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Atlanta Public Schools, Georgia
| Atlanta Public Schools |
|---|
 |
| Atlanta, Georgia |
| District details |
| Superintendent: Bryan Johnson |
| # of school board members: 9 |
| Website: Link |
Atlanta Public Schools is a school district in Georgia.
Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...
- Superintendent
- School board
- Elections
- Budget
- Teacher salaries
- Academic performance
- Students
- Staff
- Schools
- Contact information
Superintendent
 |
This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates. |
Bryan Johnson is the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. Johnson was appointed in July 2024 and took office in August 2024. His career experience includes working as a teacher, school and district administrator, and superintendent of Hamilton County Schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[1]
Past superintendents
- Danielle Battle was the interim superintendent at Atlanta Public Schools. She took office on August 28, 2023. She served in this role until July 2024.[1]
- Lisa Herring was the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools from July 1, 2020 until August 2023. She planned to remain until the end of her contract in June 2024, but announced in August 2023 that she would step down at the end of that month. She remained with the district until December 31, 2023, serving as a consultant.[1] Herring's previous career experience includes serving as the superintendent for Birmingham City Schools in Alabama, deputy superintendent of academics for Charleston County School District in South Carolina, and chief academic officer for Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky.[2][3]
- Meria Carstarphen was the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools from 2014 to 2020. Carstarphen's previous career experience includes working as a middle school teacher and as the superintendent of Austin Independent School District in Texas and Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota.[4]
School board
The Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. Six members are elected by district and three members are elected at large.[5]
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Public Schools school board At-Large Seat 7 | Alfred Brooks | January 1, 2024 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board At-Large Seat 8 | Cynthia Briscoe Brown | 2013 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board At-Large Seat 9 | Jessica Johnson | January 9, 2023 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board District 1 | Katie Howard | January 1, 2022 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board District 2 | Aretta Baldon | November 4, 2019 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board District 3 | Ken Zeff | January 1, 2024 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board District 4 | Jennifer McDonald | January 1, 2022 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board District 5 | Erika Yvette Mitchell | January 1, 2018 |
| Atlanta Public Schools school board District 6 | Tolton Pace | 2025 |
Elections
Regular elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Four seats on the board are up for general election on November 4, 2025. A runoff election, if needed, is scheduled for December 2, 2025.
Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.
Join the conversation about school board politics
Public participation in board meetings
The Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[6]
| “ |
All Atlanta Board of Education meetings, other than executive sessions, shall be open to the public. Meetings shall be advertised by meeting notices posted at the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Center for Learning and Leadership (CLL), notifications in the news media, and other appropriate means such as the APS Web site. Opportunities for public comments shall be provided at one or more meetings prior to a meeting where official board action is taken. Public comment opportunities are available for the board to hear from interested members of the community. Board members do not provide responses or engage in direct conversation during public hearings. If stakeholders wish to receive an answer to a specific question, inquiries should be directed to the board office. For public hearings and the monthly community meetings, stakeholders may request a response by completing a written comment form at the speaker sign-in table. Members of the community may also submit public comments to the board at the following email address: boardcomments@atlantapublicschools.us. Guidelines for Receiving Public Comment
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District map
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[8]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $95,526,000 | $1,873 | 8% |
| Local: | $837,855,000 | $16,425 | 74% |
| State: | $194,257,000 | $3,808 | 17% |
| Total: | $1,127,638,000 | $22,105 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $1,041,310,000 | $20,413 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $943,321,000 | $18,492 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $551,154,000 | $10,804 | 53% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $128,861,000 | $2,526 | 12% |
| Administration: | $118,095,000 | $2,315 | 11% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $145,211,000 | $2,846 | 14% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $90,080,000 | $1,765 | |
| Construction: | $85,327,000 | $1,672 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $937,000 | $18 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $4,189,000 | $82 |
Teacher salaries
The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.
