Rural Georgia board member faces forced resignation

Published 4:15 pm Thursday, June 9, 2016

ATLANTA – A pair of sisters in middle Georgia should not be allowed to serve together on their local school board, state officials decided Thursday.

The Dooly County Board of Education had asked the state Board of Education to exempt its chairwoman, Melvilla West, from a rule that bars siblings and other close family members from being members of the same school board.

The state board may approve waivers for small, rural districts like Dooly County, where it can be difficult to find people to fill board slots.

The county is home to about 14,000 souls and located about an hour south of Macon. Its schools serve about 1,400 students.

There are 87 other systems in Georgia with less than 2,800 students that are eligible to ask for a pass on the nepotism rule.

West has been on the board for 15 years and is seeking reelection this year. Her sister, Freda Haddock, was elected to the board last year.

Objections were not raised about the sister duo until after the second sibling was elected, said Brian Watkins, an Atlanta attorney who represents West.

Mike Royal, chairman of the state board, said he considered the district’s performance during West’s tenure when rendering his decision.

“What are the results? We have one of the lowest – if not the lowest – performing systems in the state of Georgia,” he said before the vote, which was unanimous.

Watkins said afterward that Royal’s assessment was unfair critique of West’s work. He said the state’s decision also robs local voters of the chance to make their own decision about West’s service.

“By not granting the waiver, you are, in fact, electing potentially somebody by default,” he told the board.

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.