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DeKalb County, GA — Decaturish hosted a debate for the DeKalb County Board of Education District 5 seat on Friday, April 19. Four candidates are running for the school board post that will be vacated by the incumbent, Vickie Turner, who has decided not to run again. 

Of these four, three participated in the debate: Telessa Ammons, Donna Priest-Brown, and Tiffany Tate Hogan. The debate topics ranged from declining enrollment, strategic planning to school safety. This will be an overview of their responses on major topics. The full conversation can be viewed on YouTube or on Twitch.

Ammons was double booked with another event, so she was only able to participate in a portion of the debate. 

Generally, Ammons—who identified as being a current parent of four DeKalb County school children as her primary qualification to serve on the board—was more critical of the current board than either Hogan—who identified being a lifelong educator and DeKalb resident as her primary qualification—or Priest-Brown—who identified being a proven leader and active participant in education-based community engagement as her primary qualification.

During the forum, some candidates refrained from providing specific opinions on outgoing Board Member Vickie Turner and Superintendent Dr. Devon Horton.

Ammons said that though she had a favorable impression of Horton, he could use meetings time more expeditiously, and that Horton could be more receptive to feedback.

Hogan, in answering this and other questions relating to the board and superintendent’s respective roles, emphasized her opinion that it was the board’s role to direct the superintendent, stressing the board’s oversight capacity while responding to a question about how the board, in her view, could work better with the superintendent. 

“We have to make sure we are providing parameters for him to stay within…we shouldn’t be directing operations, but we need to be placing guardrails up to provide guidance while he’s handling day-to-day operations,” Hogan said.

Of the three, Priest-Brown was the highest on Horton, saying the board needed to give him “space and time [because] what I am seeing and gathering so far, he’s doing a good job].”

There was another key discussion around standardized testing, specifically how to reduce anxiety around it for students. Ammons advocated for reducing the role of standardized testing as a measure of student capability and performance.

Priest-Brown said standardized testing was necessary, but it shouldn’t “be the primary source of determining achievement of students.” She said that early preparation was key, teaching students how to balance testing with other responsibilities, as well as informing them about the role of a good diet and sleep. 

Hogan is a test coordinator for Atlanta Public Schools but says she understands the angst. Hogan attributed the angst to the sort of broader cultural understanding of the tests within schools administering them or, rather often, the lack thereof. 

“Students should understand the purpose of the test, and not focus as much on outcomes from it, because it’s only one data point,” she said. Hogan added that in her role, she always tries to have fun with it. 

This led into a conversation on mental health, where all candidates agreed that not enough is currently being done and committed to supporting the expansion of initiatives around mental health if elected. Priest-Brown talked about the importance of talking about these issues, getting rid of the taboo, advocating for more conversations around mental health, and just talking about life in order to build community.

Ammons said her approach would be centered around paying teachers more, citing financial instability as a major driver for dysregulation, as well as encouraging more outdoor activities and for schools to build community collaboration with students and parents. 

All candidates were also aligned on the strategic plan, basically echoing the sentiment of an initial response by Priest-Brown about “making a strategic plan that doesn’t just sit on the shelf.” 

Hogan added a focus on evaluating based on data in order to monitor progress and communicate what is being done to constituents. Ammons said, “planning and implementing are different things, and DeKalb has an implementing issue,” and this needs to be addressed by adding accountability for when this doesn’t happen.

The final three areas were the policy meat-and-potatoes of the discussion, where candidates (except Ammons, who had left at this point) gave perspectives on three big challenges facing the district: declining enrollment, how to attract and retain better teachers and weapons detectors in high schools.

On weapons detectors, Priest-Brown was strongly in favor, while Hogan expressed a more favorable opinion, expressing emphasis on evaluating the data behind the program and addressing the root cause. Hogan emphasized culture over paying teachers more.

“School culture matters, we have to train school leaders to create cultures that nurture and support teachers,” Hogan said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much money, if teachers feel like they are being bullied and harassed they are not going to stay”.

Priest-Brown responded with a broader sort of approach highlighting professional development, competitive payment, being heard, safety, and mental health support 

As for enrollment decline, candidates distinguished themselves again with their answers. Priest-Brown called into question the imbalance of north and south, saying the “empty seats are in the south DeKalb” and called for embracing the options of the public school district and hiring better teachers in South DeKalb. 

Hogan cited the long tail of COVID-19 and aging neighborhoods as playing key roles in declining figures. She said dialing in on the cause of low achievement in schools is an area where the district could make major strides.

“You’re not going to put your child in a school where 40% of the kids are reading on grade level,” she said.

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