ATLANTA --- Georgia's governor would able to oust school board officials in failing districts under a bill approved Wednesday in the state Senate.
Gov. Sonny Perdue is pushing the measure in the wake of the crisis in Clayton County, which had its accreditation yanked in September by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The district has been beset by infighting and ethics troubles.
Just this week, police escorted a Clayton County school board member from a board meeting after the school system's ethics commission decided he shouldn't serve on the panel.
The school board reform measure passed 35-14 in the Senate on Wednesday after almost two hours of sometimes heated debate. It now heads to the House.
Separately, in the House, state lawmakers on Wednesday adopted a plan to strengthen fitness standards for Georgia's public school students. The measure would pave the way for an annual fitness test for students, staring in 2011.
The Senate governance bill would let the governor remove school board members in districts poised to lose their accreditation.
The legislation also would shore up ethics training for school board members and limit how many members a board may have. It provides sanctions for those who violate conflict of interest and nepotism rules.
Local school board officials say the bill holds them to rules that aren't required of other elected boards, such as city councils and county commissions.
But the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Bill Heath, said it's needed for "children who don't have a voice."
Critics countered that the measure strips away local control.
State Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat, protested that it allows the governor to "stand in judgment" of independently elected school board members.
Sen. Steve Thompson, a Marietta Democrat, said the Legislature has moved to hand the governor increasing power in recent months, including appointing members to the state's public defender council and to a proposed new state transportation authority.
"Before it's over we'll let him pick the lottery numbers, and maybe he'll win," Mr. Thompson quipped.
But Mr. Heath said the governor's power to remove board members would only be exercised as "a last resort."
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Giving Purdue this power is like putting Bill C in charge of an oversexed girls school. Purdue is a southern good ole boy crooked REPUBLICAN, and doesn't deserve to set foot in the capitol.♦
tick----------tick----------tick----------tick.....Man, the clock sure seems like it's ticking pretty slowly, doesn't it? When is this meathead Purdue going to get out of office?!? He is being known around the country as the worst "education governor" in the nation, folks!
I'm not a Sonny fan, however I'm sure every one of the residents of Clayton County are for this bill. Their school board is a shining example of why this legislation is warranted.
So glad i work hard and sacrifice many creature comforts so that i dont have to send my children to public schools...They are miserable failures and the governor is attempting to make SOMEONE ACCOUNTABLE... but as you can see by the above comments there are those who enjoy and relish in this educational quagmire....i can only guess why (partly because they were "educated" in the public school cesspool - but the bottom line is this sort of mindset gives me more incentive to keep working hard & smart so my children can avoid being exposed to these people and their unfortunate offspring....