From January 2010:

The DeKalb County Board of Education recently granted a contract extension to Superintendent Dr. Crawford Lewis. The extension comes on the heels of budget shortfalls and economic strain, leaving teachers, students, faculty members, and the like outraged at the terms of Dr. Lewis’ extension.
“This was not the right time to take a raise, especially at a time when our school system budget-wise is not doing very well,” said senior Stephen Ruffin.
The Organization of DeKalb Educators (ODE), a professional association for DeKalb County School System employees, recently released a statement highlighting major sacrifices made by employees of the DeKalb County School System.
The statement addressed to the Board of Education and titled “ODE Statement Concerning Possible Changes to Superintendent Dr. Crawford Lewis’ Contract,” lists reasons for their opposition such as “loss of support personnel in areas such as art… and Plant Services,” bus driver pay cuts, loss of cost of living adjustments and step increases.
“It looks bad symbolically for the superintendent to get a raise when teacher salary has diminished this year,” said James Demer, co-chair of the English Department. “It is not to say that Crawford Lewis does not deserve the raise, but it just looks bad when the leader gets a raise and the troops don’t.”
Approved in November 2008, the Board of Education’s Comprehensive Restructuring Plan (CRP) proposed rescinding step increases to save the county an estimated $7.5 million. The CRP also includes a two percent pay cut by central office employees and the elimination of year-round schools, driver’s education, and one magnet program. The plan states that salaries and benefits account for 91 percent of the system’s budget and aims to decrease this percentage to 87 through a series of cuts.
The Board’s intentions were legitimized in the approved budget for the fiscal year 2010. The budget reduces the percentage of salaries and benefits by 2.1 percent, from 91.2 percent to 89.1 percent.
In addition to cuts proposed in the CRP, the budget for the FY2010 takes the cuts and restructuring to another level. The budget adds an increase in class sizes that would potentially save $18.1 million, but keeps class sizes below the state maximum number of students allowed in a classroom.
The approved budget for 2010 stresses the current economic turmoil, including an additional $35.5 million cut from the system’s budget. However, teachers argue the recent pay raise given to Lewis goes against the grain of the Board of Education’s cry of strain on the budget.
“It was not right to give him a raise at this time when they are ‘crying broke’,” said physical science teacher and ODE representative Fredericka Moore.
In a recent [January 2010] interview with the Blue & Gold, Lewis explained his view of the basis of his raise. Upon signing his first contract with DeKalb County School System, Lewis agreed to a salary of $190,000.
“Based on the numbers, he is underpaid. That doesn’t take away from the fact that even if he is underpaid, is now the time to get that raise?” said Ruffin. “He negotiated the terms of his original contract. If he felt that he was to be severely underpaid why did he not negotiate this when he was hired?”
According to Lewis, the contract he signed for the fiscal years 2007-2009 stated that his salary would start at $230,000 and would increase $10,000 each year. However, Lewis has taken a series of voluntary pay cuts on the same grounds that ODE believes his contract extension should not have been granted.
“His raise may very well be justified and reasonable,” said Demer. “It doesn’t seem like an outrageous amount of money to me, but in light of teachers’ pay getting cut essentially, any raise is a lot.”
The Blue & Gold staff recently held a press conference with Dr. Lewis in which he answered questions pertaining to the facts of this article. Excerpts of the interview can be read below.

Blue & Gold: With Chamblee being repeatedly deferred on the school improvement list, what is the decision-making process as to whether to build a new school or renovate the current structure?
Crawford Lewis: The Capital Improvement Program has $466 million dollars and it will sunset in 2012. We will have done a lot of improvements on roofing, heating and cooling and constructed new schools [Dunwoody Elementary and Tucker High School]. I am working with the Board of Education to make sure a new Chamblee High School is high on the list for the next SPLOST after 2012. There is only so much you can do with a school this old. You can keep piecemealing and piecemealing, but I know the heat does not work properly in the winter and the air does not work in summer. I came here a couple of years ago because teachers had become ill because of the air quality. Chamblee is one of the oldest schools in the district. [Board Member for District 1] Jim Redovian and I have already begun the conversation for the next SPLOST. The time is not for a remodeling project but to tear the structure down and build a new Chamblee High School.
B&G: What are your plans for updating and fixing the sports facilities at Chamblee?
