Gov. Nathan Deal has named three new members to the Dooly County school board after suspending them over accreditation issues.

The 1,500-student system in Middle Georgia has been roiled by controversy since at least 2015, when the Dooly board faced complaints that its members were meddling in schools, a cardinal sin according to accreditation organization AdvancEd.

Last fall, the organization told the state board of education that the board had not mended its ways, and in November Deal suspended five board members.

Two of them are being succeeded by the winners in the November election, leaving three for Deal to replace. On Tuesday, he named Rev. F. Thomas (Tommy) Mason, Jr., Dr. Wanda Parker-Jackson and Michael Bowens to fill the three unexpired terms.

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Students put their cellphone in a box before heading to class at Sylvan Hills Middle School in Atlanta.  The Georgia Department of Education wants lawmakers to expand a cellphone ban. (AJC file)

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Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. 
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