Nine seats on the Atlanta Board of Education were up for election on November 5, 2013. There are nine board seats in Atlanta divided by 6 geographic districts. Six members represent each geographic district and three members are elected at large. Board members are elected to four-year terms.

Atlanta Public Schools is the sixth largest school district in Georgia and served 49,796 students during the 2012-2013 school year.

Steven Lee and Mary L. Palmer from District 5, Eshé Collins and Dell Byrd from District 6, Cynthia Briscoe Brown and Reuben McDaniel from District 8 and Jason F. Esteves and Lori James from District 9 faced off in a runoff election on December 3, 2013.^[1] Leslie Grant, Byron D. Amos, Matt Westmoreland, Nancy M. Meister, Steven Lee, Eshé Collins, Courtney D. English, Cynthia Briscoe Brown and Jason F. Esteves won their respective seats.

About the district

Atlanta Public Schools is located in Fulton County and DeKalb County

Atlanta Public Schools is located in parts of Fulton County and DeKalb County, Georgia. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County. Atlanta is home to 443,775 residents.^[2]

Demographics

As of 2013, Atlanta underperformed the state in median household income and poverty rate, but outperformed the state in higher education. According to the 2010 Census, the median household income in Atlanta was $45,946 compared to Georgia's statewide median of $49,736. The rate of residents below the poverty level in Atlanta was 23.2% while the state rate was 16.5%. The percentage of residents over 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher in Atlanta was 46.1%, compared to the state average of 27.5%.^[2]

Racial Demographics, 2012^[2]
Race	Atlanta(%)	Pennsylvania (%)
White	38.4	59.7
Black or African American	54.0	30.5
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.2	0.3
Asian	3.1	3.2
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	Z	0.1
Two or More Races	2.0	2.1
Hispanic or Latino	5.2	8.8

Presidential Voting Pattern^[3]
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	34.4	64.1
2008	32.1	67.1
2004	39.9	59.3
2000	39.8	57.8

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.

Method of board member selection

The Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. Three members of the board are elected at large while the other six members are elected in different district regions. Nine seats were up for election on November 5, 2013, and all nine seats were up for election again in November 2017. A runoff election was held on December 3, 2013 for District 5, District 6, At-large seat 8 and At-large seat 9.

Elections

2013

Candidates

District 1

	2017 → ;
	2013 Atlanta Public Schools Elections
General Election date:
	November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
	About the district ; Method of election ; Elections ; What was at stake? ; Key deadlines ; Additional elections ; External links ; References
See also
	Georgia ; Atlanta Public Schools ;

Brenda J. Muhammad
- Incumbent
- Director of nonprofit

Leslie Grant
- Small business owner
- Barry College, The Georgia Institute of Technology

District 2

Byron D. Amos
- Incumbent
- CEO of Capacity Builders, Inc

District 3

Matt Westmoreland
- History teacher
- Princeton University

District 4

Nancy M. Meister
- Incumbent
- Real-estate agent

Taryn Bowman
- Southern Methodist University

District 5

Steven Lee
- Business owner

Charles Lawrence
- Business owner, Real estate broker
- Howard University

Mary L. Palmer
- IT worker
- Jackson State University, Georgia Tech

Raynard Johnson
- IT software development
- Boston College

District 6

Eshé Collins
- Project director
- Spelman College, Georgia State University, North Carolina Central University School of Law

Anne Wofford McKenzie
- Retired APS teacher

Dell Byrd
- Georgia State University, Central Michigan University, Georgia Southern University

Shawnna Hayes-Tavares
- Wilberforce University, Georgia State University

At-large seat 7

Nisha Simama
- Northern Illinois University, Atlanta University

Courtney D. English
- Incumbent
- Teacher
- Morehouse College, Master's Columbia University

At-large seat 8

Dave Walker

Cynthia Briscoe Brown
- Attorney

Mark Riley
- Real estate agent, business owner
- Vanderbilt University

Reuben McDaniel
- Incumbent
- President/CEO
- The University of North Carolina - Charlotte, The University of Texas

