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Atlanta trash pickup bills to go up today
Report blames higher cost on inefficiency
D.L. Bennett - Staff
Tuesday, July 1, 2003

Correction: 07/04/03, page A/2: The Atlanta Housing Authority has a contract with a private hauler to provide garbage service for public housing residents in the city. A story in Tuesday's Metro section incorrectly reported that the city of Atlanta provides the service free to the authority.

Atlanta trash collection rates will rise by 29 percent today, even though a consultants' report shows the city actually could cut residential bills if it did a better job with garbage service.

The rate will go from $286 a year to $370 for average residential bills to help the city reverse years of budget deficits for solid waste services.

But the consultants, Black & Veatch, recommended that homeowners' bills actually be cut to $268 and the losses be made up through more efficiency and higher fees paid by apartments and commercial properties.

Their study found that Atlanta on average spends 38 percent more than comparable size cities to collect trash and nearly three times more to sweep streets. The other cities were not named.

Mayor Shirley Franklin said the rate increase will help Atlanta balance its books until the city can reconsider its $45 million-a-year sanitation program.

Franklin agreed the rate increase could have been avoided if the city had done a better job of collecting trash. She hopes to be doing that by the end of the year.

"The dilemma is that we have to balance a budget," Franklin said. "We can't just continue to carry a deficit. This is not a neat puzzle. Everything doesn't fit that well together."

The council adopted the rate increase with the city budget in February to keep the sanitation program from continuing to bleed red ink after two years of losses totaling $15 million.

The report said Atlanta wastes money through inefficiency. It said every Atlanta garbage truck drives twice daily to the Live Oak landfill in south DeKalb to dump trash. The frequent visits waste valuable time that could be spent picking up trash, wears out aging equipment and costs taxpayers money in fuel and repairs.

The city also loses more than $1 million in revenue a year because of discounts to groups like senior citizens and giveaways to institutions like MARTA, Grady Memorial Hospital and the Atlanta Housing Authority, the study found. Black & Veatch asked the city to look at the breaks it hands out to see whether they can be justified.

City residents, meanwhile, complain crews fail to keep up with schedules for picking up yard waste and bulk items.

Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong said any rate increase is unjustified until Atlanta at least finds out how much it would cost to privatize its garbage collection. She has drafted a resolution that asks the city to put the service out for bids.

"I want to make sure we exhausted all strategies," Archibong said. "Without that, I can't look my ratepayers in the eye."

Franklin said she wants to hear from her new public works commissioner, David Scott, before deciding whether to pursue privatization. Scott said he is looking into it.

Besides the yearly operating deficits, the city fails to collect about 15 percent, or $6.75 million, of the amount it bills each year. The billing and collection tasks have been given to tax commissioners in DeKalb and Fulton.

The city now takes 260,000 tons a year of trash to Live Oak, but it is under order to close down next year.

Council members are trying to rewrite the city's solid waste ordinance to look at such issues as placement of waste transfer stations and volume-based billing. Black & Veatch recommended that the city scrap its current billing system.

The firm also said Atlanta should look at franchising, dividing the city into zones and bidding those zones out to private haulers.

TRASH COST COMPARISONS
Following is a comparison of Atlanta's garbage collection rates with those charged by other cities in the metro area.
.............. Trash
.............. collector.. Frequency......Cost
Atlanta........City........Once a week....$370 annually
Decatur........City........Once a week....$180 annually
Lawrenceville..City........Once a week....$6 a month residential
Marietta...... City........Twice a week.. Varies (for example,
..........................................one 32-gallon can
..........................................for $24/month or two
..........................................32-gallon cans at
..........................................$34/month
Smyrna........ City........Once to twice
...........................a week........ $16.50/month
Roswell........City........Three times
...........................a week........ $228 annually
Cumming........City........Once a week....$144 annually
Source: Staff research








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Rowdiness up, report shows

FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS: Rowdiness up, report shows
Increase is slight, but Atlanta jumps
Paul Donsky and Diane R. Stepp - Staff
Thursday, July 3, 2003

The latest round of school discipline reports shows a big increase in the total number of incidents reported by Atlanta Public Schools and a slight increase in the total number of incidents reported in Fulton County.

Atlanta Public Schools reported 25,062 incidents during the 2002-03 school year, nearly twice the number from the year before when APS reported 13,605 incidents.

Atlanta faced an inquiry from the state Department of Education this spring after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found that the district filed incomplete discipline reports for the 2001-02 school year, including no figures from nearly half of its schools.

Atlanta school officials admitted making mistakes and vowed they had made management and technological changes to prevent future errors.

The latest figures show a dramatic increase in several areas. APS reported 7,189 discipline incidents that resulted in in-school suspension during the 2002-03 school year, compared with 1,952 the year before. APS reported 16,620 out-of-school suspensions, about double the number of the year before.

