June 10, 2008

Business Leaders, Educators and School Board Experts Launch Commission for School Board Excellence

School Board Governance Task Force Co-Chairs (L to R) John Rice, vice chairman of GE and President & CEO of GE Infrastructure; Gary Price, managing partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Phil Jacobs, retired president of AT&T (formally BellSouth) in Georgia.

90-day task force will examine national best practices
As research shows one-fifth of Georgia school boards have struggled in last 10 years

At the request of the State Board of Education, a diverse group of business leaders, educators and school board experts today launched a 90-day task force to recommend ways to strengthen school boards across Georgia.

“In this era of accountability, where we hold teachers, students and principals responsible, we must also hold school boards accountable and have clear standards for them,” said Wanda Barrs, chair of the State Board of Education. “The business community was a natural choice for this task force because, besides parents and students, the business community has the most at stake when schools struggle. Good schools equal a good business climate.”

The group also discussed research showing that the scope of the problem goes beyond any one county or region.

“In the last 10 years, at least one-fifth of all school boards in the state have had problems,” said Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, the parent organization of the K-12 division of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS accredits more than 90 percent of the schools in Georgia. “These difficulties range from micromanagement of staff and lack of strong decision-making, to mismanagement of funds and refusal to follow a board's own policies.”

In addition, in any single year, about 15-20 county school boards struggle to meet the standards for accreditation, according to AdvancED. This research is based on the SACS Council on Accreditation and School Improvement quality assurance reviews -- required once every five years to maintain accreditation.

The task force includes leaders from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and AdvancED. In addition, the task force will include business leaders, educators and school board experts.

A comprehensive list of task force members is below. Its co-chairs are:

John Rice, vice chairman of GE and President & CEO of GE Infrastructure, former chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and its regional education policy committee, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence
Gary Price, managing partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers, chair of the regional education policy committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence.
Phil Jacobs, retired president of AT&T (formally BellSouth) in Georgia, retired chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence

“We think the State Board of Education is showing real leadership on this issue, and we are pleased to answer their call,” said Rice.

“The bottom line is this – effective and efficient school boards are important,” said Price. “So, when school boards are not doing a good job operating, everyone suffers, but the students suffer the most.”

“We want to help make the issue of struggling school boards a distant memory,” said Jacobs. “Good school boards result in good schools that produce good students.”

North Highland, an Atlanta-based business consulting firm, has agreed to provide pro bono professional support for the task force.

The task force, which was formed to address the issues that jeopardize how local school boards are run, held its first meeting today, from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. at Georgia Public Broadcasting, Studio C.

For more information on the Commission for School Board Excellence, go to eboard.eboardsolutions.com.

Commission for School Board Excellence Comprehensive Member List

Co-Chair
John Rice
Vice Chairman of GE
President & CEO of GE Infrastructure
Former Chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s
Regional Education Policy Committee
Co-Chair of the Commission for Scool Board Excellence

Co-Chair
Gary Price
Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Chair of the Regional Education Policy Committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Co-Chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence

Co-Chair
Phil Jacobs
Retired President of AT&T (formally BellSouth) in Georgia
Retired Chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
Co-Chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence

Albert J. Abrams
Vice President, External Affairs
Macon State College

Vance D. Bell
CEO
Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

Brooks Coleman
Representative, District 97
Georgia House of Representatives

Richard Dorfman
President & CEO
Federal Home Loan Bank

Buster Evans
Superintendent
Forsyth County Schools

Jeff Firestone
Vice President, Legal Department
UPS Foundation

Ed Heys
Atlanta Deputy Managing Partner
Deloitte

Cathy Hill
Region Manager - Metro South Region
Georgia Power

Albert Hodge
Eleventh Congressional District
Georgia State Board of Education
President and CEO
Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce

Audrey Hollingsworth
SVP, Director Financial Services HR
Synovus

Art Hopkins
President
Macquarium Intelligent Communications

John Wesley Langdale, III
President
Langdale Industries, Inc.