The judge presiding over the Atlanta public school cheating trial began to hand down stiff prison sentences Tuesday to former educators convicted of conspiring to boost students' test scores in a cheating scandal that has drawn national attention.
Only two of 11 former Atlanta educators accepted a last-minute sentencing deal from prosecutors. Former testing coordinator Donald Bullock was sentenced to five years' probation, six months of weekends in jail, a $5,000 fine and 1,500 hours of community service. And Pamela Cleveland, a former elementary teacher, has agreed to one year of home confinement, five years of probation, a $1,000 fine and 1,000 hours of community service.
But Fulton County Superior Court Judge W. Baxter was dealing more harshly with the others. Prosecutors had urged sentences of between one and three years behind bars.
Yet the judge began to hand down much stricter sentences for the first three defendants to come before him, former regional directors with Atlanta Public Schools. All were sentenced to serve seven years in prison, as well as probation, fines and community service.
"It's an unjust and unfair sentence," said George Lawson, attorney for Michael Pitts.
But the judge retorted: "I think there were hundreds and thousands of kids who were lost in the schools. That's what got lost, Everyone's crying, but this is not a victimless crime that occurred in this city."
The judge showed some leniency toward Dana Evans, a former principal who had counseled his son at a previous middle school. The prosecution had recommended she serve two years. "This is a hard case," Baxter said, before sentencing her to serve one.
On Monday, Baxter had taken the unusual step of allowing prosecutors to offer each convicted educator a compromise that would exclude harsh prison terms – offering either one year or six months of weekends in jail or a year of home confinement – in exchange for taking responsibility for their actions and apologizing to the community.
The judge urged defendants to take the deals, warning they would result in lighter sentences than he planned to hand down. Yet 10 attorneys for the educators declined to agree to prosecutors' compromise, which also required their clients waive their right to appeal.
The six-month Atlanta trial has raised national questions about high-stakes testing in low-performing inner city schools. It has also provoked considerable discussion about fair punishment.
Two weeks ago, jurors convicted 11 of 12 defendants of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by conspiring to change students' answers on tests. Some were also convicted of lesser felonies, such as influencing a witness, theft by taking, false swearing or making a false statement or writing.
One defendant was acquitted. Another, who gave birth to a son on Saturday, is expected to be sentenced in August.
The Atlanta case was the largest in a string of recent school district cheating scandals across the nation, and the first to result in criminal racketeering convictions for elementary school teachers.
Pastors, family members and civil rights activists – including Andrew Young, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations – packed the courthouse Monday to appeal for mercy for the educators, all African Americans who had worked in low-income neighborhoods.
Many vouched for the defendants' good character. Some argued the case was unfairly prosecuted, and questioned the state's use of a racketeering statute popularly associated with mobsters and gangsters.
In 2013, about three dozen educators were indicted. The alleged ringleader — former Supt. Beverly L. Hall — died March 2, and 21 others pleaded guilty to lesser charges before the trial began.
Jarvie reported from Atlanta and Muskal reported from Los Angeles.
nation@latimes.com
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