Georgia · Dublin, Laurens County · Education

Dublin, GA City School Board Is Not Suspended: State Board Votes to Recommend That Gov. Brian Kemp Suspend Its Members

The Georgia State Board of Education voted Wednesday to send Gov. Brian Kemp a recommendation about the Dublin City Board of Education. No member of the Dublin board has been suspended, and no member has been removed. A recommendation is not an order. The governor decides, and the two newsrooms this page relies on describe what was voted differently — the Courier Herald reports a vote to suspend and remove, 41NBC reports a vote to recommend suspending all eligible members with pay. Both versions are published below, attributed, and left unresolved.

What the State Board of Education actually did

The Georgia State Board of Education voted Wednesday on a recommendation to the governor about the Dublin City Board of Education. Courier Herald reports that the state board voted “to ask Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend and remove the Dublin City Board of Education.” 41NBC reports that the state board “voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that Gov. Brian Kemp suspend all eligible members of the Dublin City Board of Education with pay.”

Both newsrooms agree on the one thing that matters most: this was a recommendation, and Gov. Brian Kemp decides. 41NBC states it directly: “Kemp will decide whether to suspend the board members.” The Courier Herald describes the vote as a decision to ask the governor to act.

They do not agree on what was voted. The Courier Herald's account is a recommendation to suspend and remove. 41NBC's account is a recommendation to suspend all eligible members with pay. Those are meaningfully different descriptions of the same vote, and this page publishes both, attributed, without choosing between them. The comparison table below sets them side by side.

41NBC reports what comes next procedurally: “The State Board said its written decision will be sent to Kemp and the parties within 15 days.”

Nothing on this page states or implies what the governor will do. No outcome is established, no timeline for his decision beyond the 15-day figure 41NBC reports appears in the record compiled for this page, and this page does not forecast one.

Nobody is suspended — the distinction this page holds

No member of the Dublin City Board of Education has been suspended. No member has been removed. No seat is vacant. Nobody has been replaced.

This section exists because the distinction is easy to lose and expensive to lose. A state board voting to recommend a suspension and a governor ordering one are two different events, separated by a decision that has not been made. A headline that collapses them tells a parent that their district's elected board is gone when it is not.

Here is the chain, in order, with the current position marked:

• An accrediting agency places a district at the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation. Reported as done — 41NBC reports the joint filing says Cognia conferred that status April 10
• The State Board of Education holds a hearing. Reported as done — both newsrooms describe the Aug. 12 hearing in Atlanta
• The State Board votes on a recommendation to the governor. Reported as done — this is where the case now stands
• A written decision goes to the governor and the parties. Not reported as done. 41NBC reports the State Board said it will be sent within 15 days
• The governor decides whether to act. Not reported as done. Both newsrooms report the decision is Kemp's
• If the governor suspends members, he may appoint temporary replacements. Not reported as done
• A suspended member may petition for reinstatement, and a suspension can later convert to permanent removal. Not reported as done

Five of those seven steps have not happened in anything cited on this page. Every board member named below still holds office as far as the record compiled for this page shows.

Attention: a reader arriving here may have seen this described elsewhere as a suspension that has already taken effect. This page does not repeat that framing and does not adopt it in its headline, its summary, its fact card or its schema.

Where our sources differ

Two independently owned newsrooms covered the same hearing on the same day and did not write the same story. This table is what that looks like. Nothing here is merged and nothing is resolved.

The first row is the important one. “Suspend and remove” and “suspend all eligible members with pay” are not interchangeable phrases, and this page does not smooth them into one. Where two owners describe the same vote differently, the honest thing to publish is both descriptions and the fact that they differ.

Every “not carried” entry means only that the detail does not appear in the specific story opened for this page. It is not a statement about what either newsroom knows or published elsewhere.

The vote, and how the day ended

The Courier Herald, which covered the hearing through the day in timestamped updates, describes the ending this way: “The decision came after almost nine hours of testimony, followed by a more than hour long executive session before reopening the hearing for a 10-0 vote.”

41NBC describes it as a unanimous vote and reports: “The vote followed an hours-long hearing and an executive session.” It does not give a numerical tally.

The two accounts are compatible on the shape of the day and differ on the detail. A 10-0 vote is unanimous, so those two statements do not contradict each other; the tally itself appears in the record compiled for this page in the Courier Herald's account.

An executive session is a closed portion of a public meeting. Under the statute governing this proceeding, deliberations by the State Board to formulate its recommendation to the governor are not open to the public, while testimony must be taken in an open meeting and the vote on the recommendation must be taken in an open meeting. That is what the law provides, and it matches what both newsrooms describe: testimony in public, deliberation behind closed doors, the vote back in public.