Among specific offenses, the number of fighting incidents dropped sharply, from 2,625 in 2001-02 to 95 last school year. The number of arson cases rose from 12 to 25 last year.

But the biggest change involves offenses in the "other" category --- that is, minor offenses that resulted in disciplinary action. APS reported 22,378 of these cases last school year, compared with 3,331 the year before.

Atlanta school officials did not respond to an interview request.

The Fulton County schools reported 28,257 incidents during the 2002-03 school year, a 7.5 percent increase from the year before. The rate of incidents per 100 students rose from 38.6 percent to 40.6 percent during that time.

The most common offense in Fulton was disorderly conduct, with 3,942 cases last school year. That compares with 3,295 cases the year before.

Among serious offenses, Fulton reported 231 cases of battery, 221 cases of drug possession, 5 robberies and 350 cases of larceny or theft. The county also reported 168 weapons offenses, including 17 cases of possession of a firearm and 68 cases of possession of a knife.

A fourth of the state's 180 school systems failed to file the state mandated student discipline reports on time last week, though DOE officials said the remaining districts either were double-checking their data or trying to overcome technical problems in filing their data.

State law requires school districts to report any offense that results in serious disciplinary action, including in-school and out-of-school suspension, expulsion and referrals to juvenile or court authorities.

The data have come under close scrutiny in recent weeks after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV joint investigation found Gwinnett County Public Schools failed to report the majority of its offenses to the state and Atlanta Public Schools deleted some offenses rather than correct errors in its data.

Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), who sponsored legislation requiring districts to report discipline information, said exposure of underreporting "has put DOE on notice that they've got to do a better job and that the public is really not going to tolerate a cavalier approach to collecting this data."

Fort said he thinks the school districts' reporting errors have been intentional in some cases and unintentional in others.

In light of the AJC/WSB investigation, Fort said he will look at the results skeptically "until the DOE assures us that these numbers are real numbers."

School district officials across metro Atlanta are complaining that the DOE's reporting requirements are unclear and ambiguous. In a letter sent to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bartow County Schools technology director Olive W. Conlin wrote, "The Department of Education's report is less than desirable for public reporting purposes . . . due to the poor categorization of incidents."

Conlin's letter is identical to others sent to the newspaper by Forsyth County and several other metro school systems that included a disclaimer about their data.

Forsyth's superintendent of schools, Paula H. Gault, said her district's director of technology circulated the letter to other school districts, which attached it to their data.

The next round of reporting for school districts is a report for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which is due to the state DOE two weeks before the start of school.

That data will be used to evaluate student progress and identify persistently dangerous schools. The act allows parents to move their child out of low-performing or unsafe schools beginning this school year.

BREAKDOWN OF INCIDENTS FOR FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS
Georgia law requires school systems to report any serious discipline incident or any other offense that results in serious disciplinary action, such as in-school or out-of-school suspension. Minor offenses that don't result in serious disciplinary action are not reflected in the data. Here's a breakdown of what Fulton County schools reported to the state Department of Education for the past two school years:
Offense.......... 2001-02...... 2002-03
Alcohol................64............77
Arson.................. 7............10
Battery.............. 257.......... 231
Breaking & entering.... 1............ 1
Computer trespass......34............33
Disorderly conduct..3,295........ 3,942
Drugs................ 334.......... 221
Fighting............2,876........ 2,690
Larceny/theft........ 396.......... 350
Motor vehicle theft.... 4............ 2
Robbery................ 2............ 5
Sexual harassment.... 345.......... 269
Sex offenses.......... 84............70
Threat/intimidation.. 582.......... 740
Tobacco.............. 440.......... 344
Trespassing............48............43
Vandalism............ 268.......... 300
Weapons/firearms...... 20............17
Weapons/knives........137............68
Weapons/other..........84............83
Other*............ 16,984........18,761
*Other than alcohol and tobacco
**A compilation of minor offenses that resulted in serious disciplinary action. For instance, this may include a student who, after repeated tardiness, was given in-school suspension or some other form of serious disciplinary action.

BREAKDOWN OF INCIDENTS IN ARTLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Georgia law requires school systems to report any serious discipline incident or any other offense that results in serious disciplinary action, such as in-school or out-of-school suspension. Minor offenses that don't result in serious disciplinary action are not reflected in the data. Here's a breakdown of what Atlanta Public Schools reported to the state Department of Education for the past two school years:
Offense............ 2001-02.... 2002-03
Alcohol.................. 9.......... 7
Arson....................12..........25
Battery................ 375........ 304
Breaking/entering........13.......... 5
Computer trespass........ 4.......... 1
Disorderly conduct....6,368........ 264
Drugs*.................. 73........ 127
Fighting..............2,625..........95
Homicide..................0.......... 0
Kidnapping................4.......... 0
Larceny/theft............51..........76
Motor vehicle theft...... 1.......... 4
Robbery..................14..........19
Sexual battery.......... 25.......... 6
Sexual harassment........25..........69
Sex offenses............ 56........ 113
Threat/intimidation.... 346........ 973
Tobacco..................14..........63
Trespassing..............50..........91
Vandalism................95........ 298
Weapons/firearms........ 11..........14
Weapons/knives.......... 40..........60
Weapons/other............63..........70
Other**.............. 3,331......22,378
*Other than alcohol and tobacco
**A compilation of minor offenses that resulted in serious disciplinary action. For instance, this may include a student who, after repeated tardiness, was given in-school suspension or some other form of serious disciplinary action.