| Year | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025[9] | $61,816.00 | $127,124 |
| 2023-2024[10] | $54,735 | $114,892 |
| 2020[11] | $48,086 | $93,980 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[12]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 28 | 70-74 | 8 | 19 | <50 | 57 | 63 |
| 2018-2019 | 34 | 80 | 23 | 32 | 40-49 | 67 | 82 |
| 2017-2018 | 31 | 78 | 20 | 29 | 30-39 | 62 | 80 |
| 2016-2017 | 28 | 70-74 | 18 | 27 | 30-39 | 65 | 77 |
| 2015-2016 | 28 | 75-79 | 18 | 26 | 20-29 | 56 | 77 |
| 2014-2015 | 28 | 70-74 | 17 | 26 | 40-59 | 59 | 75 |
| 2013-2014 | 69 | 90-94 | 63 | 73 | >=80 | 87 | 95 |
| 2012-2013 | 72 | >=95 | 67 | 75 | >=80 | 88 | 96 |
| 2011-2012 | 67 | 85-89 | 62 | 72 | >=50 | 89 | 95 |
| 2010-2011 | 73 | >=95 | 69 | 74 | 60-79 | 90 | 96 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 35 | 70-74 | 14 | 24 | >=50 | 67 | 74 |
| 2018-2019 | 37 | 72 | 26 | 35 | 40-49 | 72 | 85 |
| 2017-2018 | 34 | 65-69 | 23 | 30 | 40-49 | 66 | 83 |
| 2016-2017 | 33 | 70-74 | 22 | 31 | 30-39 | 69 | 83 |
| 2015-2016 | 33 | 70-74 | 22 | 29 | 40-49 | 64 | 83 |
| 2014-2015 | 32 | 70-74 | 22 | 30 | 40-59 | 65 | 83 |
| 2013-2014 | 91 | >=95 | 89 | 92 | >=80 | 98 | >=99 |
| 2012-2013 | 90 | >=95 | 88 | 92 | >=80 | 96 | >=99 |
| 2011-2012 | 89 | >=95 | 87 | 90 | >=50 | 98 | >=99 |
| 2010-2011 | 87 | >=95 | 85 | 87 | >=90 | 96 | 98 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 80 | >=80 | 77 | 80-84 | PS | >=90 | 97 |
| 2018-2019 | 78 | >=80 | 76 | 80-84 | 80-89 | 93 | |
| 2017-2018 | 80 | >=80 | 78 | 70-74 | PS | 80-89 | 95 |
| 2016-2017 | 77 | >=80 | 75 | 75-79 | >=90 | >=95 | |
| 2015-2016 | 71 | >=80 | 69 | 70-74 | PS | 80-89 | 90-94 |
| 2014-2015 | 71 | >=80 | 71 | 55-59 | PS | >=80 | 85-89 |
| 2013-2014 | 59 | >=80 | 57 | 50-54 | 60-69 | 80-84 | |
| 2012-2013 | 59 | >=80 | 56 | 55-59 | PS | 70-79 | 80-84 |
| 2011-2012 | 51 | 60-79 | 50 | 40-44 | PS | 80-89 | 65-69 |
| 2010-2011 | 52 | 40-59 | 51 | 50-54 | PS | 50-59 | 65-69 |
Students
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 50,325 | 0.7 |
| 2021-2022 | 49,994 | -2.0 |
| 2020-2021 | 51,012 | -2.8 |
| 2019-2020 | 52,416 | 0.1 |
| 2018-2019 | 52,377 | 0.4 |
| 2017-2018 | 52,147 | 0.4 |
| 2016-2017 | 51,927 | 0.8 |
| 2015-2016 | 51,500 | 0.7 |
| 2014-2015 | 51,145 | 2.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 50,131 | 1.1 |
| 2012-2013 | 49,558 | -0.9 |
| 2011-2012 | 50,009 | 0.4 |
| 2010-2011 | 49,796 | 1.8 |
| 2009-2010 | 48,909 | -0.3 |
| 2008-2009 | 49,032 | -2.0 |
| 2007-2008 | 49,991 | -1.3 |
| 2006-2007 | 50,631 | -0.3 |
| 2005-2006 | 50,770 | -1.2 |
| 2004-2005 | 51,377 | -1.4 |
| 2003-2004 | 52,103 | -5.5 |
| 2002-2003 | 54,946 | -3.0 |
| 2001-2002 | 56,586 | -2.9 |
| 2000-2001 | 58,230 | -2.1 |
| 1999-2000 | 59,429 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Atlanta Public Schools (%) | Georgia K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.1 | 4.7 |
| Black | 71.9 | 36.4 |
| Hispanic | 7.8 | 18.1 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 3.1 | 4.6 |
| White | 15.9 | 35.9 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Staff
As of the 2022-2023 school year, Atlanta Public Schools had 3,979.90 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 12.64.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 83.90 |
| Kindergarten: | 214.90 |
| Elementary: | 1,630.30 |
| Secondary: | 1,404.00 |
| Total: | 3,979.90 |
Atlanta Public Schools employed 149.20 district administrators and 300.80 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 149.20 |
| District Administrative Support: | 207.60 |
| School Administrators: | 300.80 |
| School Administrative Support: | 311.90 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 1,005.50 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 697.10 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 157.50 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 59.50 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 98.00 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 74.50 |
| Library/Media Support: | 9.50 |
| Student Support Services: | 363.20 |
| Other Support Services: | 1,706.60 |
Schools
Noteworthy events
2017: Judge approves temporary tax collection order
On November 3, 2017, DeKalb County Judge Alan Harvey signed a temporary tax collection order allowing Fulton County to begin collecting taxes after the county had not collected taxes by its usual October deadline. The bills were sent on November 9, 2017, with a due date of December 31, 2017, for Atlanta residents and January 15, 2018, for Fulton County residents.[13][14]
“All of us at Atlanta Public Schools are pleased by today’s court ruling, which begins the process of collecting the property tax revenues that are so critical to the safe and successful operation of our school system,” Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said of the decision. “At the same time, the initial delay in tax collections will still have a significant impact on our ability to operate as normal for the remainder of this calendar year."[15]
Because of the delay in collecting property taxes, on November 8, 2017, APS announced 1,200 employees would be required to take furlough days on November 20, 2017, and November 21, 2017, when students had off for Thanksgiving. Those who were affected included hourly employees, part-time employees, and administrators, who were not paid for the two-days they could not work. The district planned to repay salaried employees for the two-day furlough on January 15, 2018, along with a $500 one-time bonus.[16] The district also froze hiring, slowed outgoing payments, and negotiated defered payments to charters and unfunded pension payments.[17]
