Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday that he has signed legislation giving him the power to remove members from Atlanta's school board.
Deal told a packed audience at the Atlanta Press Club that the bill is an important tool to ensure APS students are protected. The school system is embroiled in a crisis that threatens its accreditation.
"This is not something I would relish having to use," Deal said. "It is my utmost hope that the board will regain accreditation, that it will not be necessary for any interference of any duly elected members of a school board."
The bill would also cut the size of the DeKalb County school board from nine to seven members after January 2013.
The focus, Deal said, will be "that we do everything possible to educate and protect the children in Atlanta Public Schools appropriately."
But Deal's signature is not the final step for the proposed changes. The U.S. Justice Department must also sign off as the bill affects voting and elections. Georgia is one of a handful of states required under the Voting Rights Act to get federal approval for any change that affects voting. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Sam Olens said the state has not yet submitted the bill for preclearance but has 45 days to do so.
Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, called the governor's decision to sign the bill "unfortunate."
"By signing this bill, he's not helping," Fort said. "He's aggravating the situation."
He and other lawmakers have said a lawsuit will likely follow in federal court.
The Atlanta school system was placed on accreditation probation in January largely due to board infighting and has until September to show marked improvement. The bill would give Deal the ability to act if that progress isn't being made this summer in an attempt to convince the accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, that action is being taken.
"This is a situation we all would have liked to avoided," Deal said. "It’s certainly a situation that brings no credit to our state or to our capital city."
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said he was pleased Deal signed the bill.
"A loss of accreditation for the Atlanta Public Schools system would be catastrophic for the 49,000 students whom the district serves and would cripple economic development and business investment in the city, region and state for years to come," Reed said.
The new law says the state Board of Education must hold a hearing if APS does not regain full accreditation by July 1. The board will make a recommendation to the governor on how to proceed, and Deal could then make a decision.
If he ultimately decides to remove the board, Deal said he would work with Reed, the state board and the local business community to choose new board members.
Deal called the business community "one of the unsung parts of the support network Atlanta Public Schools has."
Atlanta School Board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El declined to comment, but the system released a statement given out last week after the bill's passage, saying the board is "well ahead of the deadline" set by SACS.
It also points out that a representative from the governor's office has attended every school board meeting since the beginning of the year.
Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this article.
About the Author