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August 2003 news stories

State releases weak schools list
Some parents must decide fast on transfers

By DANA TOFIG
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Related:
• CONTACT US Is your child's school on the 'Needs Improvement' list? What do you think about that?
• Metro schools subject to sanctions
• Q&A: List isn't the final word




Ben Gray / AJC
State School Superintendent Kathy Cox puts numbers on a chart showing Title I schools in Georgia that did not meet progress requirements.




Now the scrambling begins.

The state released its list of "Needs Improvement" schools Tuesday, and nearly a quarter of the schools that receive federal money for low-income students must offer parents the choice of transferring their children to another school.

However, with some schools already in session and the rest scheduled to return next week, it all has to happen fast. In fact, many parents face the prospect of moving their child to a new school after classes start.

There is good news. Nearly 60 percent of the state's schools that received Title I funds meant for the state's poorest students met the testing goals.

"Today, we've received a road map," state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said at a quickly called news conference. "We've identified the systems that we have to cover and we know where we're headed."

The state's "Needs Improvement" list is required under the federal No Child Left Behind school reform act, signed into law by President Bush in 2002. Schools on the list for at least two years must offer parents the option of sending their children to a higher performing school. Schools on the list for three years must offer free tutoring. In subsequent years, the sanctions get tougher and could eventually lead to state takeover.

The data released Tuesday night deal only with the 1,128 state schools that receive Title I funds. Of those, 456 did not meet the state's testing goals.

Among them, 81 schools around the state must offer parents the option of transferring their children to a higher performing public school and an additional 51 must also offer free tutoring. Also, 147 Georgia schools must offer transfers, tutoring and undergo corrective action, which can include state intervention and staff reassignments. There are at least 55 metro Atlanta schools that must, at minimum, offer transfers for the 2003-2004 school year.

The accountability status of the 875 schools in Georgia that do not receive Title I funds will be released later this week.

On the positive side, there were 672 Title I schools that met the state's testing goals. Of those, nearly 40 percent were on the needs improvement list last year. If those schools meet the testing goals for one more year, they will be removed from the list. In the meantime, they do not have to offer any new transfers or tutoring.

"These schools are pointing the way," Cox said. "We need to make what's common sense common practice in the state of Georgia."

'Achievement gap'

The state uses scores from its curriculum exam -- known as the CRCT -- and the graduation test to determine if a school has made its testing goals.

At least 50 percent of elementary and middle school students must pass the math curriculum exam and at least 60 percent must pass the reading and language arts exams for a school to make "adequate yearly progress." Higher pass rates are required on the high school tests. Also, each school's student population is broken down into subgroups by race, economic status and other indicators. Each of those subgroups must also meet the same testing goals or the school will have failed to make enough progress.

Cox said it was the subgroups that undid many of the schools.

"This is our achievement gap in Georgia," Cox said Tuesday night. For instance, she said Hispanic students in some school systems did not do well -- something that Georgia must reckon with.

But it wasn't test scores that tripped up some schools.

At least 95 percent of a school's students must take the state curriculum exam or the high school graduation test for the school to meet its goals. There were 298 schools that failed to make "adequate yearly progress" because they didn't meet that goal -- although some of those schools may not have made it anyway because of their test scores.

At Simonton Elementary School in Lawrenceville, there were 50 students with disabilities who should have taken the state's curriculum exam last spring. But only 47 took the math portion of the state's exam. That's 94 percent.

"If they would have had one more student take the math test, they would have made it," said Cindy Loe, an associate superintendent with the Gwinnett County schools.

The breaking down of data by subgroups -- called "disaggregation" -- is the heart of No Child Left Behind. It is meant to make schools identify exactly where they are underachieving.

Dr. Frank Petruzielo, superintendent of Cherokee County Schools, said his system had four schools that did not meet the state's testing goals. However, he pointed out, three of those schools failed to meet the goals based on test participation or attendance. And the one school that did not make the mark academically, Teasley Middle, fell short only with one subgroup -- students with disabilities. Petruzielo said No Child Left Behind is well-intentioned.

"If indeed you want to make sure that no child is left behind, the disaggregation will be helpful," he said, "but I'm not sure it will get at the root causes of the learning issues that disadvantaged kids deal with."

