Schools

DeKalb Schools to Spend Millions in Legal Fees

The district's legal fees will rise this year from last year's figure of $3 million. Former Superintendent Crawford Lewis and another district executive are facing criminal charges of insider dealing and corruption.

DeKalb schools racked up $3 million on legal fees last year and could spend $6 million this year, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The newspaper pulled the information from a DeKalb County grand jury report convened in August and September, which attributed the figures to Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson.

The school system entered the school year in a financial hole. An $85-million budget deficit was covered this school year by a tax increase and big cuts.

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The school board later backed off of teacher layoffs after attrition and retirement failed to reduce the number of staff programmed in the budget.

Earlier this month, an oversight body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, said they would visit the district this fall based on complaints from parents and faculty.

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