Governor Suspends DeKalb Board Members

By Greg Bluestein and Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday he will suspend six of the nine members of the DeKalb County school board, calling the district’s accreditation crisis a “matter of grave concern” that compelled him to intervene.
At a press conference flanked by members of DeKalb’s delegation, Deal said he would appoint a nominating committee to replace the suspended board members.
“I feel it’s my responsibility to act,” Deal said, adding: “Maybe there’s a better way but the reality is this is the only way open to us now.”
He said he wrestled with the decision to suspend duly elected officials, but ultimately decided he had little other choice.
“The urgency is this: We don’t need to have this cloud hanging over the students and their parents any longer,” he said. “We didn’t take it lightly.”
Several DeKalb lawmakers expressed their support of Deal’s decision, but others said it only plunges the state’s third-largest school district into more uncertainty.
“Now the question is: Who is running the DeKalb Board of Education and how long will it be before they can get a legal vote,” said state Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain. “This is a difficult road we are going down.”
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