House members are bracing for a floor fight over legislation to reduce the size of the DeKalb County school board and to give Gov. Nathan Deal the authority to remove all the members of Atlanta's troubled school board.

Both measures were tacked on as amendments to an innocuous bill for Savannah-Chatham County schools earlier this week. The latter would give Deal the power that Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed recently said he might seek to deal with the city school board's infighting and the possibility it could cost the system its accreditation.

Deal's two immediate predecessors, Govs. Sonny Perdue and Roy Barnes, had the same authority. Perdue exercised it twice in Clayton and Warren counties. Barnes used the law once.

Legislators said the law Perdue and Barnes used was cumbersome, and last year they passed a new one allowing the governor to sweep out full school boards. But it applies only to local board members elected after the law's effective date, July 1, 2010.

All nine members of the Atlanta school board were elected or re-elected in November 2009.

The Rules Committee voted Thursday to move Senate Bill 79 to the House floor the next time lawmakers are in session, April 11. Anticipating strong feelings about both amendments, the committee recommended the full House debate be capped at one hour.

House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, said both measures "are simply about trying to bring two districts in line with public policy."

Rep. Kathy Ashe, D-Atlanta, who co-sponsored the Atlanta amendment with Lindsey, said the objective is to show how important it is for the school board to get its act together. The school system is currently on probation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

“The concept is a safety net, so if probation looks like it’s going to turn into a loss of accreditation, a truly drastic step can be taken to protect the students,” Ashe said. “I want these nine members to pull together and become a true team, solve the issues and move on. The last thing we ever want to do is leave 49,000 students in the lurch if they lose accreditation."

But Rep. Rashad Taylor, D-Atlanta, said giving the governor the power to remove all the school board members would, among other things, be ill-timed.

“That means we could have an entirely appointed Board of Education selecting your next superintendent, none of them having been elected to represent the people,” Taylor said, referring to the search for a replacement for Superintendent Beverly Hall.

Atlanta School Board Chairman Khaatim S. El declined to comment Thursday.

On the amendment dealing with the DeKalb board, its sponsor, Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, said he believes the measure reflects countywide sentiment in favor of a smaller board. The board currently has nine members but would be reduced to seven under the amendment.

“All of the education experts, including and most importantly SACS, agree that small school boards govern better,” Jacobs said.

Democrats, representing the majority of DeKalb, blasted the amendment, charging that it circumvents the rules on local legislation requiring approval from a majority of the county's lawmakers.

“It’s taking power away from the DeKalb delegation, and it’s taking power away from the DeKalb voters,” said Rep. Stephanie Benfield, D-Atlanta.

The issue has special sting in DeKalb, where the district is also undergoing a redistricting this year. Rep. Howard Mosby, D-Atlanta, chairman of the county's legislative delegation, said the entire school board had asked that any change to the board's size wait until redistricting starts this summer.