Data delayed

Education officials released the list of schools that will have to offer transfers or tutoring a few hours after the press conference and four days after a self imposed deadline of Aug. 1.

Now, the focus shifts to the school systems. The systems must notify parents who have children at a school that must offer transfers and tutoring.

"We have a letter ready and we'll fill in the blanks," Melinda Ness, special programs coordinators for Forsyth County Schools, said Tuesday afternoon. "We have to be ready for school to start on Monday."

Across metro Atlanta, educators and parents were waiting for the list. For many it wasn't the issue of transfers or tutoring. It was getting -- or getting rid of -- the label "needs improvement school."

Last year, Leigh Roberts moved her son, Jackson, to a private day school after her neighborhood school, Hickory Hills in Marietta, was placed on the needs improvement list. This year Hickory Hills got off the list.

"I think it's wonderful," she said. "The school improvement benefits everybody." But will she send her child back to public schools?

"I wouldn't transfer my son back," she said. "At this point, I don't like the handwriting on the wall."

Maryum MaNais-Thomas is a parent and PTA president at Venetian Hills Elementary School in southwest Atlanta, which got off the list this year. She never thought about transferring her children: "That is my school." She said she doesn't think the remedies offered in No Child Left Behind are communicated well enough to parents.

"They don't understand that your school could not be doing well and if it's not doing well for two years, you have the right to transfer your child," she said. "You get the pamphlets, but they don't explain that you have the option to change."

The ultimate goal for No Child Left Behind is for all students to be performing at grade level by 2013-2014. That means all students must pass the state exams.

"It's a tough standard," Cox said. "It's what we need in this state. The achievement gap is real."

-- Staff writers Patti Ghezzi, Pete Scott, Diane R. Stepp, Monifa Thomas, Mary MacDonald, Paul Donsky and Rochelle Carter contributed to this article.



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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 8/6/03 ]

List isn't the final word
Q&A on state's 'needs improvement' schools list

By PATTI GHEZZI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Here are some answers to questions parents are asking about the "Needs Improvement" list:

Q: My school is on the "Needs Improvement" list, what should I do?

A: The first step is to find out why your school is on the list. This year, the state required at least 60 percent of all students in elementary and middle schools to pass the state curriculum test, known as the CRCT, in reading and language arts. At least half of elementary and middle school students must pass the math portion. High schools must have an 88 percent passing rate for English and language arts and an 81 percent pass rate on the math test. Schools that meet these goals may still land on the list by falling short in a subgroup, such as African-American students. Check your school's Web site or call the main office for details. In most cases, school leaders will be prepared to tell you why your school is listed.

Q: Does this mean my school is failing?

A: Not necessarily. It means your school failed to meet the standard in at least one category. For example, your school may have had a poor pass rate in math but an adequate pass rate in reading and language arts. Or your school may have had too many students in a subgroup not meeting the goal.

Q: How was the list determined?

A: Based on the federal law No Child Left Behind, Georgia came up with a plan to make sure schools improve their test scores every year. This plan is called Adequate Yearly Progress or "AYP." School that don't make Adequate Yearly Progress land on the "Needs Improvement" list. The goal is to have every child meet state standards by 2014. State education officials used results on the curriculum test and the Georgia High School Graduation Test to determine which schools didn't make AYP. Only students in grades four, six and eight took the CRCT in the spring, meaning many elementary and middle school students were not included in the calculation. Attendance was also factored into whether schools made AYP. And the law requires that all subgroups at a school meet the testing goals.

Q: What are subgroups?

A: Subgroups must have at least 40 students to count toward AYP. There are 14 subgroups: African-American, American Indian/Native Alaskan, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, white, other/multiracial, students with disabilities, students without disabilities, limited English proficient, economically disadvantaged, noneconomically disadvantaged, migrant, male and female.

Q: Weren't there problems with the CRCT this year? How can these scores be used?

A: The curriculum test was supposed to be given in grades 1-8 in language arts, reading, math, science and social studies. But some questions from practice tests turned up on the real tests, forcing the state to cancel all but language arts, reading and math in grades four, six and eight. These tests contain some duplicate questions, but a testing expert hired by the state said the test results are still valid.

Q: What are my options?

A: If your school has been labeled Needs Improvement for two years in a row, federal law requires it to allow your child to transfer to another public school. You should get at least two transfer options to schools with better pass rates on the curriculum test. The school district must provide transportation.

After three years on the Needs Improvement list, schools must provide free tutoring as well as transfers. To get the tutoring, your child would have to continue attending the Needs Improvement school. Some school districts provide after-school or Saturday tutoring, while others may refer you to private programs such as Sylvan Learning Systems or Club Z In-Home Tutoring. Parents must provide transportation to a private center.

Parents should get letters soon informing them of their options.

