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Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform support Nancy Jester

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Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Cost of Government Center announced their support of Nancy Jester today in the Republican Primary for Georgia State School Superintendent.

“ATR and COGC  laud the efforts of Ms. Jester to improve the education system in the state of Georgia through sensible spending, increased transparency and strong accountability” said Norquist.

Mr. Norquist is the president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request.

Jester said, “I am honored that Mr. Norquist, ATR, and the Cost of Government Center are supporting my campaign.  I am dedicated to giving Georgians transparency and robust disclosures so they can see how their education tax dollars are being spent.”

Please help spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends and family.  Ask them to join you, Grover Norquist, Erick Erickson, Sen. Josh McKoon and former Sen. Eric Johnson in voting for Nancy Jester, the proven, effective, conservative candidate for Georgia State School Superintendent.

And on election day, or when you go vote early, remember, “Nancy Jester is sixth on the ballot, first for kids and taxpayers.”

 

posted by Nancy Jester in Georgia State School Superintendent Race,Nancy Jester and have No Comments

DeKalb Accreditation

I am pleased to hear the DeKalb school system’s accreditation status has been upgraded from “probation” to “warned”.  I worked diligently to shine light on the poor fiscal management of DeKalb.  Some of my work was even cited in the SACS report from 2012.   Clearly DeKalb still has a long way to go.  Academic achievement and growth in many schools is unacceptable.  DeKalb’s graduation rate, at 58.9%, is far too low.  Of the 25 high schools in DeKalb, 8 have graduation rates below 50%, while only 4 have rates above 75%.  All four of these schools are specialty or magnet schools. 

I appreciate that SACS finally recognized that DeKalb needed some sort of intervention.  The entire episode exposes the structural weaknesses in our state’s accountability model.  While SACS can provide a useful and supplemental service via their third party accreditation products, Georgia must not continue to abdicate it’s role in holding districts accountable for their results and financial management.  AdvancED/SACS has 5 standards for school district accreditation.  While these standards are meant to drive improvement in various processes for a school district, not one standard measures outcomes for children. There is no minimum graduation rate or achievement level necessary to earn accreditation. 

In many states, the accreditation status of schools is determined by their Department of Education or comparable public agency.  Texas and Virginia both accredit their schools based on defined, measurable performance results.  Their graduation rates are 87% and 89% respectively.  These states are rewarding success with autonomy and no longer accept failure without consequences.  Additionally, Texas has a Financial Integrity system that has 20 indicators that measure the financial health of a district and push money to be spent in the classroom.   

From the Texas Education Agency’s website:

“The purpose of the financial accountability rating system is to ensure that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources.  The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to manage their financial resources better in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.”

Georgia has 0 financial integrity measurements for our school districts.

If Georgia had a system for financial integrity, like Texas, DeKalb county could not have engaged in the deceptive budgeting practices I uncovered.  School districts would be forced to allocate money to instruction and not a bloated bureaucracy.  If Georgia’s Department of Education had an accreditation system like that of Texas or Virginia, our schools would be rated and accredited based on measurable performance outcomes. 

I am running to be the State School Superintendent to bring these types of structural reforms to our state.

posted by Nancy Jester in AdvancED SACS,DeKalb County School District,Georgia Education,Georgia State School Superintendent Race,Nancy Jester and have No Comments

Campaign Reception in Support of Nancy Jester

Campaign Reception in Support of Nancy Jester
Please Join Us
Honorable Eric Johnson
Brigadier General Denis Shortal, Dunwoody City Councilman
Senator Josh McKoon
Representative Tom Taylor
J. Max Davis, Mayor of Brookhaven
Bate Mattison, Brookhaven City Council Member
Todd and Kimberly Cochran
Molly Dye
Shawn Keefe
Eero and Angela Maki
Donna and Terry Nall, Dunwoody City Councilman
John and Lauren Oselette
Melanie Stockwell
Rich Thompson
Terri and Doug Thompson, Dunwoody City Councilman
Stefan and Lisa Victory
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Monday December 9, 2013
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Café Intermezzo
4505 Ashford-Dunwoody Road
Dunwoody, Georgia 30346
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Suggested Contribution Levels
Host $1,000 ~ Friend $500 ~ Attendee $250 (per couple)
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Kindly RSVP to Robyn Lynch
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Make Checks Payable to:
Nancy Jester for State School Superintendent
2472 Jett Ferry Road, Suite 400, Box 177 – Dunwoody, GA – 30338
Nancy Jester
2472 Jett Ferry Road
Dunwoody, Georgia 30338
posted by Nancy Jester in Georgia State School Superintendent Race,Nancy Jester and have No Comments