2020 Georgia Code
Title 20 - Education
Chapter 2 - Elementary and Secondary Education
Article 5 - Local School Superintendents
§ 20-2-101. Appointment of School Superintendents

1. Superintendents of each school system shall be employed by the local board of education under written contracts for a term of not less than one year and not more than three years. Any provision of any such contract which provides for an extension of the duration of employment thereunder, whether automatic or contingent upon the occurrence of one or more events, shall be void if that extension would result in employment under the contract, as extended, for a period which exceeds three years.
2. 1. No person shall be eligible to be appointed or employed as superintendent of schools of any county or independent school system unless such person is of good moral character, has never been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, and possesses acceptable business or management experience as specified by the Professional Standards Commission or the minimum valid certificate or a letter of eligibility for said certificate required by the Professional Standards Commission.
   2. No person shall be eligible to be appointed, employed, or to serve as superintendent of schools of any county or independent school system who has an immediate family member sitting on the local board of education for such school system or who has an immediate family member hired as or promoted to a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff on or after July 1, 2009, by that school system. As used in this subsection, the term "immediate family member" means a spouse, child, sibling, or parent or the spouse of a child, sibling, or parent whose term as a member of the local board of education or whose employment as a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff in the local school system began on or after January 1, 2010. Nothing in this Code section shall affect the employment of any person who is employed by a local school system on or before July 1, 2009, or who is employed by a local school system when an immediate family member becomes the superintendent for that school system.
3. Superintendents shall have such additional qualifications as may be prescribed by local law or policies of the local board for that school district, not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
4. At any time during the 12 months immediately preceding the expiration of an appointed school superintendent's contract or term of office, or when a vacancy in the office of school superintendent occurs, the local board may appoint and employ a successor in accordance with the above provisions of this Code section, notwithstanding that the terms of some or all of the board members will expire before the employment of the superintendent so appointed and employed begins.
5. A local school superintendent may concurrently serve as a principal, teacher, or in another staff position as directed by the local board in its sole discretion and in accordance with the terms of the contract between the superintendent and the local board. A local school superintendent may also serve concurrently as superintendent of one or more local school systems in accordance with the terms of his or her respective contracts and upon approval by each affected local school system.
6. No substantive or procedural right regarding employment or termination of employment of a superintendent by a local school system shall be created by this Code section. Rather, the terms and conditions of employment of a school superintendent by a local school system shall be determined exclusively by the contract between those parties and may include, without being limited to, the conditions under and procedures by which that contract may be terminated prior to the end of the term of that contract.

(Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 147; Ga. L. 1931, p. 124, § 1; Code 1933, § 32-1002; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1279, § 8; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1315, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1182, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 82, § 2/HB 1209; Ga. L. 2009, p. 782, § 3/HB 251; Ga. L. 2010, p. 452, § 9/SB 84.)

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1993, in the first sentence of subsection (a) "Board of Education" was made lower case.

ANALYSIS

• General Consideration
• Residency
• Conviction
• Vacancies

General Consideration

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Responsibility for filling vacancy in office of county superintendent is placed in the county board of education, and the State School Superintendent does not have such authority. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 203.

- Phrase "a vacancy . . . from any cause whatever" in this section should be construed to include a leave of absence for military duty; a vacancy occurring from such an absence should be filled only until the leave of absence expires or the term of office expires, whichever occurs first. 1960-61 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 131.

Residents of independent school district are eligible to be elected or appointed as county superintendent, but are not eligible to vote for county school superintendent. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 148.

Qualified voters residing within limits of a quasi-independent school district are permitted to vote for the county school superintendent. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 148.

It is a question of fact as to whether school system is independent or quasi-independent, which must be determined by the local authorities charged with the responsibility of making such a determination. 1948-49 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 120.

"Quasi-independent" school district is one which, through specific statutory provisions, receives funds through the county school system, but contractual agreements between systems do not make a "quasi-independent" system. 1954-56 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 197.

- When the county board of education and the independent system contract with each other for the education, transportation, and care of pupils, this does not of itself give the residents of the independent system the right to vote in an election held to select the county school superintendent, nor may such right be given by contract; such a contract does not amount to merger. When election requirements are set out by statute, neither individuals nor groups may alter such legislative intent by contract. 1954-56 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 216.

- Duration of the contract of the Cobb County school superintendent is to be determined by the local constitutional amendment, in Ga. Laws 1963, pp. 3778, 3786, and continued by Ga. Laws 1986, pp. 4055-56, and not by the 1993 amendment to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101. 1993 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U93-11.

- School superintendents are not required to retire at age 70, but may hold their offices at least until successors are elected. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-58, affirming 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 152.

Mandatory retirement provision of O.C.G.A. § 47-3-101 is inapplicable to an elected school superintendent; thus, an elected school superintendent who has attained the age of 70 can run for office and serve if elected. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-58. (The mandatory retirement provision was deleted from § 47-3-101 in 1990.)

- In the absence of clear legislative authority, a local school board may not appoint a new school superintendent for a term beginning after the terms of a majority of the current board expire. 1995 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 95-18.

Qualifications set out within this section are the only requirements provided by state law. 1948-49 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 122.

- In addition to the qualifications of former Code 1933, § 32-1002 (see now O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101), a county school superintendent, being a county officer within the meaning of former Code 1933, § 89-101 (see now O.C.G.A. § 45-2-1), must be a citizen of the county for a period of two years (now 12 months) prior to election and a qualified voter in the county entitled to vote. 1958-59 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 110.

- Since the mandatory retirement provision of O.C.G.A. § 47-3-101 is inapplicable to an elected school superintendent and O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101, which sets forth the qualifications of county school superintendents and includes no age ceiling, an elected school superintendent who has attained the age of 70 can run for office and serve if elected. 1985 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 85-58. (The mandatory retirement provision was deleted from § 47-3-101 in 1990.)

- Because of uncertainty as to how the courts would interpret former Code 1933, §§ 32-1002 and 89-101 (see now O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-101 and45-2-1), the safer route to take, should it be desired to permit an elected superintendent of one county to serve as the appointed superintendent of another county, would be to proceed through the enactment of local legislation conditioned upon voter approval under Ga. Const. 1976, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. V (see now Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. IV), and not to attempt to rely upon the authorization contained in former Code 1933, § 32-1002. 1977 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 77-11.

- Word "election" contained in this section has reference to the regular election in which county officers are elected and not primaries. 1952-53 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 74.

This section has reference to the regular election in which county officers are elected and not primaries. 1954-56 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 307.

Military experience may not lawfully be substituted for actual teaching or educational administrative experience; this is not to say that an individual whose military duties were in the field of actual teaching or educational administration could not include that time in computing actual teaching or educational administrative experience. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 355.

- Filing a certificate under oath at any time prior to qualifying to run in the general election would be sufficient to satisfy this section. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 355.

- An individual appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of county school superintendent pending the election of a new superintendent must meet the qualifications of superintendents generally and must file a certificate showing such qualifications with the State Board of Education. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 765.

- Exemption referred to in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-101, which excludes individuals from having to meet the qualifications set forth in subsection (a) of that section, refers only to independent and county school superintendents with one year's service as a school superintendent in Georgia, whereby superintendents with one year's experience as a superintendent outside the state are not exempted and must meet all the requirements set forth in subsection (a) of that section in order to hold the office of superintendent of schools. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. 89-34.

Only exceptions to obligatory language of this section are those which are expressly provided for. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 355.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 68 Am. Jur. 2d, Schools, §§ 17, 67, 70.

- 78 C.J.S., Schools and School Districts, §§ 124 et seq., 132.