Q: My school is not on the list even though I think its test scores are too low. Why?

A: State officials set a standard this year that most schools could meet. Over time, the required pass rate will increase, and eventually all schools will have to have a high pass rate on the curriculum test to stay off the list. Your school may also have gotten a reprieve through a provision called "Safe Harbor." This allows schools to stay off the list even if their failure rates were too high by improving from last year and excelling in another category such as attendance.

Q: This list only seems to include schools in poor neighborhoods. What about schools in middle-class and affluent neighborhoods?

A: The list released Tuesday only applies to schools that get federal funding known as Title 1, which is based on the number of students enrolled in the free or reduced-price lunch program, a measure of poverty. All schools are responsible for meeting state improvement goals, but only Title 1 schools are required this year to provide transfers and tutoring. Soon, the state will issue for the first time a list of non-Title 1 schools that are Needs Improvement. Those schools will not have to offer transfer options this year, because it will be their first time on the list.

Q: Can our school be shut down because it is on the list?

A: Not this year. Schools will have several years to make improvements before the state takes such a drastic measure. Other possible sanctions down the road include transferring the principal and replacing teachers.

Q: This label has caused tremendous harm to my school. Many of our most involved parents say they may transfer. Teachers feel demoralized. How is this supposed to help schools improve?

A: President Bush and the bipartisan group of congressmen who passed No Child Left Behind believe schools must be held to high standards for all children and face penalties if they fail. The idea is that No Child Left Behind will motivate teachers, principals and parents to make sure all students meet the minimum standard.

Q: How does a school get off this list?

A: A school must make Adequate Yearly Progress for two years in a row to get off the list.

Q: My school faces a lot of challenges. Many of our children live in single-parent homes, in homeless shelters or run-down apartments. Many don't get enough food to eat or have adequate healthcare. Is it fair to hold teachers accountable for students with so many problems that hinder learning?

A: Authors of No Child Left Behind are aware of these challenges. Test scores of students who arrive after the official "count" in October are not counted toward a school's status. The law is based on the belief that children will rise to the standard set before them and that every school must have high standards.

Q: How are special-education students supposed to meet the same standard as regular-education students?

A: The idea is that schools should teach special-education students the same curriculum as regular-education students, but teachers may use different strategies such as smaller class sizes, more one-on-one attention, more hands-on activities etc. The law's authors do not want schools to set lower standards for special-education students. However, students with severe disabilities may be assessed in alternative ways.

Q: My school has many students who can barely speak English. Do their test scores count?

A: Yes, though schools are allowed to give these children accommodations such as extra time on the test and even a test in the student's native language. Schools must make annual improvements in the percent of students with Limited English Proficiency passing language proficiency tests.



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© 2003 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Metro schools subject to sanctions

From staff reports

Related:
• State releases data on schools
• Q&A: List isn't the final word




All of the schools listed must offer transfers to better-performing public schools in the district.

* School must also offer tutoring

** School must offer transfers, tutoring and must have a "corrective action plan" that could lead to any of the following: replacing school staff, bringing in an adviser, changing the curriculum or having the school run by the district office.




Atlanta

Brown Middle*
Bunche Middle **
Carver High **
Coan Middle **
Connally Elementary **
Crim High **
Dunbar Elementary **
Kennedy Middle **
King Middle **
Lakewood Elementary **
Long Middle


Buford

N/A


Cherokee

Canton Elementary **
Teasley Middle
Woodstock Elementary **


Clayton

Forest Park Middle
Fountain Elementary
Haynie Elementary
North Clayton Middle
Swint Elementary**
Tara Elementary**


Cobb

Argyle Elementary**
Austell Elementary **
Brumby Elementary*
Green Acres Elementary**
Norton Park Elementary**


Coweta

Evans Middle*
Jefferson Parkway Elementary**
Newnan Crossing Elementary
Smokey Road Middle


Decatur

N/A


DeKalb

Cary Reynolds Elementary**
Cedar Grove Middle
Knollwood Elementary**
McNair Middle**
Salem Middle**
Sequoyah Middle**
Sky Haven Elementary**
Stone Mountain Middle
Woodward Elementary*


Fayette

No Needs Improvement schools


Forsyth

North Forsyth Middle**
Otwell Middle


Fulton

Bear Creek Middle**
Camp Creek Middle**
McNair Middle**
Woodland Middle**


Gwinnett

Beaver Ridge Elementary
Kanoheda Elementary*
Lilburn Middle*
Meadowcreek Elementary*
Minor Elementary*
Nesbit Elementary*
Simonton Elementary*
Summerour Middle


Henry

Oakland Elementary**
Smith Barnes Elementary**
Wesley Lakes Elementary**


Marietta

N/A


Rockdale

Conyers Middle**
Hightower Trail Elementary*
Pine Street Elementary**



NOTE: Some city school systems were not included in the Georgia Department of Education's list of schools being sanctioned for the 2003-2004 school year.





