SRT 4 Executive Director Under Investigation for Hampering Cheating Inquiry

The director of School Reform Team 4—which serves some two dozen public schools in southwest Atlanta—is under internal investigation for encouraging principals not to cooperate with a criminal cheating inquiry, according to a Sunday Atlanta Journal-Constitution report.

According to the AJC, records obtained by the newspaper show Tamara Cotman allegedly advised Atlanta Public Schools principals to refuse to cooperate with investigators in a cheating investigation affected 16 schools in her SRT. Based on public records and interviews, Cotman allegedly wrote notes instructing the principals to tell state investigators to "go to hell."

According to the AJC, late last year, Cotman met with the 12 principals from schools where the 2009 test scores were among the most suspect.

Cotman spent an hour denigrating the state investigation, according to an anonymous complaint to the superintendent and the Board of Education in early December. In the meeting, Cotman ordered the principals to write, and then read aloud, their condemnations of state officials.

Cotman, 40, is the highest-ranking AJC official to publicly face allegations related to the cheating inquiry since former Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed an investigation team in August to determine if Atlanta schools cheated on the CRCT exams.  Records show Cotman earns $161,000 a year, acording to the AJC report.

For a full report on the charges, please go to Allegations hit Hall aide in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.