Tom Tidwell
- Attorney
- Georgia State University, The University of Georgia

At-large seat 9

Lori James
- Instructor and Consultant
- The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Georgia State University, Fielding University

Jason F. Esteves
- Attorney
- The University of Miami

Ed Johnson
- President and Principal Consultant
- Clark College

Sean Norman
- President and CEO
- Morehouse College

Eddie Lee Brewster
- Life insurance agent, substitute teacher

Election Results

Runoff election

Atlanta Public Schools, District 5 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Steven Lee	59.5%	1,925
	Nonpartisan	Mary Palmer	40.5%	1,310
Total Votes				3,235
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 6 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Eshe Collins	59.1%	1,373
	Nonpartisan	Dell Byrd	40.9%	951
Total Votes				2,324
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 8 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Cynthia Briscoe Brown	65.8%	9,976
	Nonpartisan	Reuben McDaniel Incumbent	34.2%	5,181
Total Votes				15,157
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 9 Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Jason Esteves	71.4%	10,564
	Nonpartisan	Lori James	28.6%	4,233
Total Votes				14,797
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

General election

Atlanta Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Leslie Grant	57.8%	3,965
	Nonpartisan	Brenda Muhammad Incumbent	42.1%	2,888
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.1%	8
Total Votes				6,861
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Byron Amos Incumbent	98.2%	3,868
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	1.8%	70
Total Votes				3,938
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Matt Westmoreland	98.9%	6,050
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	1.1%	68
Total Votes				6,118
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Nancy Meister Incumbent	65.2%	5,748
	Nonpartisan	Taryn Bowman	34.7%	3,063
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.1%	11
Total Votes				8,822
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Steven Lee	36.8%	3,125
	Nonpartisan	Mary Palmer	36.4%	3,085
	Nonpartisan	Raynard Johnson	16%	1,361
	Nonpartisan	Charles Lawrence	10.4%	879
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.4%	31
Total Votes				8,481
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Eshe Collins	35.9%	2,830
	Nonpartisan	Dell Byrd	25.4%	2,000
	Nonpartisan	Shawanna Hayes-Tavares	23.1%	1,818
	Nonpartisan	Anne Wofford McKenzie	15.4%	1,217
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.2%	17
Total Votes				7,882
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, At-large seat 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Courtney English Incumbent	61.2%	26,543
	Nonpartisan	Nisha Simama	38.4%	16,651
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.3%	143
Total Votes				43,337
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, At-large seat 8 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Reuben McDaniel Incumbent	36.8%	16,256
	Nonpartisan	Cynthia Briscoe Brown	25.8%	11,410
	Nonpartisan	Mark Riley	18.1%	7,998
	Nonpartisan	Tom Tidwell	15.1%	6,689
	Nonpartisan	Dave Walker	4%	1,757
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.2%	90
Total Votes				44,200
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Atlanta Public Schools, At-large seat 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Jason Esteves	34.4%	13,490
	Nonpartisan	Lori James	30.7%	12,046
	Nonpartisan	Sean Norman	13%	5,091
	Nonpartisan	Ed Johnson	11.7%	4,608
	Nonpartisan	Eddie Lee Brewster	9.7%	3,814
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.5%	192
Total Votes				39,241
Source: Fulton County Board of Election, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2017

Endorsements

Atlanta Progressive News endorsed Brenda J. Muhammad, Byron D. Amos, Taryn Bowman, Raynard Johnson, Anne Wofford McKenzie, Nisha Simama, Cynthia Briscoe Brown, and Ed Johnson.^[4] The BuckheadView also endorsed Brown and Simama along with Nancy M. Meister, Tom Tidwell and Jason F. Esteves.^[5] The Atlanta Federation of Teachers endorsed Muhammad, Amos, Bowman, Mary L. Palmer, Dell Byrd, Simama, Reuben McDaniel and Lori James.^[6] Palmer and Brown were endorsed by The Network for Public Education.^[7]

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $911,552.76 and spent a total of $620,933.77 during the election, according to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.^[8]

In the District 1 race, candidates received a total of $148,887 and spent a total of $111,169.23.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Brenda J. Muhammad	$82,414.00	$55,913.73	$26,500.27
Leslie Grant	$66,473.00	$55,255.50	$11,217.50