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[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 8/6/03 ]

Pennington reorganizes police
Atlanta department units changed, some officers to be decentralized

By TASGOLA KARLA BRUNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Atlanta/South Metro community page





Saying that many systems and practices of the Atlanta Police Department have "fallen into a state of extreme disrepair," Police Chief Richard Pennington announced Tuesday a significant restructuring of personnel and services in the department he took over a year ago.

The changes call for detectives who work burglaries, auto thefts, residential robberies, assaults and larcenies to move from police headquarters at 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. to each of the six precints, or zones, throughout the city.

"You're going to get better service," Pennington said. "People in the zones will be able to work with detectives."

The remaining parts of the Criminal Investigation Division will be divided into three sections. Major Crimes Section -- investigating homicides, sexual assaults, commercial robberies and major fraud -- Special Enforcement Section, and Investigations Section.

The Special Enforcement Section will have a combined narcotics and vice unit, a new cybercrime task force and auto theft task force. The new Investigations Section will be created to oversee all the field detectives once the decentralization of certain detectives to the zone is complete.

Homicides will continue to be investigated by detectives at headquarters, along with a new special victims unit that will investigate sex crimes and crimes against children, Pennington said.

The intelligence unit will be reorganized into a homeland security unit to work with federal and state law enforcement agencies relating to terrorism, investigate gang and gun-related activity, and conduct high-level intelligence investigations.

A new field inspections unit will be created to establish protocols and monitor extra jobs and the reserve unit.

A new audit and compliance unit will oversee the crime reporting process. Pennington announced this unit after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last month that auditors hired by the chief had found 22,000 crime reports that had been unaccounted for.

In an interview later, Pennington said those numbers don't accurately reflect what his officers were doing, and the number of missing reports would probably be much lower.

Pennington said Tuesday that missing reports had nothing to do with the reorganization, but added: "Creating the audit and compliance unit does, because I want to make sure that if we have a problem it's not going to happen again."

Dennis Hammock, regional director of the Atlanta office of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said he has not had a chance to study the reorganization but has some initial impressions.

He said some officers will be pleased by some of the leadership changes, but he is concerned about the decentralization of the detectives. "You lose the sharing of criminal information," he said.

Some department officers say the organization is suffering from low pay, poor morale and old equipment.

"I think the people I choose to lead the organization will help morale," said Pennington, who said he is also interested in moving the department out of its current offices.

"I'm hoping at some point we can sit down and talk about moving out of this building, because it does impact morale," he said.



City of Atlanta Neighborhoods
Downtown | Midtown | Buckhead | Peachtree Hills | Garden Hills | Tuxedo Park
Druid Hills | West End / Cascade Corridor | Little Five Points | Virginia-Highland
Inman Park | East Atlanta | Kirkwood / East Lake | Grant Park

Downtown

Former warehouses, abandoned office buildings and vacant stores are taking on new life as condominiums and lofts. Once solely an enclave for businesses and banks, the downtown district has been drawing newcomers since the mid-1990s, when it prepared to star in the 1996 Olympic Games. The construction of Centennial Olympic Park, and its fountain of rings and art deco light towers, gave new beauty to the area. Across the street, the CNN Center and Philips Arena offer sporting events and concerts, shops, theaters and restaurants.

Woodruff Park, at the Five Points intersection of Edgewood Avenue and Marietta and Peachtree streets, provides a shady respite beneath new skyscrapers and historic midrises. Downtown is also home to Georgia State University, which has renovated the Rialto Theater as another performing arts venue. The state Capitol and Atlanta's City Hall are nearby, as are the Georgia Dome and Turner Field.

People who enjoy city living are flocking to the area's lofts. The former Kessler's and Muse's department stores have been transformed, as have several former office buildings. A few blocks from downtown, the Castleberry Hill area of industrial warehouses and plants has attracted artists and photographers who enjoy the open floor plans and high ceilings.

Midtown

Once a sleepy pocket between the downtown business district and Buckhead, Midtown was best known as a cultural center, with the High Museum of Art, the Woodruff Arts Center and the Fox Theatre. But the revival of intown living has spurred the conversion of old offices and stores along Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue into lofts. It has also drawn builders who are erecting midrise and garden-style residences to meet the demand. That same demand has boosted prices of Midtown properties into the multimillions.

Along with the multifamily projects, Midtown has several historic neighborhoods where well- heeled buyers own beautiful columned houses along the twisting streets of Ansley Park and the Ansley Golf Club. Families are attracted to the English Tudor style houses of Morningside and Lenox Park, where elementary schools are noted for their active parent associations. Piedmont Park is the city's biggest with 185 acres. The grounds include the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 15 acres of outdoor gardens and woodlands.


