Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday he’ll remove six of the nine members of the DeKalb County school board, but a federal court order now has to be addressed.
Deal said in a news conference that he was naming six persons to determine who should replace the outgoing board members.
“The stakes in this case are high; the future of almost 100,000 students hangs in the balance,” Deal said in a statement.
“Therefore, I have accepted the unanimous recommendation of the State Board of Education to suspend six members of the DeKalb school board. I have met with Superintendent Michael Thurmond, and I believe he can play a vital role in getting the system back on track. I look forward to a positive working relationship with Superintendent Thurmond on behalf of the children of DeKalb County.”
Brad Bryant, executive director of the Georgia Foundation for Education for the Georgia Department of Education, will serve as liaison between the school board, interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond and Deal.
Members of the panel include:
Chairman Kenneth Mason — member of the State Board of Education from the 5th Congressional District
Garry W. McGiboney — Associate Superintendent of Policy and Charter Schools for the Georgia Department of Education
James E. Bostic Jr. — Managing Director at HEP & Associates and a partner at Coleman Lew & Associates
Alicia Phillip — President of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Sadie Dennard — Region External Affairs Manager for Georgia Power’s Metro East Region
The members of this panel will make a recommendation to the governor as to who should replace the ousted board members.
11Alive News has confirmed a federal judge signed an order that in essence prevents any board member from losing their job until they have their say in federal court. That is expected to happen Friday.
When asked about it, Deal said his decision would not affect the court hearing. He said that he felt his decision was within the letter of the law.
The bigger question is whether those members will continue to try and stop him.
They tried unsuccessfully to stop a marathon 14-hour State Board of Education hearing Thursday that ended with the state board voting unanimously to recommend the removals based on misconduct and mismanagement.
Evidence against them included being put on academic probation last December, poor bookkeeping practices and what their accrediting agency called a decade of decline.
They also have a court hearing set for next Thursday challenging the constitutionality of the 2011 law that created the removal process.
As he toured new construction at Chamblee Charter High School on Friday, Interim School Superintendent Michael Thurmond said he is more concerned with where the school system goes from here.
“What we’re ready to do is to pivot and focus back on improving our academic performance and helping and supporting our teachers on reaching out and communicating with parents,” Thurmond told 11Alive News.
Read more: 11Alive
