Stiff sentences today in DeKalb Schools corruption case | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Stiff sentences today in DeKalb Schools corruption case | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Stiff sentences today in DeKalb Schools corruption case 

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Former DeKalb County School Superintendent Crawford Lewis at his sentencing hearing Monday. KENT JOHNSON/KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM

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By Maureen Downey

If you want to illustrate the adage that crime doesn't pay to your children, point to the stiff sentences handed down today in the DeKalb Schools corruption trial.

Former chief operating officer Pat Reid got 15 years in prison; her ex husband, architect Tony Pope, received an 8-year sentence.

And the judge in the case made clear the former Superintendent Crawford Lewis ought to also serve time in jail, despite a call for probation from prosecutors because of Lewis' testimony against Reid and Pope.

According to the AJC:

The former chief operating officer for DeKalb County schools was sentenced to 15 years in prison and her former husband was sentenced to eight years in prison for manipulating construction contracts that paid the husband $1.4 million for work he should not have received.

One-time COO Pat Reid and architect Tony Pope both were sentenced as first offenders, meaning their convictions will be erased if they successfully complete their prison sentences, pay restitution and then complete their probation — 10 years for Reid and 12 years for Pope.

At the same time, the sentencing of former DeKalb County School Superintendent