ATLANTA -- School may be out, but the fight to keep an ousted Atlanta Public School principal on the job has shifted into high gear.
Frederick Douglass High School has had seven years principals in 9 years.
Dr. Tony Burks, who started last summer, received notice in early May that he would not be returning to the school.
The system released the following statement:
APS can confirm that Dr. Tony Burks will not be returning as the principal of Douglass High School. He is on paid administrative leave. The district does not speak on confidential personnel matters.
Some parents, students and alumnus are fed up with the continuing leadership turnover.
"My whole thing is stability of the school. Whether you bring Dr. (Tony) Burks back or not, what about my children that's going to be in the school? So you just quit? I don't teach my children that," said Christina Leverett, mother of a recent graduate and three children who will attend Douglass next year.
"You cannot be experiencing leader change after leader change have an effective academic success," said Nash Alexander, III, a 1986 graduate.
The Douglass High School Alumni Association has started a "Save Our Schools" movement with a petition drive that has garnered more than 1200 signatures, so far.
It also created a "Save Douglass High School" twitter page is reaching out via social media to a community that includes more well-known alums, ranging from former Saturday Night Live regular, Comedian Finesse Mitchell to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's children (Bernice and Dexter) to entertainers T.I., Lil Jon and drummer Sonny Emory.
Some of those concerned about the Burks ouster met with APS leadership, including Supt. Meria Carstarphen, who also started with the school district last July.
"(Just) like the superintendent will need more time to straighten things out. We also feel like Dr. Burks needed more time to straighten things out," said Benjamin Dickerson, a member of the Local School Council, who has lived in the community for more than 40 years.
"If the supt. of the APS was evaluated by her 10 months, perhaps there would be a movement afoot to replace her," said Bettye Sims Smith, who started teaching at Douglass High School when it first opened in 1968 and retired after working at the school as an administrator.
The group acknowledged the school is on the state's needs improvement and the graduation rate is low, but said they have seen improvement under Burks.
"The graduation rate has change almost 20-something percent from the year before," said Leverett.
Among their biggest complaints from those complaining about losing the principal is the district hasn't told them why Burks is out and they worry they'll face the same situation next year with another principal.
"What is the plan for Douglass High School? And, communicate it clearly and find someone who is able to be stable in identifying the vision for the school going forward," said Alexander.
