Three veteran school board members from Gwinnett — including one with a near record 40 years of service — appeared headed Tuesday for re-election.
But incumbency did not translate into wins for Cobb County school board member Alison Bartlett or Fayette County school board member Terri Smith, both of whom were defeated Tuesday by challengers.
In Gwinnett, with votes still being counted, school board chairwoman Louise Radloff, the state’s second longest-serving school board member, appeared to be headed for an 11th term. With two thirds of the votes counted, Radloff had about 75 percent. Re-election also looked likely for Mary Kay Murphy and Carole Boyce in the state’s largest school district.
Incumbents also appeared to have survived in Clayton County, despite renewed concerns about the school district’s ability to retain accreditation.
Four of Clayton’s nine school board members faced opposition in the election. Early returns showed all four leading, though some by narrow margins. Candidates who do not receive more than 50 percent of the vote will face runoff elections.
Voters interviewed at the polls in Clayton on Tuesday said they struggled with their choices.
Riverdale resident Paulette Gildersleeve said she is disenchanted with the Clayton school board but decided the incumbents deserve “a chance to change my faith around.”
Derwin Davis, who voted at Riverdale High School, said he wanted the incumbents out.
“Clayton County school system is pathetic,” he said. “They (school board members) don’t care.”
Clayton residents voted out two incumbent county commissioners and the sheriff in the July primaries. Their focus turned to the school board after the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the state’s top accrediting agency, sent the board a stern letter voicing concerns about in-fighting and other problems that could threaten the school system’s accreditation for the second time since 2008.
The Clayton County school system had regained full accreditation last year, but its earlier loss of accreditation cost the district about 3,200 students and about $20 million in state education money.
The warning from SACS came just as the school board faces a search for a new superintendent to oversee the 51,000-student district, and growing discontent over some proposals for cutting district spending.
In Clayton’s District 2, incumbent Wanda Smith had a slim lead over Mark Christmas. District 5 incumbent Ophelia Burroughs had a strong lead over Xavier Ross in early returns.
The closest race was between incumbent Mary Baker and Janice Scott for the District 6 seat, while incumbent Trinia Garrett had a comfortable lead against her nearest challenger, Judy Johnson, in District 7.
In Gwinnett, the closest race was between Murphy, a 16-year veteran, and Jen Falk, an education advocate and political newcomer, for a seat in the Duluth area.
Incumbent Boyce appeared headed for easy victory over Jennah Es-Sudan, a tax accountant, mother of two and grandmother of seven, in the other contested race.
In Fayette County, Republican Mary Kay Bacallao had 65 percent of the vote to Smith’s 35 percent with all ballots counted but the tally unofficial.
In Cobb County, Bartlett lost to Republican newcomer Brad Wheeler in a bid for the school board seat in the newly drawn and Republican-leaning Post 7. Unofficial totals showed Wheeler capturing 62 percent of the vote to Bartlett’s 38 percent.
Bartlett and Wheeler are former educators, but they said that’s where their similarities end.
Bartlett, who was elected to the board in 2008, touted her experience as a parent volunteer and advocate for the district at the county and state levels. Wheeler vowed to bring fiscal responsibility to the board, saying money needs to be directed to the classroom rather than to nonessentials such as conferences.
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