GwinnettForum | Number 21.19 | March 9, 2021
GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL’S lower grades led the nation in the Kids Heart Challenge of the American Heart Association. The K-5 students raised $62,763, more than the other 19,441 schools that participated in the recent fundraiser. More details can be found in Notable below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Help Gwinnett by joining the seven week United Way Challenge
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Is a “National Search” necessary for the next school superintendent?
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett Stripers
FEEDBACK: Questions on the salary of the superintendent of the Gwinnett schools
UPCOMING: PCOM plans summer math and science academy June 14-25
NOTABLE: Commission OKs bonds for Gwinnett Place redevelopment
RECOMMENDED: The Atheist’s Bible by Georgia Minois
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Decatur native Lauren Gunderson is productive playwright
MYSTERY PHOTO: Lonely figure stands silhouetted in today’s Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Snell to speak March 15
Help Gwinnett by joining the 7-week United Way Challenge
By Rachael N. Warnsley
Senior Director of Development, United Way of Greater Atlanta
Warnsley
ATLANTA, Ga. | Join United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Racial Equity Challenge for a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives, our Greater Atlanta community, and the barriers it places on improving child well-being.
The seven-week self-guided learning experience, beginning March 15, explores the history and impact of racism and how it has shaped the well-being of our communities across Greater Atlanta. Topics include Understanding Privilege, History of Racism in Atlanta, Housing and Redlining, Intersection of Race + Gender, Ally-ship , Champions Leading Equity, and similar subjects.
Ellison
Wayne Ellison, United Way-Gwinnett Board Chairman, says: “Rather than continue to ignore the most sensitive subject in America, let’s unite as a community and be a part of the solution. Gain both local and national insights, get the tools for courageous conversations, access resources for healing, become an ally or level up your allyship, plus, make connections to a network of leaders working to create an equitable Greater Atlanta for all.”
Racial equity is central to United Way of Greater Atlanta’s work to improve child well-being so that children, families, and communities can thrive. Disparities across race and zip codes are holding people back and limiting the opportunity for an equitable Greater Atlanta. Ending disparities has been the guidepost for United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Child Well-Being Agenda. This has focused on addressing the systemic issues that put Greater Atlanta at the bottom of the list of U.S. cities in terms of opportunity and mobility for low-income children and make a child’s Zip Code of birth their destiny. For two years running, Bloomberg has called Atlanta “The capital of inequality.”
The Equity Challenge is a powerful opportunity seeking to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect the lives, the Greater Atlanta communities, and child well-being.
For the past five years, United Way of Greater Atlanta has worked closely with partners to collect data on 14 different measures related to the factors that help account for the wide disparity in child well-being by race and zip code. These communities of low and very low child well-being are in Zip Codes where the majority of residents (55-99 percent) are people of color.
Join as an individual or sign up your company or organization to support the challenge and learn together.
- You can be part of this work by clicking here: Join the Challenge!
- Support the Challenge! You will benefit from it.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Is “national search” necessary for next superintendent?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MARCH 9, 2021 | The two new Black females on the Gwinnett School Board seem intent on curtailing the leadership of Alvin Wilbanks as its superintendent. However, Mr. Wilbanks has a contract through June 2022, and has no intention to leave sooner.
Alvin Wilbanks, to many, is the best school superintendent of any system in Georgia. On the national scene, on two occasions, the school district has won the Broad Prize as the best larger system in the entire nation.
The Gwinnett school system is the predominant large school district in Georgia. It also appears that the only reason the black majority wants to run Mr. Wilbanks away is that he is not Black. Color is a pretty poor excuse in firing anyone, and on its face, is racial in its intent. It is also a violation of Mr. Wilbanks’s civil rights.
Yet the two new Democrats on the school board who won election last fall have as their intent replacing Mr. Wilbanks. They want him gone immediately, but have run across some legal and procedural problems, in addition to Mr. Wilbanks not wanting to leave sooner, that must frustrate the new Black school board members and their followers.