In the District 2 race, Amos received a total of $6,379.12 and spent a total of $2,348.70.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Byron D. Amos	$6,379.12	$2,348.70	$4,030.42

In the District 3 race, Westmoreland received a total of $37,047.50 and spent a total of $1,126.79.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Matt Westmoreland	$37,047.50	$1,126.79	$35,920.71

In the District 4 race, candidates received a total of $37,508.00 and spent a total of $36,390.34.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Nancy M. Meister	$19,884.00	$18,891.00	$992.80
Taryn Bowman	$17,624.00	$17,499.34	$174.66

In the District 5 race, candidates received a total of $37,114.24 and spent a total of $16,961.38.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Steven Lee	$9,250.00	$2,950.00	$6,300.00
Charles Lawrence	$1,439.00	$1,425.07	$13.93
Mary L. Palmer	$20,585.57	$11,784.11	$8,801.46
Raynard Johnson	$5,839.67	$802.20	$5,037.47

In the District 6 race, candidates received a total of $58,877.88 and spent a total of $35,967.04.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Eshé Collins	$46,507.00	$29,891.20	$16,615.80
Dell Byrd	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Anne Wofford McKenzie	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Shawnna Hayes-Tavares	$12,370.88	$6,075.84	$6,295.04

In the District 7 race, candidates received a total of $146,037.85 and spent a total of $87,174.54.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Nisha Simama	$60,428.00	$45,637.46	$14,790.54
Courtney D. English	$85,609.85	$41,537.08	$44,072.77

In the District 8 race, candidates received a total of $333,150.93 and spent a total of $254,209.85.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Dave Walker	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Cynthia Briscoe Brown	$54,031.00	$35,345.96	$18,685.04
Reuben McDaniel	$73,264.00	$62,821.43	$10,442.57
Tom Tidwell	$61,818.94	$33,497.56	$28,321.38
Mark Riley	$144,036.99	$122,544.90	$21,492.09

In the District 9 race, candidates received a total of $106,550.24 and spent a total of $75,585.90.^[8]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Jason F. Esteves	$70,990.24	$54,610.86	$16,379.38
Lori James	$17,375.00	$5,687.04	$11,687.96
Ed Johnson	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Sean Norman	$16,435.00	$14,843.00	$1,591.30
Eddie Lee Brewster	$1,750.00	$445.00	$1,305.00

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2009

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, District 2, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Khaatim Sherrer El Incumbent	52.5%	2,980
	Nonpartisan	Donald Walker	25.8%	1,467
	Nonpartisan	Virgil S. Kendrick, Jr.	21.7%	1,234
Total Votes				5,681
Source: Atlanta Election Results

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, District 3, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Cecily Harsch Kinnane Incumbent	57.8%	6,538
	Nonpartisan	Charlie Stadtlander	42.2%	4,772
Total Votes				11,310
Source: Atlanta Election Results

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, District 4, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Nancy Meister	51.8%	6,357
	Nonpartisan	Mark Riley Incumbent	48.2%	5,906
Total Votes				12,263
Source: Atlanta Election Results

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, District 5, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	LaChandra Butler-Burks Incumbent	51.4%	4,119
	Nonpartisan	Carolyn B. Jones	48.6%	3,896
Total Votes				8,015
Source: Atlanta Election Results

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, District 6, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Yolanda K. Johnson Incumbent	68.2%	6,460
	Nonpartisan	Anne Wofford McKenzie	16.8%	1,595
	Nonpartisan	Akwokwo Redhead	15%	1,416
Total Votes				9,471
Source: Atlanta Election Results

Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education, District 9, At-large, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Emmett Johnson Incumbent	62.3%	33,525
	Nonpartisan	Tony M.J. McCann	37.7%	20,307
	Nonpartisan		0%	0
Total Votes				53,832
Source: Atlanta Election Results

What was at stake?

All nine seats on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education were at stake in the 2013 election. Brenda J. Muhammad, Byron D. Amos, Nancy M. Meister, Courtney D. English, and Reuben McDaniel were the only incumbents who sought re-election.

