Lawmakers Day 9: Bill to make Gwinnett school board elections nonpartisan headed for Senate vote

Legislation intended to keep politics out of school board elections advanced out of the Georgia Senate Rules Committee and is expected on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

The bill (SB 369), sponsored by Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Buford), passed with overwhelmingly Republican support.

“We need to get partisan politics off of our school board,” said Dixon on GPB’s Lawmakers show last week. “And we need the focus of educators to be focused on the children of Gwinnett, the students.”

Democrats currently control the Gwinnett County School Board, although Republicans held most of the seats for many years.

“This change will not solve the problem, but it will just make it worse,” Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) told Rules Committee members. It will not get the long-term election outcome. The demographic ensures Democrats will continue to run. You can’t run from it.”

Dixon blames Democratic leadership for leading to the firing of longtime Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, the longest-serving superintendent in the country. The board voted to buy out his contract last year.

“It started with the unwarranted firing,” said Dixon. “It’s been kind of snowballed from there as far as the curriculum to be taught in the schools and the direction the schools board is taking.”

Dixon is one of 30 sponsors of Senate Bill 377, limiting how schools teach race in K-12 schools and higher education in Georgia. The bill does not mention critical race theory (CRT), but Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans have vowed to keep it out of schools. CRT curriculum is currently not taught in Georgia’s elementary and high schools.

As for the move toward nonpartisan school boards, critics charge Republicans with reacting to the changing demographics in Gwinnett County. The 2020 Census Bureau figures show growth in the non-white population of Gwinnett County. In recent years, Democrats have successfully won seats formerly held by Republicans.  

“Go check your population numbers," Merritt said. "People of color, Democrats will continue to assume every level of seat in Gwinnett County.”

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