Henry County denies racism involved in rescinding contract offer

But four African-American state lawmakers from Henry County wrote a two-page letter Friday to Gov. Nathan Deal asking him to intervene. The elected officials charged some school district officials were never serious about hiring Gadson because he’s black, citing examples such as data showing that about two-thirds of students disciplined are black.

Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, principal author of the letter, told the AJC Sunday night that he had received copies of the emails between the parties, talked to Henry County citizens, “and was able to see a lack of cooperation or good faith negotiations occurred.”

Tuesday morning, Henry County released a letter from the school board chairman giving reasons the contract was rescinded. Read that here.

Jones, a Henry County businessman who’s been critical of the school district’s disciplinary policies, said, “The only conclusion I could come to was because of racism.”

He asked the governor to intervene because he believes the school board is dysfunctional. Deal did intervene in the DeKalb School Board in 2013, replacing six members because its board was in “open warfare” with itself and put the system’s accreditation in danger, according to a report from the time.

Deal’s spokeswoman, Jen Talaber Ryan, said Monday the governor currently has no authority to get involved, unless there’s a condition such as Henry’s accreditation agency putting the school system on probation.

Superintendent Rodney Bowler, who planned to retire, will remain in place until the end of September, officials said. Henry officials plan to renew its search for a permanent superintendent.

Henry County has become more racially diverse in recent years, but that change has come with challenges. In May, for example, the local Civil War museum shut down, with some blaming an African-American county commissioner for the move.

In a recent five-year stretch, black student enrollment in Henry County has increased from 46 to 52 percent while the percentage of white students has declined from 40 to 31 percent.

The school district has faced complaints in recent years that African-American students are disproportionally disciplined. Henry officials believe the criticism is unwarranted, citing improvements to the district's guidelines in recent years and a decline in disciplinary hearings.

Gadson is a former associate superintendent for high schools in the Atlanta school system. In that role, some thought his concerns expressed to principals about subpar student performance was a directive to change grades. Gadson said his goal was to ensure students learned and received help.

Gadson, who worked in other school districts, was named several weeks ago as Henry County’s sole finalist for the job. The school district held several town hall-style meetings introducing Gadson to residents and began negotiations with him. Records show the two sides were far off in reaching an agreement.

For example, the school district proposed paying Gadson $225,000 during his first year on the job while he made a counter offer of $275,000. The proposed salary was lower than several neighboring school districts. Clayton County’s new superintendent, Morcease Beasley, is being paid $300,000 a year. DeKalb County Superintendent Steve Green has a base salary of $303,000.

Other differences included the length of Gadson’s contract. Henry County offered 18 months while he wanted a three-year agreement.

School board chair Pam Nutt said she and other board members were uncomfortable with some of the language Gadson’s lawyer had edited into the contract, as well as close to an additional $500,000 in expenses Gadson was requesting. A.J. “Buddy” Welch, the board’s attorney, said he asked Gadson’s attorney twice for a reconsidered price point, but never heard back, at which point the board decided to end negotiations. Telephone calls to attorneys representing Gadson weren’t returned Monday.

Those in attendance seemed split, with many speaking out against the board’s decision, while other thanked the board and asked them to bring in more candidates.

“We were led on to believe we had the best candidate in the world. We did,” resident Wendy Kirkland told the board.

While some accused the board of acting on racial bias, others disagreed.

“You will not divide this community,” Pamela Mitchell, an African American said, acknowledging the split in the room. “This is about the right fit for the county, not race.”

Sen. Jones invited Gadson to speak at his church Sunday and hopes the school district renegotiates with Gadson.

“It’s my hope they would reconsider their vote,” he said. “It’s in the best interest of the school district and the people of Henry County.”

Resident Bruce Smith warned board members they may face issues if they do restart the search for a superintendent.

“If you do start this search again, you’re going to have to find someone better than Dr. Gadson, because you can’t bring an inferior candidate before this crowd now,” he said.

Henry County public school enrollment

Year %black %white

1995 13, 85

2016 52, 31

Sources: Atlanta Regional Commission, Georgia Department of Education.