Of the planned furlough, Superintendent Carstarphen wrote on her blog:
| “ | APS – and other affected parties – remain in a crunch. Therefore, our district will continue to do everything we can to ensure the continued smooth and safe operation of our school system. I can’t thank our colleagues and stakeholders enough for their commitment to APS and for their understanding of the steps we had to take to mitigate our short-term cash flow challenges.[7] | ” |
| —Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, November 12, 2017[17] | ||
2017: Halted tax revenue creates funding uncertainty
According to Atlanta Public Schools (APS), approximately 62.5 percent of its $777 million 2017-2018 school year budget came from the Fulton County Tax Digest.[18] In June 2017, Fulton County froze property value levels at their 2016 assessment values after residents said the assessed values were too high (of the 318,000 residential parcels in Fulton County, roughly half saw an increase in assessed property value of 20 percentage points or more from 2016 to 2017).[19]
The decision to freeze property assessment values required state approval of the adjusted tax values before tax bills could be sent. This meant that the tax bills, usually posted in the summer and due in October, had not been sent as of November 1, 2017.[20][21] Because of the delay in tax collection, APS had not received any funding from Fulton County taxes as of October 31, 2017.[22] In September 2017, the district took out a $100 million short-term loan, called a Tax Anticipation Note, with repayment of the loan set for December 2017.[23][24]
On October 25, 2017, the Georgia Department of Revenue rejected the property assessment freeze, saying it would lead to commercial and industrial property owners paying too large a percentage of total taxes. This delayed Fulton County's ability to collect taxes until a new tax digest was approved by the state.[23][25] The decision also delayed the sending of Fulton County property tax bills until November at the earliest, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As Atlanta taxes are due within 45 days of the bills being sent and Fulton County taxes are due within 60 days, the newspaper estimated that the due date would likely be in 2018, after the APS deadline for loan repayment.[26]
APS, along with the Fulton County School District, filed a motion on October 27, 2017, asking the courts to approve a temporary tax collection order allowing the districts to collect property taxes despite the state hold on Fulton County tax collection. A hearing was scheduled for November 3, 2017.[27]
The possibility of the courts not approving the district's request for a tax collection order led APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen to hold a meeting on October 30, 2017. During this meeting, she said that should the motion not be approved on November 3, 2017, "We [would] have to furlough the entire staff because we will probably have maybe one more month to be able to pay our bills and our staff and then we’ll have to stop until something else happens which at the earliest would be January."[28]
Board member Jason Esteves said the possibility of a furlough was one of the last options. He also commented on the Tax Anticipation Note, due in December 2017. “We are trying to determine how to pay back that loan. I can guarantee you we will because it’s required by law,” he said. “We are looking at various financial mechanisms to ensure that that loan is paid off.”[28]
The property assessment freeze announced in June 2017 also caused the Atlanta Board of Education to reassess its 2017-2018 budget. The district planned to make up an anticipated $4 million budget gap by cutting program funding and offering non-teacher, full-time employees a one-time $500 payment instead of the previously expected 1.5 percent raise.[24]
2015: Staff convicted of cheating on statewide tests
On April 1, 2015, 11 Atlanta Public Schools (APS) teachers, testing coordinators, and administrators were found guilty of racketeering and other charges. Sentences ranged from probation and community service to three years in jail, probation, and community service. Thirty-five educators were indicted in 2013 for participating in district-wide cheating on Georgia's standardized test, the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Of those indicted, 21 staff members reached plea agreements, 11 were convicted, two died before standing trial (including former superintendent Beverly Hall), and one was acquitted.[29][30][31]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution began investigating test scores in 2008 after finding that one Atlanta school has increased test scores by an improbable amount. A report released by the state of Georgia on July 5, 2011, detailed cheating on the annual CRCT in 44 of the 56 APS elementary and middle schools the state investigated. The report found that APS educators cheated on the tests as early as 2001 by erasing and altering student answers after tests were taken or by giving students answers during the test. The report identified 178 teachers or principals who participated in the cheating. It blamed the unrealistic test score targets superintendent Hall's administration placed on district schools and staff.[32][33][34]