West End / Cascade Corridor

Up-and-coming black families and singles have turned the Cascade Road area southwest of town into a booming housing market. Buyers enjoy the area's convenience to downtown, the airport and shopping malls at Greenbriar and Cumberland.

The gateway to Cascade is the historic West End neighborhood, just minutes from downtown and I-20. This Victorian neighborhood of cottages, bungalows and two-story houses features a commercial district along Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, several large churches and a few historic sites, including the Wren's Nest, the home of writer Joel Chandler Harris. From West End, Cascade Road meanders through neighborhoods from the 1950s and 1960s. Many of these older houses sit on spacious lots beside wide streets. New communities, carved out of lots once occupied by the older properties or vacant land, are more typical of today's building styles, with smaller lots but grander houses.

This area is also home to the Atlanta University Center, which comprises Clark Atlanta University and Spelman, Morehouse, Morris Brown colleges. These are some of the finest historically black educational institutions in the country.

Cascade Road crosses I-285 and winds its way to the Fulton County line, where the Fulton industrial district is a prime location for businesses and warehouses.


Buckhead

A shopper's and party animal's dream, Buckhead is where old money meets frat parties, where streets lined with magnificent million-dollar homes empty onto a famous Atlanta singles scene. It's home to the Governor's Mansion, much of the goings-on chronicled in Tom Wolfe's "A Man in Full" and two of the area's best malls. Buckhead isn't a neighborhood in the most strict sense of the word -- it comprises about twenty neighborhoods, each with its own borders, character and civic association. Among Buckhead's best known neighborhoods are Peachtree Hills, Garden Hills and Tuxedo Park.

Peachtree Hills

Most residents of Peachtree Hills place a high value on location. Homes aren't cheap in this woodsy enclave, but you can't beat it's proximity to the cultural and business centers of Atlanta. Expect to pay more than $300,000 for a small three-bedroom house here, but you'll be surrounded by nightlife, shopping and neighbors who care deeply for their community.

Garden Hills

The bumper stickers for this Buckhead community could read, "Got Kids?" The community tucked behind a thriving commercial district on Peachtree Road is a magnet for families with young children. The houses, largely modest traditional houses and cottages on shaded lots, are less expensive than other areas of tony Buckhead. They're close to several religious schools as well as Garden Hills Elementary and the Atlanta International School. The heart of the community is a swimming pool, playground and ballfield complex where families congregate for relaxation and sporting events. And homeowners were among the first in the city to have major traffic restrictions put on cut-through and speeding drivers. Within a few blocks of the neighborhood are some of Buckhead's best restaurants.

Tuxedo Park

Winding driveways and magnificent mansions are the hallmark of Tuxedo Park, one of the city's most glamorous neighborhoods north of West Paces Ferry Road. The area is rich in historic houses, built by the who's who of Atlanta society. Since the late 1960s, Georgia governors have resided there in a Georgian mansion behind tall wrought-iron gates. Some of the city's leading architects, including Philip Shutze and Neel Reid, left their legacy in numerous estate houses. In addition to stunning houses and lush landscaping, Tuxedo Park has one of the city's most enviable locations, just minutes from Buckhead's main entertainment and dining district, Midtown and downtown businesses and I-75. The Atlanta History Center, the Southern Center for International Studies, and the exclusive Cherokee Town Club are on the edge of the neighborhood; Chastain Park and the Buckhead YMCA are a short drive away.

Little Five Points

Atlanta's version of New York's Greenwich Village or San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury is situated at Moreland and Euclid avenues in northeast Atlanta. Here you'll find kids with Mohawks and tattoos, street musicians, a cool boutique called the Junkman's Daughter and a joint called the Star Community Bar, complete with an Elvis shrine. The attraction is the array of antiques, consignment and one-of-a-kind stores, restaurants, two community theaters and a handful of bars.

Little Five Points isn't really a neighborhood; it's a commercial district. The residential areas surrounding L5P are Edgewood, Candler Park, Lake Claire, Inman Park and Druid Hills.

Virginia-Highland

One of Atlanta's best walking communities, Virginia-Highland has everything you need within a few blocks -- upscale shopping and dining, parks, churches, banks and more. Residents of this intown neighborhood are typically young, affluent and quite proud of where they live. The community hosts a major festival, Summerfest, each year and major parties every weekend at the numerous bars and clubs here. Restaurants and shops aren't quite as upscale as Buckhead's, but many prefer Virginia-Highland's commercial district because of its village feel.

Inman Park

Some of the city's prized Victorian architecture stands beneath the towering shade trees of Inman Park, one of the first "suburban" communities designed along the trolley lines at the end of the 19th century. On the east-west MARTA line and about one mile from the heart of downtown.

East Atlanta

South of I-20, Ormewood Park and East Atlanta are residential areas of brick bungalows and frame cottages. The East Atlanta Village is a commercial district of shops and restaurants patronized by neighbors and tourists alike.

