was the South's first black woman to host a daily television program. The Aarons have long led or been affiliated with multiple philanthropic projects involving children, educational opportunities and scholarships.
The Aarons' gift, said school President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, "is an enduring legacy of two people who clearly care about the future of medicine, science and the health and wellness of the Georgia community and the nation."
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Contract ties a knot in school 'takeover' idea."