The seven board members, named

41NBC names all seven and states what the state sought: “The Georgia Department of Education is seeking the suspension of Chair Mandy Smith, Vice Chair John Bell, Jeff Davis, Joanna Glover, Peggy Johnson, James Lanier and Kenny Walters. The board members oppose suspension, according to a 76-page statement of facts agreed to by both sides.”

These are elected public officials, named in their official capacity, in a public proceeding about how they governed a school district. That is squarely fair to report, and this page reports it.

What this page does not do is accuse any individual member of anything. No member is described here as having committed a specific act, made a specific error or borne a specific share of the responsibility, because the record compiled for this page does not make individual findings. The proceeding described by both newsrooms is about a board, collectively, and about a district's finances and accreditation.

The Courier Herald reports on the members' testimony collectively: “Six of the board's seven members testified. All said they felt the board could work together to improve the district's accreditation standards. However, several acknowledged recent dissension between members.”

Two members are reported to have said something different. The Courier Herald reports: “However both Jeff Davis and Peggy Johnson testified they stood by earlier statements that perhaps the local board members should be suspended.” It quotes Davis directly: “If y'all think getting rid of me will help the kids, then get rid of us.”

That quotation appears in the record compiled for this page in the Courier Herald's account, and it is reproduced exactly as that newspaper printed it.

What triggered the hearing: accreditation, not a no-confidence vote

41NBC reports the trigger precisely: “The joint filing says Cognia conferred ‘Accredited Under Conditions’ status on Dublin City Schools April 10. That placed the district one step from losing accreditation and triggered the State Board's authority to conduct the suspension hearing.”

41NBC repeats the mechanism in its update: “The district's ‘Accredited Under Conditions’ status with Cognia, the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, triggered the suspension process.”

The Courier Herald describes the same trigger in less specific terms: it reports that the Dublin board “is facing possible state intervention after its accrediting agency Cognia downgraded its rating earlier this year.” The April 10 date appears in the record compiled for this page in 41NBC's account, which sources it to the joint filing.

This is a statutory trigger, and it is worth being exact about what it is not. It is not a vote of no confidence, not a petition, not a complaint and not a decision by the state to intervene at its own discretion. Under the governing statute, when a district is placed at the accreditation level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, the local board must notify the State Board of Education in writing within three business days, and the State Board must conduct a hearing and recommend to the governor whether to suspend all eligible members.

41NBC also reports the hearing was not held in one sitting: “Wednesday's proceeding continues a hearing that began June 9. The State Board granted the Dublin board's request to continue the case until August.” The statute permits a majority of a local board to petition for a continuance, which the State Board may grant on a showing of good cause.

41NBC reports the district's accreditation status did not change over the summer: “Dublin City Schools submitted a response and action plan to Cognia in June. Cognia notified the district July 9 that it would remain ‘Accredited Under Conditions’ until at least its next monitoring review. The district must carry out its action plan and submit evidence showing its progress.”

What Cognia found

41NBC reports the scope of the accreditor's findings: “Cognia issued its lowest-level finding for seven standards involving stakeholder engagement, board oversight, personnel management, district operations, resource allocation, use of data and evaluation of instructional programs.”

41NBC also reports: “The report also found inconsistent compliance with Georgia's open meetings requirements.”

That finding appears in the record compiled for this page in 41NBC's account. As general background, Georgia's Open Meetings Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 and the sections following it, requires that meetings of a public agency be open to the public, with advance notice, an agenda made available, and minutes kept. An accreditor's finding of inconsistent compliance is not a court ruling and not an enforcement action, and nothing in the record compiled for this page describes either.

Cognia is a private, non-governmental accrediting organization. It does not run schools, employ teachers or control budgets. What it controls is a status, and under Georgia law that status is what opens the door to the process described on this page.

41NBC reports that two state legislators weighed in before the hearing: “House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett of Dublin and Senate President Pro Tempore Larry Walker III of Perry sent a letter to the State Board last week asking it to move forward with the hearing and consider steps to improve governance, financial accountability and public confidence.” That letter appears in the record compiled for this page in 41NBC's account.

What the district's lawyer argued

The Courier Herald covered the opening statements. It reports that the Dublin City Board of Education blamed its financial crisis on “multimillion dollar fraud” by its former finance directors, as a school attorney argued at the hearing.

