Georgia Senate committee examines non-partisan school board elections

ATLANTA - A new Georgia Senate study committee held their first meeting Friday to hear from the public about the issue of non-partisan school board elections. While the committee is supposed to examine the issue statewide, much of the discussion centered around Gwinnett County.

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State Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, is the chair of the committee. During November special legislative session, Sen. Dixon filed legislation that would have redrawn district lines and made elections for the Gwinnett County Board of Education non-partisan.

Currently, the board is made up of three Democrats and two Republicans.

Sen. Dixon said he filed the legislation after hearing from residents who did not feel they were being represented.

According to the Georgia School Board Association, 109 of the state's 180 school districts have non-partisan board elections. GSBA members, however, would like for that to be the case statewide. 

"The children aren't Democrats or Republicans. They're children there to get an education and the school board has been elected to provide that opportunity for them," said Angela Palm with the GSBA. 

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Under current state law, it is up to local communities to decide whether school board elections are partisan or not.

"I do think our local communities know our local communities the best," said Cecily Harsch-Kinnane with Public Education Matters Georgia.

She urged lawmakers to keep the law as-is. 

"I do believe in local control, but there are times when you know, there's a mass portion of a population that doesn't feel represented or their voices are being heard that you know, sometimes the state has to kind of stand up on certain issues," said Sen. Dixon.

The study committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at Georgia Gwinnett College.

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