Georgia governor removes veteran members of district’s board, but is temporarily barred from naming replacements

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has announced that he is removing all six incumbent members of the DeKalb School Board. The governor has created a nominating committee to find replacements. However, the governor’s action could be reversed as he faces two lawsuits, one in federal court and one in state court, by the DeKalb school board.

The federal court has agreed that Deal can remove the board members, but has issued an order temporarily prohibiting him from naming replacements. Both courts are scheduled to hold hearings soon.

Deal acknowledged the precarious nature of his DeKalb decision, saying, “Certainly, the final determination by either the Superior Court or the federal court could affect the final disposition of this matter. But we don’t know what that will be at this point. I feel it’s my responsibility to act as the current law stands.”

Source:  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/25/13, By Maureen Downey

[Editor's Note: The governor announced his decision to remove the six veteran school board members by an Executive Order issued by his office.

In February 2013, Legal Clips summarized a story on WBRC Fox 6, which reported that the Alabama Education Association (AEA) had filed suit in federal court against state Superintendent Tommy Bice, Ed Richardson, Chief Financial Officer of the Birmingham City Schools, and the Alabama Department of Education alleging voters in the city of Birmingham have been disenfranchised by the state takeover of the city’s school system. The suit charges that Bice, Richardson, and the state school board have used their authority to take over local districts to deprive Birmingham voters of their control of the education system.]

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