The Courier Herald reports the argument from the board's attorney, Brian Smith: that financial director Chad McDaniel “intentionally and knowingly hid” the district's cash flow problems from the board. It quotes Smith: “He was told to do so by the financial director who trained him. … This board was betrayed. The taxpayers were betrayed.”

The Courier Herald reports Smith described the local board members as “blindsided” last August, when state officials revealed Dublin City owed more than $6 million in overdue payments to the State Health Benefit Plan.

The Courier Herald summarizes the board's position at the end of the day: “Lawyers for the Dublin board blamed former finance director for hiding the severity of the district's financial problems.”

Every sentence above is a lawyer's argument on behalf of a client at a hearing. It is not a finding by the State Board, not a finding by a court and not an established fact. This page reports what was argued because what was argued is the news; it does not adopt the argument.

What the state's lawyer argued

The Courier Herald reports the Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, David Younker, put the responsibility on the local board. It reports he noted the district had operated in a deficit for two decades before COVID relief funds allowed it to balance the books, briefly, from 2021 to 2023.

It quotes Younker: “In a district serving 2,300 students, they burned through $20 million and they were still $13 million short in 2026.”

It reports he said Dublin board members for years were or should have been aware of the district's financial troubles, and quotes him: “They signed the reports. They signed all the plans.”

The Courier Herald also describes the volume of the record: before testimony began, Younker introduced numerous documents as evidence, including 3,800-page binders given to each state board member.

This too is advocacy. Younker was arguing the department's case for suspension. His characterizations are reported here as his, in his words, and are not presented as findings.

The former finance director invoked the Fifth Amendment

The Courier Herald reports: “Former school finance director Chad McDaniel took the stand but answered few questions, repeatedly invoking his Fifth Amendment rights when called to the stand.”

Invoking the Fifth Amendment is the exercise of a constitutional right. It is not an admission and it is not evidence of wrongdoing. This page states that plainly because the opposite inference is the natural one and it is wrong. A person may decline to answer for many reasons, including on the advice of counsel while an investigation is open.

Chad McDaniel is not charged with a crime in anything cited on this page. Nothing in the record compiled for this page describes an arrest, an indictment, an accusation by a prosecutor or any finding against him by any body.

What the record compiled for this page does contain is accusations made by the school board's side. The Courier Herald reports: “School attorneys and Dublin board members have accused McDaniel of deceiving the school board about the district's financial troubles. They also blamed him for the district not paying more than $6 million into the State Health Benefit Plan, and instead using the money to cover up the district's money troubles.” Those are accusations by a party with an interest in the outcome of the hearing, and they are attributed as such every time they appear on this page.

The Courier Herald reports the board's attorney said McDaniel is being investigated by both state and federal authorities, and quotes Brian Smith saying “Criminal charges may be coming, hopefully.” That is a lawyer's statement at a hearing, not confirmation from any investigating agency. No agency is quoted anywhere in the record compiled for this page confirming an investigation, and no charge exists in anything cited here.

41NBC's pre-hearing account lists McDaniel among the Dublin board's possible witnesses, concerning financial information allegedly withheld from the board, including the district's failure to make State Health Benefit Plan payments. The word allegedly is 41NBC's, and this page keeps it.

What a state finance official testified

The Courier Herald reports testimony from Amy Rowell, director of the Georgia Department of Education's finance review and grants accounting division.

On the immediate risk: the Courier Herald reports that Dublin City Schools could run out of cash again by October and need more advances on state funding, and quotes Rowell: “It's my understanding that they're going have a cash flow problem this fall.”

On what the board knew: the Courier Herald reports Rowell testified the board had approved a deficit reduction plan with the state months earlier, in January 2025, when unaudited information showed the system operating at a deficit, and that the board had submitted monthly financial reports to the state that clearly indicated the system was in the red. It quotes her: “They were signing those reports that showed monthly deficits.”

On the scale of the problem: the Courier Herald reports Rowell, a longtime employee with the state department, said Dublin City's financial struggles are a “systemic problem,” noting the district has been in a deficit almost every year since 2009. It quotes her: “There's not another district that has had the level of financial difficulty for this long.”

That testimony sits directly against the board's argument that its members were blindsided. This page does not decide between them. Both were put before the State Board on the same day, and the State Board's written reasoning has not been issued in anything cited here.

41NBC's pre-hearing account lists Rowell among the department's possible witnesses, along with Special Adviser Dr. Stephanie Johnson, state Chief Financial Officer Rusk Roam, Deputy State Auditor Kristina Turner and representatives from Cognia.

