Georgia state board recommends suspending 6 DeKalb County school board members

The Georgia Board of Education has recommended that Gov. Nathan Deal suspend six of the nine members of the DeKalb County school board. The state board became involved after an accrediting agency placed the district on probation. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools says it reviewed 1,000 school systems, and DeKalb was the only school system placed on probation in 2012 for governance issues. Mark Elgart, who oversees the accrediting agency, says the DeKalb district has endured “a decade of continued ineffective governance” and the board has treated the district's deficiencies "like a political matter, not a performance issue.” Three DeKalb board members who took office this year are not affected by the state board's recommendation.

Earlier: DeKalb County (Ga.) district placed on probation.