DeKalb school board's size under legislative fire

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By April Hunt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The growing belief that the nine-member DeKalb County school board is too large has hit the state Legislature, where two bills could reduce its size.

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House Bill 22 would let voters decide in a referendum whether the DeKalb school board should be kept at its current size or cut to seven or five members. Shown above at a meeting are (from left) board member H. Paul Womack, Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson, board member Don McChesney, board member Jesse "Jay" Cunningham and board member Eugene Walker.

Jason Getz jgetz@ajc.com House Bill 22 would let voters decide in a referendum whether the DeKalb school board should be kept at its current size or cut to seven or five members. Shown above at a meeting are (from left) board member H. Paul Womack, Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson, board member Don McChesney, board member Jesse "Jay" Cunningham and board member Eugene Walker.

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House Bill 22, sponsored by state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, would let voters decide in a referendum whether the board should be kept at its current size or cut to seven or five members. The county’s legislative delegation must approve the proposal as local legislation.

As a backstop measure, state Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Brookhaven, has filed HB 63. It applies only to school boards in counties with a Homestead Option Sales Tax and education tax -- which is only DeKalb -- and mandates a seven-member board.

Jacobs said he doesn’t expect any movement on his proposal until after the county delegation discusses Oliver’s plan. He prefers the bill be passed as local legislation, but only if the delegation agrees that the board must be cut from its current size.

DeKalb has one of the area’s largest school boards. Gwinnett County, for example, has just five members on its board.