The agreed facts: 246 items both sides accepted

41NBC reports that much of the financial record was not in dispute. It reports: “The joint filing contains 246 facts that attorneys for GaDOE and the Dublin board agreed are true.” Elsewhere it describes the filing as a 76-page statement of facts agreed to by both sides.

That is unusual and it matters. The items below are not one side's allegations; 41NBC reports they are facts the lawyers for both sides agreed were true before the hearing began. They are attributed to 41NBC throughout.

• Deficits from 2009 through 2014. 41NBC reports the filing says Dublin City Schools reported general fund deficits for each fiscal year from 2009 through 2014, and that financial problems later returned after temporary federal COVID-19 funding expired
• August 2025. 41NBC reports state officials learned the district had not paid approximately $5.6 million in employer contributions to the State Health Benefit Plan during fiscal year 2025, and that employee contributions were also months behind
• September 2025. 41NBC reports the department documented an outstanding health-plan balance of approximately $6.7 million and a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026
• A Financial Improvement Plan. 41NBC reports the district entered a plan requiring it to pay overdue employee contributions, complete delayed audits, submit deficit and cash-flow plans and provide continued financial reports to the state
• Advances to make payroll. 41NBC reports the agreed facts list advances on future Quality Basic Education funding of about $1.45 million in September, $1.54 million in October, $1 million in November, $1.3 million in December and $200,000 in January
• February 2026 position. 41NBC reports financial reports showed a negative general fund balance of approximately $1.76 million, with about $7.69 million in liabilities and $5.93 million in assets

Two figures for the health plan shortfall appear across the two sources and they are not the same figure. The Courier Herald reports more than $6 million in overdue payments revealed last August. 41NBC reports approximately $5.6 million in unpaid fiscal 2025 employer contributions learned of in August 2025, and a balance of approximately $6.7 million documented by September 2025. Both are in the comparison table. This page does not average them, reconcile them or pick one.

What the state auditors found

41NBC reports on a January special report from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, which it says identified potential waste and abuse, overstaffing, excessive personnel costs and the use of temporary money for ongoing expenses.

The specific findings 41NBC reports:

• The district's original fiscal year 2024 budget projected an $849,000 deficit, while actual spending exceeded the budget by nearly $5 million
• Actual expenses exceeded the original budgets approved by the Dublin board by approximately $15.6 million over fiscal years 2022 through 2024
• According to the agreed facts, the state audit found the district spent approximately $3.9 million more on salaries than comparable districts
• It also found the district spent more than $14 million in federal pandemic-relief money on salaries and benefits instead of academic programs
• A separate fiscal year 2023 audit by Mauldin & Jenkins identified material weaknesses, significant deficiencies and failures to comply with some federal grant requirements

All of the above appears in the record compiled for this page in 41NBC's account. An audit finding is a professional judgment by auditors, not a criminal finding and not a determination that any individual did anything unlawful, and nothing in the record compiled for this page describes a charge arising from any of it.

The state withdrew its dedicated staff

41NBC reports the department had people on the ground and then pulled them. It reports the Georgia Department of Education provided full-time on-site staff and independent contractors to help Dublin City Schools from October 2025 through April.

41NBC reports the reason given: “State School Superintendent Richard Woods notified the district March 24 that GaDOE would withdraw its dedicated staff because the department no longer had confidence district leadership would make the decisions needed to balance its fiscal year 2027 and 2028 budgets.”

41NBC reports the board chair disputed the state's conclusions. It reports that Smith said a tentative budget presented to the Dublin board showed an estimated $342,000 surplus based on information provided by a department staff member, and that the district was told the following day that the information was incorrect and the proposal would instead result in a small deficit.

41NBC reports the assignment ended April 3, although state staff continued providing assistance when requested and as part of their regular statewide duties.

41NBC also reports a superintendent search that did not conclude. It reports the Dublin board named Dr. DeMarcos Holland its sole finalist June 17 but ended the search in July after the two sides could not reach a compensation agreement, and that Holland was on the department's possible witness list to testify about the search and his communications with the district and board. Nothing in the record compiled for this page states whether he testified.

41NBC reports the board's possible witnesses included all seven current members, former member Regina McRae, former Finance Director Chad McDaniel, Interim Superintendent Marcee Pool and several district employees and financial consultants, and that the board's filing said its members may testify about what financial information they received, information they say was withheld from them and the steps they took in response to the crisis.

What the district says it has done

41NBC reports the district's recovery steps, which it lists as approximately $3 million in additional reductions, 10 fewer calendar days, transportation and travel cuts, staffing changes and fewer workdays for some employees.

