Lawmakers could be nearing compromise on a method for reducing the number of school board seats in DeKalb County.
The divisive issue stems from a law that mandates at least two fewer seats beginning next year. The county's delegation to the Georgia House of Representatives has been unable to agree on a new map that would merge the existing nine school board seats into, at most, seven districts.
New proposals could bring the warring factions together. One element of the plan would delay implementation for two years, until five school board seats are up for election. Another would introduce a referendum this year to shorten the four-year terms of the other four seats up for election this year.
Together, these proposals would result in the drawing of a new map when all board seats are up for election, which might make compromise possible, said Rep. Howard Mosby, D-Atlanta, the chairman of the House delegation.
"Let's draw a map that we all can be proud of," he said.
The key element of the plan is a proposal by Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, to postpone implementation of Senate Bill 79 for two years. That bill, which became law last year, mandates a smaller school board starting Jan. 1.
Millar was among those who voted for SB 79. But he said he didn't know at the time that the law would trigger a remapping with unequal political distribution. The central problem, he said, is that it is illegal to draw school board members out of their districts midterm.
Since none of the four South DeKalb board members are up for re-election this year, their seats would be protected in any redistricting now. That fact has proven divisive in a county divided by race, with blacks living mostly in the South and whites in the North. Most map proposals, including one passed by the DeKalb Senate delegation, have consolidated board seats in only the county's northern and central sections.
"You can't throw people out of office in the middle of their term unless the people in office agree to it," Millar said. He said engineering things so that a new map could be drawn when all board seats are up for election -- hopefully in two years -- would allow for districts that don't cater to incumbents in one part of the county.
"If you're trying to bring people together," Millar said, "you can't just penalize one part of the county."
The proposal could hit several snags. It would require a mix of statewide and local legislation and thus coordination between the Republican-led General Assembly and the Democrats in charge of the DeKalb delegation.
It might also encounter resistance from the public. Jennifer Hatfield, a mother from North DeKalb who attended a recent map meeting of the House delegation, wants a smaller school board as soon as possible. But she also thinks the new proposals are attractive -- especially the part about electing a whole new school board.
"Let everybody in DeKalb County re-elect their representation," Hatfield said. "Clean the slate!"
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