New mom gets prison in Atlanta test cheating case

Donna Lowry | WXIA-TV, Atlanta

Show Caption Hide Caption Shani Robinson sentenced to 5 years APS Defendant Sntenced

ATLANTA — The final defendant in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal was sentenced to five years Tuesday, including one year in prison after refusing to accept an offer from the judge in the case to reduce her sentence.

Shani Robinson, one of 11 former educators convicted of racketeering for altering incorrect answers on students' state standardized test materials, gave birth to a boy April 11, days after the group was found guilty. Her sentencing had been delayed because of her pregnancy.

Robinson's lawyer, Annette Green, told Judge Jerry Baxter of Fulton County Superior Court that the ex-teacher was willing to accept her punishment but still insists she did nothing wrong.

"She's ready to put everything behind her," Green said later.

Yet Baxter emailed Green on Monday saying he would sentence the young mother to home confinement instead of prison if she would admit she was guilty of cheating, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Robinson declined the offer and will serve a year in prison as well as four years on probation, perform 1,000 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine — a sentence imposed after Robinson's mother asked Baxter to show her daughter mercy.

“She rejected her avenue out of this mess,” the judge said.

Two other Dunbar Elementary School teachers, Pamela Cleveland and Diane Buckner-Webb, also were convicted of changing test scores. Cleveland took a plea deal and will be able to serve a year of home confinement from 7 p.m. ET to 7 a.m., perform 1,000 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.

The jury found only one of the 12 defendants, Dessa Curb, not guilty.

A defendant who had agreed to a plea bargain before the trial began, former Principal Armstead Salters of Gideons Elementary School, was sentenced to jail for lying on the witness stand. Salters, 76, originally received probation and had been expected to testify against former Superintendent Beverly Hall, who died before she could be tried, but he changed his original statements in court.

Salters will spend eight weekends in jail.

Contributing: The Associated Press