Patience doesn’t seem to be in the playbook of this new majority on the school board, though it should be a major factor. After all, in 16 months, by his own admission, Mr. Wilbanks will no longer be the superintendent.
Wilbanks
The only way to remove Mr. Wilbanks now is to give him a 90-day notice of employment, then pay him for the remainder of his contract.
School board members might have second thoughts of spending taxpayer money, perhaps as much as $500,000, just to see a faster dismissal of Mr. Wilbanks.
Since we have already raised the racial question here, we suspect any search for a new superintendent must include diverse candidates, as it should. The board will probably call for a “national search” for a new superintendent and pay a staffing firm perhaps $100,000 to find them top candidates.
We often question hiring key executives, if a more localized, not national, search would be more fruitful. Picking a person from within the system, or a qualified candidate who has local connections, might be far more efficient to the system than bringing in someone from far away in the long run. What we would not want is to find that the board has picked someone who is a mere crony to the board, and would not stand on their own two feet on key matters before the board.
Some history: when Michael Thurman became the superintendent of the DeKalb County Board of Education a few years back, the system had an operational deficit in its previous year of $11 million. When Thurman announced its next budget, he did not present the taxpayers with a deficit budget. We asked Mr. Thurman how did his school board budget go from a deficit of $11 million in one year, to a positive budget number the next.
We were impressed with his answer: “I read the budget.”
Isn’t it amazing what you can do when you know details? His method impressed us.
Hmmmm. Today Michael Thurman is chief executive officer in DeKalb County. He is one of the most respected Black officials in Georgia. Previously he was the Labor Commissioner, and before that, represented Clarke County in the General Assembly. He has great connections, and his integrity is impeccable. Hmmmm. Would Mr. Thurman be interested in the Gwinnett school position? It would be good for Gwinnett.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
The Gwinnett Stripers
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. The Gwinnett Stripers, Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, play at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. The Stripers’ 2021 Home Opener is set for Tuesday, May 11 vs. Louisville. For 2021 Memberships, team merchandise, or more information, visit GoStripers.com. Follow the Stripers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GoStripers.
- Visit their website: https://www.milb.com/gwinnett.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Questions on salary of superintendent of Gwinnett schools
Editor, the Forum:
In a recent edition, you advocate for paying the Gwinnett County Commissioner a higher salary. The current salary of $76,266 is proposed to be raised to $136,011 and you advocate for $200,000 because of the population and budget to be managed. This sounds very reasonable. My question is why is the Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent paid an annual salary of approximately $600,000? Is this appropriate?
In 2007, his salary was $306,000. In 2014 it was $405,921. In 2018 is was $569,375. For 2019 it was $601,870.95. The next highest paid GCPS employee was at $211,389 and the average salary for Gwinnett County Schools was $52,330.
By contrast the second highest paid superintendent in the state has often been Atlanta Public Schools:
- 2007 Atlanta Public Schools $378,259.91;
- 2014 Atlanta Public Schools $255,915.59;
- 2018 Atlanta Public Schools $461,918; and
- 2020 New Super at Atlanta Public Schools $320,000, plus $2,000 a month for expenses.
And in three of the larger districts in Georgia salaries were:
- 2018 Clayton County Board of Education $387,344;
- 2018 Fulton County Board of Education $367,153;
- 2019 Cobb County $350,000.
I gathered the salary info from published Ga DOE documents and newspaper articles.
— Tamara Betteridge, Peachtree Corners
Dear Tamara: This is a question to be put to the school board. My presumption is that they were paying for quality, since the Gwinnett School District has achieved such a high status among the education community. Would you want to pay less, and see a lower grade school system?—eeb
Doesn’t want higher pay for some elected officials
Editor, the Forum:
I say “No” to increasing the pay of elected officials. They should bring values, set goals, approve budgets, and oversee department-level administrators, then go home. They should have some compensation for their hours in meetings, but it should not be their primary job. If they want a job, then go get a regular one. More turnover would do us good.
