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Three students charged with teacher in Southwest DeKalb High indecency case

Three Southwest DeKalb High School students have been charged with performing a lewd act in class in connection with a trial involving their teacher this week in Decatur. The three former students, Jerramy Bartlett, Joe’l Shumate and Kiyon Benton, ...

School district budget deficit balloons to $115 million

Two months ago, the DeKalb County School System feared it would need to balance a budget deficit next year of more than $50 million. Then things got worse. Much worse. That deficit shot to $88 million last month after district officials learned proje...

Decatur school employees face three furlough days

Teachers and administrators throughout Decatur public schools will be required to take three furlough days next year as the school system works to plug a budget deficit. Employees who work more than 190 days per year, including teachers, will take th...

Bus riders frustrated with MARTA cutback plan

David Griswold put the prospect of MARTA bus route cutbacks in plain terms as he sat waiting for a bus in Decatur on March 15. “It’s messed up,” he said. “It’s going to cause a lot of problems.” Griswold, 32, of Decatur said he works in a...

Sheriff: Department will exhaust overtime money this summer

DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown said his department will run out of overtime money this summer after the board of commissioners cut his budget next year by $900,000 – a reduction that led to his threatening commissioners with a lawsuit. But, now...

Proposal to shrink school board intensifies racial divisions among members

The DeKalb County Board of Education could vote to reduce the number of members from nine to seven this month – an issue that intensified racial divisions among board members at a recent meeting. The board voted unanimously March 8 to hold a meetin...

Superintendent steps down for now as construction investigation widens

David Schutten, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators, said he agreed with Superintendent Crawford Lewis’ decision to temporarily step down from his job. Photo by J. Cribbs
DeKalb County schools chief Crawford Lewis temporarily stepped down from his job last month after local law enforcement officials raided his home and district offices – the most recent development in a months-long investigation into the district...

FAA: Airspace changes won’t affect DeKalb residents

Local business owner and pilot Leonard Harris shouted at people who attended the meeting: “As a pilot, this scares me for the future.” Photo by J. Cribbs
For several weeks, local officials had been telling residents to attend a series of meetings across the county with Federal Aviation Administration officials over the last month. They said proposed changes to airspace over north DeKalb County would i...

Catholic school receives anonymous $1M donation

The contract found its way to Tricia DeWitt’s hands shortly before Christmas. It was an astonishing contract – a legal formality to seal DeWitt’s acceptance of a $1 million check on behalf of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Atlanta....

Superintendent steps down from job for now as construction investigation widens

DeKalb County schools chief Crawford Lewis temporarily stepped down from his job Feb. 25 after local law enforcement officials raided his home and district offices – the most recent development in a months-long investigation into the district’s c...