41NBC also reports that in May the district reported progress toward its Financial Improvement Plan goals, budget savings and the hiring of a chief financial officer.

The Courier Herald reports the board's own framing at the hearing through its lawyers, who argued the members were misled by a former finance director rather than indifferent to the district's condition.

What the record compiled for this page does not contain is any independent assessment of those steps. The figures above are the district's own account of what it cut and hired, as reported by 41NBC. Nothing cited here evaluates whether the reductions were sufficient.

Nothing here states whether any of the steps above worked. The Courier Herald reports testimony that the district could run out of cash again by October. The two sit side by side in the record compiled for this page, and this page leaves them there.

The $20 million figure, and what it actually refers to

A $20 million figure is circulating with this story, and it is not a $20 million deficit. This section exists to keep a real number from turning into a wrong one.

What the figure actually is: the Courier Herald quotes David Younker, the Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, in his opening statement: “In a district serving 2,300 students, they burned through $20 million and they were still $13 million short in 2026.”

Read in the context the Courier Herald gives it, that sentence follows its report that Younker noted the district had operated in a deficit for two decades before COVID relief funds allowed it to balance the books, briefly, from 2021 to 2023. The $20 million is a lawyer's characterization of money spent, delivered in an opening statement. It is not described in the record compiled for this page as a deficit figure, a budget line or an audited total.

The deficit and shortfall figures that do appear are different numbers entirely. 41NBC reports a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026, a negative general fund balance of approximately $1.76 million in February 2026, and an original fiscal 2024 budget projecting an $849,000 deficit against actual spending that exceeded the budget by nearly $5 million. Those are separate figures with separate meanings and separate sources, and this page does not blend any of them into a single headline number.

What this page will not print is “Dublin City Schools has a $20 million deficit.” Nothing in either article opened for this report says that.

What the Georgia State Board of Education can and cannot do

This is general Georgia procedure, verified against the statutory text, and it is not a prediction about this case. The governing provision is O.C.G.A. § 20-2-73, which 41NBC identifies as the law the hearing was held under.

What the State Board of Education CAN do:

• Hold a hearing. When an accrediting agency places a district at the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, the local board must notify the State Board in writing within three business days, and the State Board conducts a hearing not less than ten days after that notice and not more than 90 days after it
• Grant a continuance. A majority of the local board's members may petition to continue the hearing, and the State Board may grant that on a showing of good cause
• Deliberate in private. The statute provides that deliberations to formulate the recommendation are not open to the public
• Vote in public. Testimony must be taken in an open meeting, and the vote on the recommendation must be taken in an open meeting, either following the hearing or at the next regularly scheduled meeting
• Make a recommendation to the governor. That is the output of the process

What the State Board of Education CANNOT do:

• It cannot suspend a local board member. The statute gives that power to the governor, not to the State Board
• It cannot remove anyone from office. Removal, where it happens at all, comes later and through a different route described below
• It cannot appoint replacements. The statute gives the appointment power to the governor, in consultation with the State Board
• It cannot restore or revoke accreditation. That belongs to the accrediting agency, which is a private organization
• It cannot bind the governor. A recommendation is a recommendation

One more provision worth knowing, because it affects taxpayers directly: the statute provides that a local board of education shall not expend public funds for attorney's fees or expenses of litigation relating to proceedings initiated under that Code section, subject to an exception in the statute's own terms. Nothing in the record compiled for this page states what the Dublin board has spent or how any legal costs in this proceeding are being paid.

The governor's role, and what happens if Kemp acts

Both newsrooms report the decision is Gov. Brian Kemp's. 41NBC states it directly. The Courier Herald describes the vote as asking the governor to act.

41NBC describes what the law allows if he accepts the recommendation: “If Kemp accepts the recommendation, state law allows him to suspend the eligible board members with pay and appoint temporary replacements in consultation with the State Board.” That matches the statute, which provides that the governor may, in his discretion, suspend all eligible members with pay and, in consultation with the State Board, appoint temporary replacement members who are otherwise qualified to serve.

The word “may” is doing real work there. The statute makes the governor's action discretionary. He is not required to act on a recommendation, and nothing in the record compiled for this page states what he intends to do or when.

Who counts as an “eligible” member is defined by the statute, not chosen case by case. 41NBC explains it: “Under the law, eligible members are those who were serving when Cognia placed Dublin City Schools at the accreditation level immediately preceding loss of accreditation.” The statutory definition matches that. The record compiled for this page does not state how many of the seven named members meet that definition, and this page does not calculate it.

