Work ordered at Druid Hills done

Georgia Department of Education intervened to make Dekalb district fix poor conditions at the high school.

The Dekalb County School District has completed the work state officials ordered to make several dozen repairs at Druid Hills High School, interim Superintendent Vasanne Tinsley said.

“Done. Completed. Finished,” Tinsley told the school board at a meeting last week. “I’m very proud of that.”

Last year, the Georgia Department of Education intervened and told the district to address poor conditions at Druid Hills High and other facilities issues. In what a state official described as an “unprecedented move,” the state appointed a special adviser to work with the district on the corrective action plan. The adviser, Tanzy Kilcrease, worked with the district through November, according to a final report she wrote.

“They have been very receptive of all feedback and suggestions,” she wrote about Dekalb, the state’s third-largest school district. “They have a plan to continue to perform due diligence in ensuring they have practices that will foster operational effectiveness and efficiency.”

In addition to addressing about 100 immediate needs at Druid Hills High over the summer and committing to major renovations at the school, the district had to change how it approached maintenance. It’s begun processing work orders electronically and developed weekly checklists for custodians to complete, according to Kilcrease’s final report. A weekly task force now monitors progress on repairs.

There are still some works in progress: The operations staff is still working on using the district’s new administrative system called MUNIS, which can be used to track work at schools. The district is still hiring for operations jobs, and plans to collaborate with local community colleges and the career and technical education department to possibly use interns to help. And the district still needs to complete safety assessments of all its facilities, but state agencies are dealing with a backlog.

Kilcrease said she believed that the hiring of a chief operating officer would ensure consistency moving forward. The district hired Erick Hofstetter for the job in October. Richard Boyd had served as the interim director for two years.

JENNI GIRTMAN FOR THE AJC In what a state official described as an “unprecedented move,” the Georgia Department of Education appointed a special adviser to work with the Dekalb County School District on the corrective action plan for Druid Hills High School.