CL: I am keenly aware that Chamblee High School athletics are in the worst situation. I know football practice, band practice, and everything takes place on one field. I know we used Murphy Candler Park for softball, but the truth of the matter is that we need to purchase some additional land space. We are always keeping our eyes open for land availability in this area. But people are either pricing us out of what we can afford or the land size does not meet our needs. We know Chamblee athletics, space wise, does not have the same opportunities as other DeKalb high schools. The answer is that we are looking for land; we are continuously looking for space.
B&G: In the grand scheme of things, the $15,000 raise is not that much money. But since it comes in a time of cutbacks and layoffs, it is troublesome for people. What psychological effects do you think it has, and what do you have to say to defend the timing of your raise?
CL: You notice I have not gone on TV. I have not made any comments. You are the only group that asked me that I have agreed to talk to. The reason why I have agreed to talk to you is because you are students. I believe students should get the facts. The reason I have not talked to the media is because the media will write what it chooses to write, regardless of the facts. The media will take a 45-minute interview and turn it into a sound bite that will make you look like you are defending something.
The superintendent’s contract is different than any other employee’s contract. My contract is a three-year contract and everyone else is a one-year contract. When my contract got within 12 to 18 months [of expiring] that is usually the time when if a board has not come and talked to you, that is your queue that you probably need to start looking for another job. So when my contract came within about 15 months, the Board added a year on to it. There are eight dimensions they graded me on. I was successful in all eight dimensions, and I did not need a professional development plan as a superintendent. Here are the facts that are not being printed. I would never ask you to do anything but print the facts. You can certainly have access to my contracts. My contracts are open records.
When I signed the first contract in 2004, it was not for a full year. I became superintendent in October 2004. At that time, I was a high level administrator in the district. The Board first wanted to see if I could do the job before giving me a well return, which made a lot of sense to me. It is one thing to be a high level official; it is another to be the superintendent. The Board graded me from October to June. They were pleased with my work. After that, they decided to give me a three-year extension. My first contract was $190,000, which is public record. The Board said to me, we know that what we are paying you is not comparable to other metro districts. The reason they could not at the time was because they had just agreed on a buyout with the former superintendent [Dr. Johnny Brown]. The Board had taken a lot of criticism because I think it was for around $400,000 or so. The Board said we are not in the position to pay you the going rate, but we will do the right thing– just trust us.
The Board gave me a three-year extension but they made it at $215,000, and they said to me, we know we still have not done the right thing. I never complained about my contract for 2005-2006, even though I clearly knew I was underpaid. When you work in a place as long as I have, it is not all about the dollars. A lot of it is about the opportunity to give back and do something you think you have the skill set to do.
So when the Board signed me up for 2007- 2009, which was the last contract before I signed this contract, I agreed $230,000 for the first year, $240,000 for the second year, and $250,000 in 2009. I did receive the $230,000 in 2007, I did receive the $240,000 in 2008, but I did not receive the $250,000 this past year. I gave up the ten thousand raise because it was the first year staff members did not receive a raise.
There are a lot of untruths out there; all employees received a step increase and a raise in 2007. In 2008, all employees received a two-and-half percent cost of living adjustment. This was the first year [2009] that employees did not receive a step increase or a cost of living adjustment.
In addition to giving up the raise, I also gave up two percent of my salary [which is roughly $8,000]. I also gave up 50 percent of my $24,000 academic incentive bonus plan. So in total, I gave up $30,000 that I really did not have to give up. But I did, because I thought it was the right thing to do, and that is what leaders do. When your troops are not able to get something, then why should you? If you included what I gave up in Board Shelter Tax Annuity, I really have given up closer to $45,000, and that is not being printed anywhere.
You can say okay, Dr. Lewis, that is all well and good, but the economy is bad, people are losing their jobs, and I want to respond to that, too. Next week on the [January] twentieth, I will have my first work session with the Board to begin work on next year’s budget. If you Google places such as Montgomery County, Maryland, Fairfax County, Virginia, Los Angeles Unified School District, Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, what you are going to find is that teachers are being laid off by the thousands. We have not laid a teacher off. I think a lot of that has to do with me, I have been pretty skilled at keeping everybody working. Another thing you should know is this year’s budget, I am proposing that nobody loses their job and we have a $56 million deficit that I am dealing with. I have to balance the budget, which is state law.
People are complaining about what I am doing or not doing, but they don’t say that DeKalb, unlike a lot of its sister metro area districts, has not laid off anybody. And I think a lot of that is due to my skills and the skills of the board of education and the people around me. I do not take one hundred percent credit for it.
