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Atlanta schools cheating case judge keeps word on sentences

Posted: Apr 15, 2015 4:30 AM ATLANTA (AP) — True to his word, a judge showed mercy to former Atlanta public school educators who accepted responsibility for their role in a widespread conspiracy to inflate student scores on standardized tests. Those who refused to admit guilt and agree to other conditions set by prosecutors, he treated much more harshly.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter had delayed sentencing by a day and encouraged the former educators to negotiate deals with prosecutors. He made it clear Monday they would face prison time if they took a chance and let him sentence them. But only two of them took deals.

On Tuesday, Baxter sentenced the eight who rejected deals to between one and seven years in jail, despite their lawyers' pleas for probation and community service. They are expected to appeal and will be free on bond while the appeals are pending.

"All I want from any of these people is just to take some responsibility, and they refuse," Baxter said, his frustration clear in clashes with defense attorneys.

The two who struck deals were rewarded: Baxter gave a former teacher a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew at home for one year and gave a former testing coordinator six months of weekends spent in jail. They'll also serve five years on probation.

Baxter reserved the harshest punishment for three regional directors who oversaw multiple schools and were "at the very top of this scandal." For them, Baxter went above prosecutors' recommendations of three years imprisonment. He ordered them to serve seven years in prison with the remainder of a 20-year sentence on probation, 2,000 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine. 

During sentencing, Baxter called the cheating "pervasive."