— Joe Briggs, Suwanee
Dear Joe: We hear you concerning part-time officials. However, don’t you think we want to hire (elect) the best officials for full-time positions? That’s why we know the salary of the county commission chair is way low and ought to be raised.—eeb
Would like to see another book on Gwinnett families
Editor, the Forum:
I am truly enjoying GwinnettForum and just reviewed my history (in general overview) that appeared to set the scene for Gwinnett Families, published in 1980 by the Gwinnett Historical Society.
It would appear to be time for an update of that book, so I ordered your history book from Amazon. Living in Gwinnett (in Lilburn) was a fun part of our lives.
— Joyce Rovetta, Highland Ranch, Colorado
(Editor’s note: the compiler of the history book, the late Alice McCabe, credits Ms. Rovetta for writing the historical portion of the families in the book mentioned above. It covers Gwinnett families from 1818 to 1968.–eeb)
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words, and include your hometown. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
PCOM plans summer math and science academy June 14-25
Planning for PCOM Georgia’s Summer Math and Science Academy (SMSA), a two-week enrichment program to be held June 14 – 25, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., is well underway. The camp provides an opportunity for motivated metro Atlanta high school students to explore the wide variety of healthcare professions available to them.
Up to 50 high school students will have the opportunity to learn from PCOM Georgia’s osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant and biomedical sciences students and faculty members, along with professionals in the field. The program will pair carefully selected PCOM Georgia mentors with the campers who will learn about their mentors’ paths to careers in healthcare.
Thanks to funding from the Office of Diversity and Community Partnerships, in addition to a grant from Hologic, Inc., a medical technology company largely focused on women’s health, SMSA is a free opportunity primarily targeting students of underrepresented communities including Latinx/Hispanic and BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/ People of Color). In the past, participants exhibited a passion for science and math, a curiosity about health care, and a calling to care for others.
High school students will have the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of subjects including health care and science-based research through hands-on activities. In addition, topics like high school productivity, college and professional school preparation, career planning, financial management and volunteering are on the agenda. Resume writing and interviewing will also be practiced.
- To learn more, read about last summer’s SMSA here or contact the SMSA leadership team with questions at smsa.pcomga@gmail.com. Apply for the program here.
Commission OKs bonds for Gwinnett Place redevelopment
After Gwinnett County Government’s rare Triple AAA/Aaa bond rating was reaffirmed, the Board of Commissioners recently gave final approval for the issuance of $23.5 million in bonds to buy 39 acres of Gwinnett Place Mall as part of a major initiative to redevelop one of the key economic engines of the county.
The solid bond rating, reaffirmed in February by the three major rating firms, assures investors the 20-year revenue bonds are sound, and enables the county to issue debt at a favorable interest rate.
The purchase is part of an effort by the County government, the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District and local property owners to create new opportunities to serve as a catalyst for redevelopment in the area.
Joe Allen, executive director of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District, said his CID members are excited about the prospects for the area. Allen said: “We think now we’ll see real progress in redeveloping the mall. We’re grateful to the Board of Commissioners for their leadership.”
In December, the County Commission voted to purchase the 36-year-old mall minus four anchor stores, which own their property. The County now will launch an intensive planning effort to craft a strategy for revitalizing the area, which has struggled in recent years. The proximity to Interstate 85 and the destination’s central location within Gwinnett County have made the property a key focus for leadership within the county. Closing on the property is anticipated to take place by the end of March.
The purchase of the property and the actual issuance of the bonds is technically being handled through the Urban Redevelopment Agency of Gwinnett County, which was established in 2009 to exercise redevelopment powers. The annual debt service for the bonds is expected to be around $1.45 million a year.
Gwinnett city group recognized Kelkenberg for leadership
City of Duluth Council Member Kelvin J. Kelkenberg has been presented with the Leadership and Service Award from the Gwinnett Municipal Association in recognition for his service as 2020 president of the Gwinnett Municipal Association board.
