By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | In a constitutional republic where new legislation is constantly being pushed by many elements, all citizens must be vigilant.
Brack
For every time you gain a victory, that doesn’t mean that the victory will last. You may have to go all-out to insure that the victory remains in place, since there are usually major opponents to almost every bit of legislation.
We are thinking of the hard-earned victory in 2010 requiring that all Georgia counties have local school superintendants appointed by the school board, and that the office of superintendent not be an elective office.
But now comes a proposal in the 2017 General Assembly to allow counties to choose if they want an elected or appointed school superintendant.
That measure is a bad one, and should never see the light of day. But it has already passed the Senate, and could become law in Georgia.
The present law requiring appointment of local school superintendents is a good one. It leaves the selection of the new superintendent to the local elected school board. It also virtually insures that the person chosen as superintendant will be a professional school administrator, and not a popular local citizen who only has to gain votes to serve.
Under the manner prior to 2010 for selecting superintendents, often you had an elected superintendant, and an elected board. That meant there was constant tension as to who, the board or the superintendent, was really in charge. It was not professional, and it certainly was not efficient. It did not lead to better education for the students.
Not only that, but with an elected superintendent, that person could almost insure that he/she remained in office, by simply not allowing qualified potential opponents to have a job within the school system. Since there was a qualification that anyone running for the office had to reside in the county, the elected superintendent was almost automatically re-elected each term.
The current proposed legislation would provide for two arrangements of electing members of local boards of education and local school superintendents. One arrangement would be for voters to elect members of local boards of education, and the boards of education to appoint a school superintendent. The second arrangement would be for voters to elect a local school superintendent, and members of local boards of education to be elected by grand juries.
We have no problem with the first choice. Yet the second choice, electing a superintendent, and school board members chosen by a grand jury, still would put the superintendent and the school board at odds. The jury-appointed board would virtually have no power, for even if it voted to change different aspects of school policy, the superintendent could pay no attention to the board, since they did not put him in office. It would mean more tension, and less good government, and certainly not an improved school district.
The school board appointing a superintendent is no panacea that everything will be hunky-dory. But compared with other systems, it’s the better choice.
We pray this bill concerning elected superintendents fails miserably. It’s not a choice in the best interest of the State of Georgia, its citizens, and certainly, not in the interests of the students.
It’s a new bit of legislation Georgians don’t need. Be vigilant. Oppose it.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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