Five people want to unseat Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods in the upcoming elections this year.
One Republican and four Democrats qualified by Friday’s deadline to challenge the Republican incumbent, who is in his eighth year leading the Georgia Department of Education.
Woods will first confront former state Superintendent John Barge in the May 24 GOP primary election. Barge held the position before Woods, leaving the post for an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid.
The winner of that contest will face one of four Democrats in the Nov. 8 general election.
Cobb County School District board member and dentist Dr. Jaha Howard had already announced his intent to run. His challengers in the Democratic primary are Decatur lawyer Currey Hitchens, James Morrow Jr., a social studies teacher in Clayton County; and Alisha Thomas Searcy, a former charter school operator and state representative for Cobb.
The state school superintendent leads the state education department, and is responsible for monitoring schools and distributing state and federal funding to them. The superintendent must ensure schools are following the law and state Board of Education rules, are being competently administered and are using money for the intended purpose. The superintendent can also make recommendations to the state board.
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