Schools

Republican Resolution Calls on School Board to Void Appointment

Bartow County's GOP is calling on the board of education "to follow the letter of the law and declare the vote to fill the Post 5 seat null and void."

Following ongoing over the of District 5 representative Anna Sullivan, the Bartow County Republican Party unanimously passed a resolution calling on the school board to void its vote and leave the seat empty until July's .

GOP leaders say by law Sullivan's seat, which was resignation, .

The local party also school system officials proposed in a , including , to offset declining local and state funding.

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The GOP resolution adopted Friday is:

WHEREAS O.C.G.A.§ 20-2-54.1, the code section dealing with vacancies on local boards of education begins with the clause "In all instances where local laws applicable to local boards of education do not provide otherwise, a vacancy occurring for any reason on a local board of education shall be filled as follows"; and

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WHEREAS the text of HB 623, passed in 2003 by Reps. Jeff Lewis, Buddy Childers, Bill Cummings and Paul Smith says its purpose was to "To amend an Act providing for the Board of Education of Bartow County"; and

WHEREAS the text of HB 623 further outlines the procedures for filling vacancies on the Bartow County School Board by special election with no mention of board appointments; and  

WHEREAS HB 623 was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue May 30, 2003, and therefore became a "local law applicable" to the Bartow County Board of Education; and  

WHEREAS the resignation of Mr. Larry Parker in December 2011 should have resulted in the board calling for a special election to fill the position as soon as was legally possible; and

WHEREAS the board appointed Ms. Anna Sullivan to fill the Post 5 position until December 31, 2012, at the February 6, 2012, called meeting; and  

WHEREAS after a voter in Post 5 brought the legal issue to the attention of the board and the board of elections, a special election has been scheduled for Post 5 to coincide with the July 31, 2012, Primary; and

WHEREAS the law does not provide for an appointment to this position; and  

WHEREAS Ms. Sullivan has continued attending board meetings as if still a member of the board; and

WHEREAS the Bartow County Republican Party believes in upholding the rule of law; and

WHEREAS all four elected members of the Bartow County Board of Education were elected as Republicans;  

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that we, the County Committee of the Bartow County Republican Party, call on our elected members of the Bartow County Board of Education to follow the letter of the law and declare the vote to fill the Post 5 seat null and void, leaving the seat vacant until it is legally filled by a special election.

 


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