Three Atlanta school board races appear headed to runoffs

Metro Atlanta voters chose new school board members in Decatur and Marietta on Tuesday and Gwinnett County residents approved an extension of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST).

Three Atlanta school board races, though, seem to be headed for runoffs. As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, District 4 incumbent Jennifer McDonald was the only candidate with a majority of the votes in her race, according to unofficial results. No candidate in the races in districts 2, 6 and 8 had the majority of the votes as of late Tuesday.

Decatur’s races were anticlimactic, as incumbents Hans Utz and Carmen Sulton and newcomer Lorraine Irier ran unopposed. The same was true for three seats in Marietta, where Jeff DeJarnett (Ward 1), Jaillene Hunter (Ward 4) and Irene Holly Berens (Ward 7) were also unopposed. Laura Holder (Ward 2), Jeff Collins (Ward 3) and Christina Rogers (Ward 6) were in the lead in their races, while Ward 5 incumbent Angela Orange was leading her race against Jesse D. Bonner Jr.

In Gwinnett, voters overwhelmingly opted to extend a one-cent sales tax for education. The measure is expected to bring $1.5 billion to be used for building upgrades, security enhancements and new technology.

Atlanta’s school board members will have a long “to-do” list once they’re sworn in in January. In addition to managing an almost $2 billion budget, the board will oversee the district’s long-range facilities plan dubbed “APS Forward 2040.”

Officials have proposed closing a number of schools due to declining enrollment and rising costs. The district has held several community meetings to gather input on the plans and sought feedback through online surveys. The current school board will take an initial vote on the proposal Wednesday. A final vote is scheduled for Dec. 3.

Although newly elected board members will not be able to vote on the plan, they will have to implement what the current board decides.

They also may be asked to vote on whether to extend Atlanta’s tax allocation districts (TADs). Those are zones where the property tax value is frozen at a base level. Revenue generated above that base is used to pay for infrastructure within the district’s boundaries. Most of Atlanta’s TADs are set to expire in 2030, but in September, Mayor Andre Dickens proposed extending them past 2050.

The move also would require buy-in from Fulton County officials.

Here are unofficial election results as of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Runoff elections are scheduled for Dec. 2.

Atlanta Public Schools

District 2 - runoff

Marlissa Crawford

Tony Mitchell

District 4

Jennifer McDonald

District 6 - runoff

Tolton R. Pace (Incumbent)

Patreece Hutcherson

Seat 8 At-Large - runoff

Kaycee Brock

Royce Mann

City Schools of Decatur

District 1, Post A

Hans Utz

District 2, Post A

Carmen Sulton

At-Large

Lorraine Irier

City Schools of Marietta

Ward 1

Jeff DeJarnett

Ward 2

Laura Holder

Ward 3

Jeff Collins

Ward 4

Jaillene Hunter

Ward 5

Angela Orange

Ward 6

Christina Rogers