Beverly Hall’s legacy and what role she may have had in the Atlanta Public Schools test cheating scandal continued to be debated as word spread about her death Monday.
Andrew Young, the former mayor and U.N. ambassador who appealed during a court hearing for Hall not to go to trial because of her cancer, called Hall “one of the saints of public education.”
Young said Hall probably wasn’t close enough to know about the cheating from her perch as superintendent, where he said she was somewhat separated from the actions of teachers, principals and administrators.
“She refused (a plea deal) and wanted to fight this, but she couldn’t fight the attacks and cancer at the same time,” Young said in a telephone interview.
Julie Oinonen, an attorney for APS whistleblowers, said Hall ignored evidence of cheating.
“My client suffered grave retaliation and the loss of her livelihood as a result of blowing the whistle on Dr. Hall’s debacle,” Oinonen said. “Dr. Hall may rest in peace now, but the thousands of little children who were deprived of an education and the many whistleblowers…remain behind in suffering.”
Others declined to wade into the debate about Hall.
State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, learned of Hall’s death while in a Senate education meeting Monday afternoon. He said it’s too soon to determine Hall’s legacy in Atlanta and beyond.
“It’s very sad,” he said. “Her family and friends have my greatest sympathy. I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about legacy at this point.”
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed also offered his condolences.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Dr. Beverly Hall,” Reed said in a statement. “Dr. Hall fought a courageous battle against breast cancer, and the city of Atlanta mourns her loss.”
The current APS Superintendent, Meria Carstarphen, and its board chairman, Courtney English, issued statements Monday afternoon expressing their sympathies to Hall’s family.
Paul Shaw, director of educator ethics for the state’s Professional Standards Commission, said Monday he will recommend the administrative case against Hall be closed.
Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, said her group was vocal about the pressures teachers faced under the Hall administration. But she does not believe Hall was the mastermind behind what’s believed to be the nation’s largest cheating scandal.
“I do believe she was an outstanding educator, and I personally did not see any evidence where I should question her integrity,” Turner said. “It has not been proven.
I don’t believe she was involved to the extent folks said she was involved.”
Shawnna Hayes-Tavares, who has three children in the Atlanta system and is a constant presence at school board meetings, believes Hall was at the very least aware of what was being done by some teachers and administrators.
“We remember her for her not being held accountable for her role in the APS scandal,” said Hayes-Tavares.
Hayes-Tavares wanted Hall to stand trial. Young believes a more appropriate solution would have been to have an investigation by a commission and handing out fines to anyone found responsible for cheating. Young lamented what he described as a lack of forgiveness in the court system.
Hayes-Tavares noted that many of the schools found to have high levels of cheating are on Gov. Nathan Deal’s list of chronically -underperforming schools that would be candidates for being taken over by the state under a proposed Opportunity School District.
“I think it’s another example of the impact of the cheating scandal,” she said.
Hayes-Tavares said Hall’s death leaves a question that won’t be resolved. Was Hall truly aware of cheating in the Atlanta Public School system?
“We will never know,” she said.
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