Suspension under this statute is with pay. That is in the statutory text and in 41NBC's account. It appears in the record compiled for this page in 41NBC's account rather than in both.

How a suspension can become a permanent removal

General procedure again, and the part most likely to be misunderstood, because it is where the word “removal” actually enters the statute.

41NBC lays out the sequence: “Any suspended member could petition Kemp for reinstatement beginning 30 days after the suspension but no later than 60 days afterward. A member who does not petition within that period would be permanently removed.” It continues: “If a member seeks reinstatement, Kemp or someone he designates would hold a hearing within 90 days of the petition. The hearing would determine whether the member's continued service would be more likely than not to improve the district's ability to retain or regain full accreditation.”

The statutory text tracks that. A suspended member may petition the governor for reinstatement no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days after suspension. A member who does not petition in that window has the suspension converted into permanent removal, and the temporary replacement becomes a permanent member for the remainder of the term. On a petition, the governor or a designated agent holds a hearing, with at least 30 days' notice to the member and within 90 days of the petition, conducted under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, with the governor treated as the agency and the Attorney General representing his interests. If the member prevails, reinstatement is immediate; otherwise the member is permanently removed. Judicial review is available under the same administrative procedure chapter.

So removal, under this statute, is not something the State Board of Education voted for on Aug. 12. It is a possible endpoint several steps down a road whose first step — the governor's decision — has not been taken in anything cited on this page. This page notes that the Courier Herald's account describes the recommendation itself as one to suspend and remove, and does not resolve the difference between that description and 41NBC's.

How to get the underlying records

Almost every document described on this page is a public record, and none of it is held by this site.

• The joint statement of facts. 41NBC describes a 76-page statement of facts agreed to by both sides, containing 246 agreed facts. Hearing filings before the State Board are held by the Georgia Department of Education
• The State Board's written decision. 41NBC reports it will be sent to the governor and the parties within 15 days. It is a state record once issued
• The audit reports. The January special report 41NBC describes came from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, which publishes its reports. The fiscal 2023 audit by Mauldin & Jenkins is a district record
• District budgets, monthly financial reports and board minutes. These are held by Dublin City Schools. Board minutes and agendas are ordinarily the fastest route to what a board was told and when
• The Cognia review. Cognia is a private organization and is not subject to the Georgia Open Records Act. A copy held by the district, however, is a district record

How the Georgia Open Records Act works, stated precisely. Requests are made under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 and the sections following it, to the agency that holds the record. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, an agency must produce responsive records within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of receiving the request. Where some records can be produced in that window and others cannot, the agency must produce what it can within the period. Where responsive records exist but are not available within three business days, the agency must, within that same period, provide the requester with a description of such records and a timeline for when they will be available.

On withholding: the same section provides that where an agency is required to or decides to withhold all or part of a record, it must notify the requester of the specific legal authority for the exemption — by Code section, subsection and paragraph — within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days.

On cost: an agency may charge for search, retrieval, redaction and production, but the search and retrieval charge may not exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid full-time employee with the necessary skill and training, and no charge may be made for the first quarter hour. Copies are capped at ten cents per page for letter or legal size documents, or the actual cost of producing the copy for other documents. If an agency expects to seek more than $25 for a request, it must notify the requester and give an estimate.

A practical note: a request may be made orally or in writing, but the Act's enforcement provisions are available only where the request was made in writing. Put it in writing.

O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 is the list of records for which public disclosure is not required. It is the provision an agency cites when it declines, and reading it before making a request usually explains a denial in advance.

The Local Alert has not obtained any of these records. Everything on this page comes from the two named newsrooms listed at the bottom.

What this means for families and employees, and where to go

General information, not advice, and not a description of anyone's individual situation.

Accreditation status is not the same as a school closing. Nothing in the record compiled for this page describes any school closing, any change to enrollment, any change to the school calendar beyond the 10 fewer calendar days 41NBC lists among the district's cost reductions, or any effect on a student's ability to attend.

“Accredited Under Conditions” is a status with conditions attached, not a loss of accreditation. 41NBC describes it as the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, and reports Cognia notified the district on July 9 that it would remain at that level until at least its next monitoring review, with the district required to carry out its action plan and submit evidence of progress.

For questions about a specific student's transcript, diploma or college admission, the district's central office is the correct first stop, and the accrediting agency maintains its own public information about what each status means. This page cannot answer an individual question and does not try to.