This contract is for 2010-2012. Superintendents; when they sign a contract, never know if it is their last contract. So, this could very well be my last contract with DeKalb County Schools. The Board has not said that, but I realize the Board can always make a decision, even now today. If the Board wanted to bring in a superintendent today, they would spend probably $350,000 to $400,000 to bring in a new superintendent. The Board felt, and I felt the Board was accurate, that they had a long-term investment in me and they felt like if they brought in a new person, they would have to pay $100,000 to $150,000 more than what I make today. They also felt if you bring in a new superintendent for a system this large [DeKalb is the third largest in Georgia] with over 100,000 students; 7,500 teachers; 14,000 full-time employees; 2,000 part-time employees, and we have more schools and buildings than any school system in the state, it could be daunting. We are the 25th largest school district in America.
Let me discuss something that is in my contract that is in today’s paper– [Atlanta Journal Constitution January 12, 2010] my expense account. I have been on the same expense account, which is $1,000 a month for five years. I have not complained about it. When I have taken people to dinner when it is school related, I have often paid out of my pocket. My incentive package is less than everyone else’s in the metro, and I welcome you to do an open records request and compare it to Gwinnett, Atlanta, if you want to make a comparison. My frustration is that none of this is being printed. So you might say, Dr. Lewis, why don’t you go to the papers and tell them? Because then it looks like I am defending it. I work 24/7, my phone never stops ringing, that is what I signed up for, so I am not complaining about it. I do not think I have to defend my raise, especially one that has been five years in the making. Again, I have kept quiet because leaders do not complain. I have taken a lot of criticism and a lot of complaints, and that is what comes with this job.
I will never try to muzzle freedom of speech. All of us are entitled to that as Americans. I want you to know whatever you write; you will not have any concerns from the superintendent because that is your right. I came here because it is important for the students to know the full story. It was not as important for me to go on TV.
B&G: Do you have any plans to address the Organization of DeKalb Educators?
CL: Like I was just saying about the freedom of speech. Teachers, custodians, food service workers, paraprofessionals, and bus drivers are not going to be muzzled. ODE has ill-advised a lot of our employees. I think it is intentional, and I will be very specific with you. You have bus drivers yelling that they have not had a raise in three years. Food service workers saying that, too. Last year when I did the budget and proposed it to the Board, the protected class [meaning they lose no salary or benefits] was bus drivers, food service workers, and our custodians. Why did I choose that to be our protected class? Generally speaking, they have the lowest wages of anybody in the district. I felt strongly and the Board concurred that this group should be protected. That group has never lost a nickel, even when others did. So when ODE exposes in the newspaper and on TV that bus drivers and custodians have not gotten a raise in three years, that is totally untrue. A lot of people know the facts and choose not to speak the facts. Employees have a right to join professional organizations, but I do think they are being misled. Quite frankly, I think the people at ODE are doing whatever they can to justify their jobs, but they are doing it at the expense of people who do not know the facts.
B&G: We find it a problem at Chamblee that there is no toilet paper a lot of the time. Is this because of budget cutbacks or because we [the student body] are wasteful?
CL: There is no budget cutback that deals with you not having toilet paper [laughter]. I will certainly put in an order for you when I leave today [Chamblee’s shipment arrived on January 12, 2010]. We find at a lot of our schools that kids go in, take off the whole roll, and throw it in the toilet. We don’t know why but we see a lot of that. There are no budget cuts in toiletries for young people.
B&G: What are your main goals over the next three years?
CL: Every school makes AYP [adequate yearly progress] and I want the expectation to be that our schools are doing too well and will not be surprised when a school comes off AYP. We hold the principals accountable for that. I want our math scores to become comparable to math scores throughout the nation. We are working on things from a systemic level to address that. I would like to see a higher value placed on training our principals and teachers. The job of being a teacher or a principal is getting tougher every day. I want to make sure that we are equipping our principals to be good leaders and so on and so forth. I look forward to the day when our facilities program is not as one-sided as it is today. Even though we had three SPLOSTs and over a billion dollars come into our school district, we still have over two billion dollars in needs with our facilities. If we are able in the next three years to bring schools like Chamblee and others to state and national standards facilities-wise, then we would have done a nice job. When my time is over and done as superintendent, all I want to make sure of is that I left a good foundation for the next superintendent and we have conquered a lot of our challenges, such as our students doing well across the board, and that there is equity from north DeKalb to south DeKalb. I just want to make this place a better place for the next generation of young people. If we can leave it that way, I will consider my time as superintendent fairly successful.