Kelkenberg
Kelkenberg was uniquely qualified to act to lead the group during 2020’s ongoing battle with the COVID-19 pandemic because of his 20 years of experience working in emergency management with FEMA. Kelkenberg hosted weekly meetings with the 16 Gwinnett cities to create a unified message and plan of action.
He said of the award: “Leading this organization during a pandemic may look like a heavy lift from the outside but it was the right thing to do. I appreciate the challenge of emergency management and was proud to utilize my years of training to guide the City of Duluth and other Gwinnett County cities during this time.”
GGC gets $20,000 grant for mentoring in IT for minorities
Georgia Gwinnett College is one of two institutions to receive a $20,000 award from the National Center for Women and Information Academic Alliance Seed Fund.
GGC will use its award to establish a virtual peer mentoring program designed to retain underrepresented minorities majoring in information technology.
The VPM program will target freshmen and rising sophomores, mainly in groups underrepresented in computing. This structured mentoring program will add value in the long term, both for traditional students who work long hours off campus and non-traditional students who enroll in new, online programs to be offered by GGC starting in summer 2021.
GACS students lead the nation in raising heart dollars
Greater Atlanta Christian School’s K3-5th grade students raised $62,763.44 for the Kids Heart Challenge sponsored by the American Heart Association, raising more money than 19,441 school that participated nationwide.
The Physical Education teachers, Kristy Shelton and Jelaine Joseph, have supported the annual campaign for years. The pair of teachers use their class time to teach about heart health, the benefits of exercise and proper nutrition, and how students can be an active part of continuing research in healing hearts. The AHA provides excellent learning materials and, coupled with the teachers’ enthusiasm, prepares students for a culminating challenge of earning donations from family/friends for how many rotations they can achieve jumping rope during PE class..
The top five donation earners are:
- Zoe Ogunniyi, fourth grade from Lawrenceville, , daughter of Modele and Ola Ogunniyi;
- Vivian Hewatt, third grade from Hoschton, daughter of Ashleigh and Brandon Hewatt;
- Nolan and Nate Crisp, fifth and third grade from Atlanta,sons of Jennifer and Josh Crisp; and
- Christina McCalla, third grade from Gainesville, daughter of Dania Peguero.
The Atheist’s Bible by Georgia Minois
From: Raleigh Perry, Buford: The book is not for everyone, but if you enjoy history and religion, it is the cat’s meow. Supposedly, there was a book written in the 11th century, entitled The Treatise of the Three Imposters, with the author listed as Anonymous. It was touted to be a diatribe of Moses, Mohammad, and Christ. There are people who have ‘seen’ the book, but it never appears. Minois, a French historian, finds in history a book by that title that came out in the 17th century. I could not read one without reading the other. Minois’ book is phenomenal, and good history, but the book on the Three Imposters leaves a lot to be desired. The 17th century book is a spoof of the one that supposedly was written in the 11th Century. Because of one line in the 17th Century spoof, I think Anonymous is none other than Voltaire. The full title is The Atheist’s Bible, the Most Dangerous Book that Never Existed.
- An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Decatur native Lauren Gunderson is productive playwright
One of the most produced playwrights in the United States, Lauren Gunderson’s oeuvre includes plays, musicals, screenplays, and picture books. Many of her works focus on the lives of real and imagined heroines, particularly women in the sciences, and explore themes of innovation, morality, and discovery.
Gunderson
Lauren Gunderson was born in Decatur to parents with careers in both the arts and sciences—influences that would later inform her work as a playwright. She developed an interest in theater at a young age and performed in a number of Atlanta-area productions while still a student. Her first play, “Parts They Call Deep,” was produced by Atlanta’s Essential Theatre when she was just seventeen years old.