Issues

Convictions related to statewide test cheating

On March 29, 2013, a Fulton County grand jury indicted 35 Atlanta educators, including former superintendent Beverly 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. Prosecutors charged former superintendent Hall with theft, alleging that her salary rose with the district-wide test score improvement.^[9]^[10]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution began investigating test scores in 2008 after finding that one Atlanta school has increased test scores by what it described as 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 stated that the test score targets set by Hall’s administration placed undue pressure on schools and staff.^[11]^[12]^[13]

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.^[14]^[15]^[9]

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Atlanta Public Schools election in 2013:^[16]

Deadline	Event
January 1, 2013	Earliest date for a Write-In Candidate to File and Publish a Notice of Intention to be a Write-in Candidate
March 3, 2013	Earliest date (180 days prior to the close of Qualifying) for a Candidate to circulate a Qualifying Petition to accompany a Pauper's Affidavit submitted in lieu of paying a Qualifying Fee
August 26, 2013	File a Notice of Candidacy & Affidavit and Pay Applicable Qualifying Fee or file a Qualifying Petition and Pauper’s Affidavit
August 30, 2013	Latest Date for Circulating and Filing a Qualifying Petition to Accompany a Pauper’s Affidavit submitted in lieu of paying a Qualifying Fee
September 6, 2013	Latest Date for a Write-In Candidate to File a Notice of Intention to be a Write-In Candidate, and for such notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation or the official gazette of the municipality holding the election
September 11, 2013	Latest Date for a Write-In Candidate to file a copy of his/her published Notice of Intention to be a Write-In Candidate, and an Affidavit of Publishing which includes the name of the publishing paper and the publication date.
October 25, 2013	Last Day to Register and be Eligible to Vote.
October 14, 2013	Early voting begins.
November 1, 2013	Early voting ends.
November 5, 2013	Election day.

Additional elections on the ballot

In addition to the Board of Education elections, residents of Atlanta voted in a mayoral race and city council races. They also voted on whether to retain five Municipal Court Judge for the city of Atlanta.^[17]

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

[1] Patch.com, "Four Atlanta School Board Races to be Decided in Runoffs, Hunt Archbold November 6, 2013

[Census-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 2010 Census: Quick Facts, "Atlanta," accessed October 23, 2013"

[3] Fulton County Registration and Elections, "Archived Election Results," accessed October 23, 2013

[4] Atlanta Progressive News, "APN Full Endorsements: APS BOE 2013," MATTHEW CHARLES CARDINALE, October 20, 2013

[5] BuckheadView, "Commentary: BuckheadView’s city elections choices," accessed October 29, 2013

[6] Financial Deconstruction, "Atlanta Federation of Teachers endorses slate of candidates for the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education," accessed October 29, 2013

[7] The Network of Public Education, "NPE endorses Cynthia Briscoe Brown and Mary Palmer for Atlanta School Board," accessed October 30, 2013

[finance-8] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 ^8.4 ^8.5 ^8.6 ^8.7 ^8.8 ^8.9 Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, "Campaign Reports Search," accessed December 24, 2013

[WABE-9] 9.0 ^9.1 WABE, "Grand Jury Hands Up Indictment in APS Cheating Scandal, Includes Beverly Hall," March 29, 2013

[10] 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)

[11] Larry Coplan, USA TODAY, "School cheating scandal shakes up Atlanta," April 14, 2013

[12] Courthouse News Service, "Report Eviscerates Atlanta Schools|for Decade of Systematic Cheating," July 27, 2011

[13] Courthouse News Service, "Special investigation of Atlanta Public Schools: Report, Volume 3," accessed April 5, 2021

[NYTCheat-14] New York Times, "Atlanta Educators Convicted in School Cheating Scandal," April 1, 2015

[15] Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "The APS cheating trial sentences," September 28, 2018

[16] City of Atlanta,2013 Election Calendar," accessed October 23, 2013

[17] City of Atlanta, Sample Ballots," accessed October 23, 2013

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Atlanta Public Schools elections (2013)