EDITOR’S LETTER

The school board decided in July that they weren’t going to extend Carstarphen’s contract, but rather than make it public, they decided to wait until September, according to Chairman Jason Esteves, as not to disrupt the start of the new school year. It also gave the board time to hire a public relations firm to deal with the fallout they obviously knew was on the way.

The board held a questionable executive session to discuss a “personnel matter” at its September meeting, emerging to announce it had decided not to renew Carstarphen’s contract beyond the 2019-20 school term. If the board had already made its decision over the summer, this meeting, on its face, feels like a sham. Initially, Esteves wouldn’t say which members voted not to renew the superintendent’s contract and only after pressing by local media was that revealed.

When the board members who voted against renewal finally did speak up, they gave no concrete reasons. What seemed to bubble to the surface is that a new “vision plan” for Atlanta Public Schools is in the works and the board wants a superintendent who will follow that vision. It calls into question just how much autonomy the new superintendent will have and stokes fear of micromanaging at the board level. I’ve covered local governments for 30 years and I can tell you, that will end in tears.

With graduation rates up 18 percent and vastly improved Milestone test scores, Carstarphen has righted the sinking ship that was APS in 2014. Who will guide the system next might be in for rougher waters (see related story page 7).