Delvonnie M.

Burgess says she's just a member of the community trying to create a "positive

experience" in Fayette County, with hopes that her efforts spread

throughout the Southeast.

The five-year

resident of Fayetteville is education committee chair of the Fayette County

NAACP chapter and scheduled a town hall meeting "several weeks ago"

to address school issues relating to African-American students.

But the forum

held last Saturday came amidst a series of public relations nightmares

for the school district, and parents let loose on Superintendent John

DeCotis and the school board.

Complaints

included insensitivity to black students, unfair discipline policies and

the lack of Afro-centric studies in schools.

Burgess, a

professional lobbyist, is president of Public Policy Development of the

Southeast Region Inc., a non-profit committee she organized with a mission

to evaluate policies on the local level relating to education, health

care, labor relations and other issues and work with government agencies

to promote and instill change.

"What

we're doing in the whole Southeast region is looking at different policies

to ensure tbhey are sound policies," she said.

Addressing

policy on the local level is not a concern of the NAACP, said Burgess.

The PPDI hopes to fill the gap, she said.

Saturday's

gathering at Holly Grove AME Church in Peachtree City was an NAACP-sponsored

event, Burgess said, with the PPDI board members providing suppport.

Burgess said

the PPDI is in good standing with the Georgia Secretary of State's office,

which registers non-profits and lobbyists.

She has no

affiliation with the dissolved DMB & Associates, Inc., as reported

Wednesday, but at one time operated her own lobbying efforts under the

name DMB & Associates, her intials.

Burgess called

her relationship with Superintendent John DeCotis "nothing but positive."

DeCotis confirmed Burgess served on a committee to evaluate the district's

student code of conduct policies, under the direction of Wayne Robinson,

Assistant Superintendent of Operations.

No specific

incident or request prompted Saturday's meeting, Burgess said, and it

remains to be seen what issues or policies might need to be addressed

with the School Board.

"I've

been in government relations for over 25 years," said Burgess. "I

understand conflict resolution. As for policy, policies are formed and

a lot of times people aren't at the table to discuss the flaws in them.

Are they sound policies? That's an area in which we can help make improvement."

Saturday's

forum was not intended to be an attack on the school system, administrators

or the community, she said.

"It might

have been overwhelming on Saturday, because there was such as positive

force there," she said of the packed meeting.

DeCotis said

concerns raised at the forum, particularly the impression that black students

were to blame for the poor showing of six schools on Georgia's "Adequate

Yearly Progress" report, we're taken seriously and will be addressed.

A new letter

to all parents clarifying the facts surrounding AYP was to go out this

week, DeCotis said. And he will appoint a communications committee to

act as a liason for the NAACP and the Board of Education.

"A lot

of the issues we heard were related to poor communication," said

DeCotis. "This will give us a proper, formal method for people to

bring their concerns to us."

"I have

faith in the school system," said Burgess, who has two grown children

who did not attend schools here. "And I have confidence that things

are going to be done for the good."

PPDI has six

board members, according to Burgess: Chairman Ferdinand Hilton, Stone

Mountain; Secretary Westly Gilbert, College Park; Treasurer Ted Burgess,

Fayetteville; and members Olivia Hilton, Stone Mountain; Malika Reed,

McDonough; and Alan Zimmerman, Fayetteville.