SACS to train new DeKalb school board members

DECATUR, Ga. — The agency that put the DeKalb's School District on probation said it will train the county's new school board members.

Channel 2's Erica Byfield spoke one-on-one with Mark Elgart, the director of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS, on Friday.

He said in the coming months, his staff will train the nine-member board on what the accreditation issues are and what is expected of them.

Last month, Gov. Nathan Deal suspended six veteran school board members and within the last week, he appointed six people to take their seats.

Elgart told Byfield the new board needs to address student achievement, fiscal management and governance.

Byfield also reported that the planned May evaluation may be pushed back.

"They should not be penalized for three months of lost time in this process. Realistically, they are not going to show the type of progress we would have expected to see in six months and so we may have to adjust some of our timelines," Elgart said. "Our ultimate goal is improvement, it is not to end up with a loss of accreditation, and if we need more time and they need more time for improvement to occur, then we should all be committed to that."

It is unclear when the board training will begin.

WSBTV