Gunderson’s theatrical efforts continued as an undergraduate at Emory University, where she majored in English and took part in multiple student productions. She credits the staging of her play Leap (2004) by Theater Emory, the school’s resident professional theater company, as a formative experience. The play, which explores the discoveries and legacy of Isaac Newton, reflects her interest in both the sciences and the stage, providing early evidence of the themes that would define much of her professional work.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Gunderson earned an M.F.A. at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she was also a Reynolds Fellow in social entrepreneurship. In the years that followed, Gunderson embarked on a professional career notable for both her prodigious output and her early, almost immediate, success. The South Coast Repertory, in Orange County, California, commissioned two of Gunderson’s earliest works, Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight (2009) and Silent Sky (2011), both of which are based on the lives of women in the sciences in the 18th and 19th centuries.
It also commissioned I and You (2013), which won the prestigious 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award. The plot centers around two teenagers, Caroline and Anthony, who form a deep friendship when completing a shared homework assignment about Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Gunderson considers the play to be an outlier amidst a body of work that either focuses on women in history and science or “wilder, comedic modern plays…often with a thread of Shakespeare in them.” I and You was lauded by the American Theatre Critics Association for its wisdom and its humor, and the play earned nationwide praise for its tender explorations of morality, friendship, and youth, as well as its artfully surprising ending.
(To be continued)
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Lonely figure stands silhouetted in today’s Mystery Photo
Here’s a long figure centered on what looks like a slight hill, against the background of larger peaks. There are not many clues to identify the location of this Mystery Photo. Figure out where it is and send your idea to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
A neat grist mill in Marion County, Ga. was the most recent Mystery Photo. It came from Fitzgerald resident Brian Brown’s Vanishing South Georgia series of photographs. Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; George Graf of Palmyra, Va. and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. all spotted it.
Graf wrote: “Constructed in the mid-1800s on Lanahassee Creek in southern Marion County, Big Chief Grist Mill has been owned by three generations of the Upton family. The current mill building was constructed on the site of the former mill. Located between two major antebellum communities, Pineville and Church Hill, local farmers brought their corn for grinding while their families picnicked around Powell’s Mill Pond.
“Before corn could be ground, it needed to be dried, a process that could take several weeks. Once completely dried, the corn was poured into a hopper then grounded between two millstones. These stones were often made of granite, were on average 15 inches thick and each weighed around a ton. At the mill dam, the sluice was opened and closed to control the flow of water by turning the sluice wheel. Closed in 1950 it was reopened in 1980 for several decades to supply stone-ground corn, commonly understood as superior to more industrially produced corn meal, in regional stores.”
Peel told us: “The late Billy E. Powell (1930-2017), son of Myrtice Evelyn Upton Powell, rebuilt the mill in 1994 and then updated the sluice gate sometime later. The dam crosses the Lanahassee Creek and is responsible for the small pond known as Powell’s Mill Pond (named after the Upton-Powell family.”
- Send your answer to elliott@brack.net to include your hometown.
Snell to be March 15 speaker at Gwinnett Historical Society
Snell
Gwinnett Historical Society will meet on March 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse in downtown Lawrenceville. Speaker will be David Snell of E.R. Snell Contractor who will be speaking on the history of the Snell contracting company. It is one of the largest highway construction firms in the state of Georgia, with 12 asphalt plants and an asphalt terminal located in the North Georgia area. The speaker is one of several fourth generation owners of the company, and serves as its vice president, corporate secretary and director. He is a former president of the Snellville Historical Society. In 2023 the company will mark its 100th year of operations.
GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.
Meet our team
- Editor and publisher: Elliott Brack, 770-840-1003
- Managing editor: Betsy Brack
- Roving photographer: Frank Sharp
- Contributing columnist: Jack Bernard
- Contributing columnist: Debra Houston
- Contributing columnist: George Wilson
More
- Location: We are located in Suite 225, 40 Technology Park, Peachtree Corners, Ga. 30092.
- Work with us: If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more.
Subscriptions to GwinnettForum are free.
- Click to subscribe.
- Unsubscribe. We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.
© 2021, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.
Follow Us