For employees: the record compiled for this page describes unpaid employer contributions to the State Health Benefit Plan and employee contributions that were months behind, both attributed to 41NBC's account of the agreed facts, and a Financial Improvement Plan requiring the district to pay overdue employee contributions. Questions about individual coverage go to the plan administrator and to the district's human resources office, not to a news page.

For residents who want to follow the process rather than read about it: the State Board of Education's meetings and the Dublin board's meetings are public, agendas and minutes are records, and the request procedure above is how to get them. That is a more reliable route than waiting for the next story.

The Local Alert is not a government agency, not a law firm and not connected to Dublin City Schools, the Georgia Department of Education, the State Board of Education or Cognia.

What we don't know yet

Nothing above is filled in by inference. Where a fact is missing, this page says it is missing and scopes that statement to the record compiled for it. This page does not revisit itself as the matter develops.

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Frequently asked questions

Has the Dublin City school board been suspended?
No. Nobody has been suspended and nobody has been removed. The Georgia State Board of Education voted on Aug. 12, 2026 to send a recommendation to Gov. Brian Kemp. A recommendation is not an order. Both the Courier Herald and 41NBC report that the decision belongs to the governor, and nothing in the record compiled for this page states what he will do or when. Every member named in this report still holds office as far as the record compiled for this page shows.

What exactly did the State Board of Education vote to recommend?
The two newsrooms this page relies on describe it differently, and this page publishes both without resolving them. The Courier Herald reports that the state board voted to ask Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend and remove the Dublin City Board of Education, and its headline says the state recommends removal. 41NBC reports that the state board voted unanimously to recommend that Kemp suspend all eligible members of the Dublin City Board of Education with pay, and its headline says the State Board recommends suspension. Those are not interchangeable descriptions, and this page does not merge them.

What was the vote?
The Courier Herald reports a 10-0 vote, taken after the board reopened the hearing following an executive session. 41NBC reports the state board voted unanimously, without giving a numerical tally. A 10-0 vote is unanimous, so the two accounts do not contradict each other; the tally itself appears in the record compiled for this page in the Courier Herald's account.

Who decides whether the board members are actually suspended?
Gov. Brian Kemp. Both newsrooms report it. 41NBC states that if Kemp accepts the recommendation, state law allows him to suspend the eligible board members with pay and appoint temporary replacements in consultation with the State Board. The governing statute, O.C.G.A. section 20-2-73, makes that action discretionary rather than mandatory. Nothing on this page states or implies what he will decide.

Which board members are involved?
41NBC reports that the Georgia Department of Education sought the suspension of Chair Mandy Smith, Vice Chair John Bell, Jeff Davis, Joanna Glover, Peggy Johnson, James Lanier and Kenny Walters, and that the board members oppose suspension according to a 76-page statement of facts agreed to by both sides. These are elected public officials named in their official capacity. No individual member is accused of anything specific on this page, because the record compiled for this page does not make individual findings.

What triggered this? Was it a vote of no confidence?
No. The trigger was an accreditation status. 41NBC reports the joint filing says accreditor Cognia conferred Accredited Under Conditions status on Dublin City Schools on April 10, which placed the district one step from losing accreditation and triggered the State Board's authority to conduct a suspension hearing. The Courier Herald describes the same trigger less specifically, reporting that Cognia downgraded the district's rating earlier this year. Under O.C.G.A. section 20-2-73, that placement obliges the local board to notify the State Board in writing within three business days and obliges the State Board to hold a hearing and make a recommendation to the governor.

What does Accredited Under Conditions mean?
41NBC describes it as the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation. It is a status with conditions attached, not a loss of accreditation. 41NBC reports that Dublin City Schools submitted a response and action plan to Cognia in June, and that Cognia notified the district on July 9 that it would remain Accredited Under Conditions until at least its next monitoring review, with the district required to carry out its action plan and submit evidence showing its progress. Cognia is a private accrediting organization, not a government agency.

What did Cognia actually find?
41NBC reports that Cognia issued its lowest-level finding for seven standards involving stakeholder engagement, board oversight, personnel management, district operations, resource allocation, use of data and evaluation of instructional programs. It also reports that the report found inconsistent compliance with Georgia's open meetings requirements. Those findings appear in the record compiled for this page in 41NBC's account.

Is there a $20 million deficit?
That is not what the figure refers to, and this page does not print it that way. The Courier Herald quotes David Younker, the Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, in his opening statement: In a district serving 2,300 students, they burned through $20 million and they were still $13 million short in 2026. In the context the Courier Herald gives, that follows its report that Younker noted the district operated in a deficit for two decades before COVID relief funds allowed it to balance the books briefly from 2021 to 2023. It is a lawyer's characterization of money spent in an opening statement, not an audited deficit total. The separate figures 41NBC reports include a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026 and a negative general fund balance of approximately $1.76 million in February 2026.

