News

Judge Upholds All DeKalb School Board Suspensions

August 2nd, 2013

The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a law allowing Gov. Nathan Deal to and replace six members of the DeKalb County school board.

CREDIT NICK NESMITH / WABE

Gov . Nathan Deal says his suspensions of five former DeKalb County school board members have been upheld by a judge. That’s despite the board members’ appeals to reclaim their seats.

Administrative law judge Maxwell Wood held individual reinstatement hearings for each of the five members. This week, Wood ruled Donna Edler, Jesse “Jay” Cunningham, and former board chair Eugene Walker failed to show their presence on the board would improve the district’s ability to retain its accreditation. Walker said he was disappointed, but not surprised, by the decision.

“The judge, I felt, would make a ruling based on that unconstitutional law and that unconstitutional law is very specific and adamant about what I’m supposed to prove, and I’m supposed to prove the impossible,” Walker said.

Judge Wood ruled last week that Pam Speaks and Sara Copelin-Wood didn’t make their cases either. The governor has already replaced the suspended members. However, the same law that allows him to do that also lets the board members appeal.

Walker is challenging the constitutionality of that law in a case that has come before the state Supreme Court.

“I’m hopeful that they will uphold the right of citizens, some 40,000 people who voted for us to be in office and the constitution, which was adopted in 1991, specified that we were not to have appointed school board members,” he said.

The Court has been asked to give an opinion in the case. The ruling will be issued by federal judge Richard W. Story.

The governor suspended six DeKalb school board members in February. The move came after the district’s accrediting agency placed DeKalb on probation for inadequate board governance. Nancy Jester is the only board member who didn’t appeal the suspension.

Donna Edler could not be reached for comment. When reached by phone, Jay Cunningham said he hadn’t heard about the ruling and declined to comment.

Deal’s spokesperson, Brian Robinson, said the governor’s office sees Wood’s rulings as final.