Kirkwood and East Lake

Kirkwood and East Lake, two older communities long abandoned and ill-kept, have been rejuvenated by newcomers. The East Atlanta area's popularity has been fueled by the restoration of the historic East Lake Country Club and the demolition of the East Lake housing project. New mixed-income townhouses and apartments are drawing a cross-section of residents committed to reviving the area.


Grant Park

Not far from downtown, south of I-20, the Grant Park community was once the property of a sole owner, Col. Lemuel Grant, who is said to have watched the burning of Atlanta in 1864 from the front porch of his house. Grant eventually subdivided his vast holding, donating a significant portion to the city, which became Grant Park, the expansive green space that is also home to Zoo Atlanta and the Cyclorama. The area prospered after the Civil War, and many grand houses were built through the turn of the past century. Recent history is not quite as kind. Even though the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it lost houses and land during the expansion of the interstate system, and for many years the remaining houses suffered from abuse and neglect. But in the past decade, newcomers have renovated and restored the elegant two-story Victorians and Queen Anne cottages. They have formed a strong neighborhood association to tackle issues of crime, traffic and too much partying in the park. In the spring of 2000, the community received historic designation from the city that added protections against inappropriate zoning.

In the fall of 2002, the Neighborhood Charter School opened to serve students in grades K - 3. Grades 4 and 5 will be added over the next couple of years. The school serves children in Grant Park and surrounding neighborhoods.


Druid Hills

A turn-of-the-century garden suburb that sprang from the palette of Frederick Law Olmsted (Central Park in New York). Dogwoods and azaleas abound on the huge lots here. Residents have easy access to Emory University, Virginia-Highland, Decatur and Little Five Points. The motion picture "Driving Miss Daisy," starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, was filmed here. The Fernbank Museum is located in Druid Hills.




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$18 million needed to shore up PeachCare

By JAMES SALZER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


A popular state program that provides health insurance to more than 190,000 children could run a $63 million shortfall by next June without an infusion of money or a cap on enrollment, officials said Tuesday.

The Georgia portion of the projected shortfall in the PeachCare for Kids program is just under $18 million, with the rest coming from the federal government. Members of a key legislative subcommittee urged state leaders to come up with the money at all costs.

"The governor can find the money if he has the vision to keep this together," said Rep. Nan Grogan Orrock (D-Atlanta), a member of the House budget subcommittee on health care.

Gov. Sonny Perdue already has ordered the state agency that runs PeachCare to reconsider its proposed rule changes that would have slashed enrollment.

But coming up with $18 million won't be easy while the governor's budget director is telling state agencies they must cut an additional 2.5 percent worth of spending in the next few months.

"Some of these agencies don't have 2.5 percent to cut," said Sen. George Hooks (D-Americus), chairman of the legislature's Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee.

Just one month into the new fiscal year, the governor's budget director, Timothy Connell, told the House subcommittee that his office is reducing its projections for tax collections because the economy has not picked up as quickly as expected.

That change will affect dozens of programs in state government, which has a $16 billion annual budget but was hurt by a revenue downturn of $340 million last year.

University System Chancellor Tom Meredith warned Tuesday that colleges might have to start limiting enrollment even more.

"None of us wants to go down the road of selected enrollment limits, but that must now be discussed with our presidents," Meredith told the Board of Regents. "Reducing access is not in the best interest of the state, by any means. None of us wants to cut programs that serve Georgians, but that now will have to be put on the table."

The only way to make further cuts in the budgets of some health care programs is to limit enrollment or services, said Rep. Mickey Channell (D-Greensboro), vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

PeachCare offers low-cost health insurance for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but have trouble affording private insurance. Families are eligible if they earn as much as 235 percent of the federal poverty level, or around $42,000 to $43,000 for a family of four.

Earlier this year, Perdue called for a limit on PeachCare's enrollment. The General Assembly rejected the limit but did not vote for extra money.

Democratic leaders were upset last month when the department recommended changes in the program that they said would have removed about 40,000 children from PeachCare. Tim Burgess, director of the agency that runs PeachCare, said those changes were recommended because enough money exists only to provide insurance for about 145,000 children.

"Our initial proposals were not about the merits of this program," Burgess said. "It's a matter of the resources made available to the department to run this program. If you ask me personally, children are a priority, and we need to appropriate the money."

Perdue ordered Burgess' agency to reconsider the changes and said children's health care should be a priority in the state budget.

If PeachCare continues to grow at its current pace and no changes are made, it will insure about 211,000 children by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2004. The agency's original projection was that it would insure 198,975.

By June 2005, that figure is expected to be above 226,000, and the projected $63 million state-federal shortfall for fiscal 2004 would become $106.3 million for fiscal 2005.

-- Staff writer Andy Miller contributed to this article.



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