What is the district's financial situation, according to facts both sides agreed on?
41NBC reports the joint filing contains 246 facts that attorneys for the Georgia Department of Education and the Dublin board agreed are true. Among them, as 41NBC reports: general fund deficits for each fiscal year from 2009 through 2014; approximately $5.6 million in unpaid employer contributions to the State Health Benefit Plan during fiscal year 2025, learned of by state officials in August 2025; an outstanding health-plan balance of approximately $6.7 million and a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026, documented by September 2025; advances on future Quality Basic Education funding of about $1.45 million, $1.54 million, $1 million, $1.3 million and $200,000 from September through January; and a negative general fund balance of approximately $1.76 million in February 2026.

Who is Chad McDaniel, and is he charged with anything?
He is the district's former finance director. He is not charged with a crime in anything cited on this page, and no arrest, indictment or finding against him appears in the record compiled for this page. The Courier Herald reports that he took the stand but answered few questions, repeatedly invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. Invoking that right is the exercise of a constitutional protection and is not an admission or evidence of wrongdoing. The Courier Herald reports that school attorneys and Dublin board members have accused him of deceiving the school board, and that the board's attorney said he is being investigated by state and federal authorities and that criminal charges may be coming. Those are statements by a party with an interest in the hearing's outcome, not confirmation from any investigating agency.

What did the two sides argue at the hearing?
The Courier Herald reports the Dublin board blamed its financial crisis on multimillion dollar fraud by its former finance directors, with its attorney Brian Smith arguing that Chad McDaniel intentionally and knowingly hid the district's cash flow problems from the board and describing the members as blindsided last August. It reports the Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, David Younker, put the responsibility on the local board, saying members for years were or should have been aware of the district's financial troubles, and quoting him: They signed the reports. They signed all the plans. The Courier Herald also reports testimony from state finance review director Amy Rowell that the board had approved a deficit reduction plan in January 2025 and had submitted monthly reports showing deficits. Both positions are advocacy at a hearing, and this page does not decide between them.

What can the Georgia State Board of Education actually do?
Under O.C.G.A. section 20-2-73 it can hold a hearing, grant a continuance on a showing of good cause, deliberate in private, vote in public and make a recommendation to the governor. It cannot suspend a local board member, cannot remove anyone from office, cannot appoint replacements, cannot restore or revoke accreditation, and cannot bind the governor. The statute also provides that testimony must be taken in an open meeting and that the vote on the recommendation must be taken in an open meeting, either after the hearing or at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

If the governor suspends members, what happens to their seats?
As general procedure under the statute: the governor may suspend all eligible members with pay and, in consultation with the State Board, appoint temporary replacement members who are otherwise qualified to serve. A suspended member may petition the governor for reinstatement no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days after suspension. A member who does not petition in that window has the suspension converted into permanent removal, and the temporary replacement becomes a permanent member for the remainder of the term. On a petition, the governor or a designated agent holds a hearing within 90 days, with at least 30 days' notice, under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, to determine whether the member's continued service is more likely than not to improve the district's ability to retain or regain accreditation. None of that has happened in anything cited on this page.

Does this mean Dublin schools are closing or that diplomas are at risk?
Nothing in the record compiled for this page describes any school closing, any change to enrollment or any effect on a student's ability to attend. The district's status is described by 41NBC as the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, which is not a loss of accreditation. 41NBC does report that the district's cost reductions included 10 fewer calendar days. Questions about an individual student's transcript, diploma or college admission go to the district's central office and to the accrediting agency, not to a news page. This page cannot answer an individual question.

How do I get the underlying documents?
Requests go to the agency that holds the record, under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. section 50-18-70 and the sections following it. Hearing filings sit with the Georgia Department of Education; budgets, monthly financial reports, board minutes and the district's copy of the Cognia review sit with Dublin City Schools; the January special report came from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts. Under O.C.G.A. section 50-18-71, an agency must produce responsive records within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days, and where responsive records exist but are not available in that window it must provide a description of such records and a timeline for when they will be available. Where it withholds a record, it must notify the requester of the specific legal authority by Code section, subsection and paragraph within the same period. Copies are capped at ten cents per page for letter or legal size documents, and no charge may be made for the first quarter hour of search, retrieval or redaction. Make the request in writing, because the Act's enforcement provisions are available only for written requests. Cognia is a private organization and is not subject to the Act.