Corrective Superintendent Assumes Clayton Helm

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Today was the first day on the job for Clayton County's new corrective superintendent. School board members suddenly decided late last week to hire John Thompson through June of 2009, as the system faces the possibility of losing accreditation.

David Barton of the Metro South Association of Realtors plans to attend a school board work session tonight to see how Thompson and the board get along

BARTON: I honestly think the Board thinks they have a yes-man. They looked like the cat that swallowed the canary the other day when they were so proud that they had hired this person.

Barton thinks the Board may be in for a surprise, based on his own research into Thompson's history as superintendent in Pittsburgh. There, Thompson clashed many times with that system's school board.

Clayton's school board hired Thompson under circumstances that have prompted a fresh round of outrage from the public. Barton and others say they've had it with the closed meetings, and several coalitions are exploring legal action.