Should the governor have the authority to remove other elected officials? That’s the question some stakeholders are asking the day after Governor Nathan Deal signed an executive order suspending six of the nine members of the DeKalb County school board.
The broadcast version of this story.
A 2011 state law allows the governor to suspend members of local school boards. The action must be recommended by the state board of education. And the district must be in danger of losing accreditation due to board actions.
But some question whether the governor should have that kind of authority. Governor Deal said Monday he doesn’t take the matter lightly.
“This is always a difficult issue, any time one level of elected office imposes in the arena of another elected office, ” Deal said, “However, this has been the law.”
The law also allows the governor to appoint replacements. After the governor’s announcement, former DeKalb school board chair Eugene Walker issued a statement calling the law “undemocratic” and the governor’s decision “wrong.”
Suspended board member Nancy Jester said the law should be modified.
“I would like the law to be improved to look at individual board members because I think it would be best if we could have individual findings versus collective findings,” Jester says, “But that’s not the way the law is right now, so I completely understand it.”
Some DeKalb parents, while frustrated with the board, aren’t sure the law is fair, like attorney Gina Mangham.
“I am concerned about the governor appointing,” Mangham says, “These are elected officials. And so, while we hope that we get a more functional board, we would like to include a process that includes the electorate that put them there.”
Some parents think instead of the governor naming replacements, special elections should be held. Parent George Chidi says the top priority should be finding a solution.
“We can talk about the legal issues around removing or not removing the board,” Chidi says, “The bigger problem is the problem that we have a board that is dysfunctional that isn’t addressing the needs of students in this county. And it’s costing us money and it’s costing us credibility.”
The suspended members are legally still part of the board, but can’t act in any official board capacity. They are also challenging the constitutionality of the law that permits their suspension in state and federal court. The governor will not be able to replace them until after a federal hearing on Friday.
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