On March 29, 2013, a Fulton County grand jury indicted 35 Atlanta educators, including former superintendent Hall, on 65 counts of cheating in 58 schools throughout APS. Each defendant was charged with Georgia racketeer-influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) conspiracy, with some defendants also charged with false statements and writings, false swearing, and influencing witnesses. Because former superintendent Hall's salary rose with the district-wide test score improvement, she also faced charges of theft.[31][35]
Contact information
Atlanta Public Schools
130 Trinity Ave. SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-802-3500
About school boards
Education legislation in Georgia
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| Georgia | School Board Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Atlanta Public Schools
- Georgia School Boards Association
- Georgia Department of Education
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rough Draft Atlanta, "Swearing-in ceremony held for new superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools," accessed April 15, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "interim" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "6.29 Dr. Lisa Herring to be Sworn in as Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, July 1," June 29, 2020
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "4.21 Atlanta Board of Education Announces Dr. Lisa Herring as Finalist for Superintendent," April 21, 2020
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "Dr. Meria J. Carstarphen, Superintendent," accessed October 28, 2019
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "Board of Education: Meet the Board," accessed April 2, 2021
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "Board Policy Manual: Section 1. Governance & School Board Operations Code BC-R(1)," accessed April 2, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "Fiscal Year 2024 ‐ 2025 Salary Schedule: Teacher," accessed April 15, 2025
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "Fiscal Year 2023 ‐ 2024 Salary Schedule: Teacher," accessed January 31, 2024
- ↑ Atlanta Public Schools, "Fiscal Year 2020 ‐ 2021 Salary Schedule: Teacher," accessed April 2, 2021
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
- ↑ Marietta Daily Journal, "Judge grants request from Fulton, Fulton Co. Schools, Atlanta Public Schools for temporary collection order," November 3, 2017
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Fulton County tax bills have been mailed," November 9, 2017
- ↑ Atlanta Business Chronicle, "Judge sides with Fulton schools, APS in tax case," November 3, 2017
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Atlanta schools to furlough 1,200 staffers in November," November 8, 2017
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 ATLsuper Blog, "Fulton County Tax Bills in the Mail! Please Pay Them Now!" November 12, 2017 (timed out)
- ↑ ATLsuper Blog, "APS Takes Legal, Financial Steps to Fight County Tax Collection Delays," October 30, 2017
- ↑ myAJC, "Fulton County to freeze residential property values at 2016 levels," June 19, 2017
- ↑ Politically Georgia: Get Schooled, "APS considers teacher furloughs over tax mess. Fulton says no furloughs planned." October 31, 2017 (timed out)
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Fulton County tax bills haven’t been sent, may go out in late October," October 16, 2017
- ↑ WSB-TV 2, "Fulton County Schools, APS say they're running out of money," October 31, 2017
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Fulton County’s tax digest is rejected by state, bills will be delayed," October 26, 2017
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Atlanta school board makes budget changes, approves loan of up to $100 million," September 5, 2017
- ↑ Atlanta Business Chronicle, "Atlanta Public Schools going to court in property tax dispute," October 31, 2017
- ↑ myAJC, "Fulton County tax digest rejected by state Department of Revenue," October 26, 2017
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Fulton County Schools: Tax situation ‘dire’," October 26, 2017
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 myAJC, "APS could furlough employees to solve Fulton County tax problems," October 30, 2017
- ↑ New York Times, "Atlanta Educators Convicted in School Cheating Scandal," April 1, 2015
- ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "The APS cheating trial sentences," September 28, 2018
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 WABE, "Grand Jury Hands Up Indictment in APS Cheating Scandal, Includes Beverly Hall," March 29, 2013
- ↑ Larry Coplan, USA TODAY, "School cheating scandal shakes up Atlanta," April 14, 2013
- ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Report Eviscerates Atlanta Schools|for Decade of Systematic Cheating," July 27, 2011
- ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Special investigation of Atlanta Public Schools: Report, Volume 3," accessed April 5, 2021
- ↑ Office of the Fulton County District Attorney, "GRAND JURY INDICTS 35 IN CONNECTION WITH ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS CHEATING SCANDAL," accessed October 23, 2013 (timed out)
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