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. Nobody has been suspended, and the governor decides.

By Kate Thompson Published Aug. 13, 2026, 2:55 a.m. ET 18 min read A recommendation · nobody suspended

What did the State Board of Education actually do?

The Georgia State Board of Education voted Wednesday to send Gov. Brian Kemp a recommendation about the Dublin City Board of Education, according to the Courier Herald and 41NBC.

The Courier Herald reported that the state board voted “to ask Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend and remove the Dublin City Board of Education.”

41NBC reported 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 agree on the point that matters most: this was a recommendation, and the governor decides. 41NBC put it plainly — “Kemp will decide whether to suspend the board members.”

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

Has anyone been suspended?

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

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.

Four of those seven steps have not happened. Every board member named below still holds office.

What was the vote, and how did the day end?

The Courier Herald, which covered the hearing through the day, described 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 reported it as a unanimous vote following “an hours-long hearing and an executive session,” without giving a numerical tally. A 10-0 vote is unanimous, so the two accounts sit together.

An executive session is a closed portion of a public meeting. Under the law governing this proceeding, testimony must be taken in an open meeting and the vote on the recommendation must be taken in an open meeting, while the board's deliberations to formulate the recommendation are not open to the public.

Which board members are involved?

41NBC named all seven: “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. No individual member has been accused of any specific act; the proceeding is about the board collectively and about the district's finances and accreditation.

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

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What triggered the hearing?

Accreditation — not a vote of no confidence, not a petition and not a complaint.

41NBC reported 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.”

The Courier Herald described the same trigger in broader terms, reporting that the Dublin board “is facing possible state intervention after its accrediting agency Cognia downgraded its rating earlier this year.”

Under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-73 — the statute 41NBC identifies as the law the hearing was held under — when a district is placed at the accreditation level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, the local board must notify the State Board in writing within three business days, and the State Board must hold a hearing and recommend to the governor whether to suspend all eligible members.

The hearing was not held in one sitting. 41NBC reported: “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 district's status did not change over the summer. 41NBC reported that Dublin City Schools submitted a response and action plan to Cognia in June, and that Cognia notified the district July 9 that it would remain “Accredited Under Conditions” until at least its next monitoring review.

What did Cognia find?

41NBC reported the scope: “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 reported that “The report also found inconsistent compliance with Georgia's open meetings requirements.”

Georgia's Open Meetings Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 and the sections following it, requires meetings of a public agency to be open, with advance notice, an agenda available and minutes kept. An accreditor's finding of inconsistent compliance is not a court ruling and not an enforcement action, and no such action has been reported.

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 this process.

41NBC reported that House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett of Dublin and Senate President Pro Tempore Larry Walker III of Perry sent a letter to the State Board asking it to move forward with the hearing and consider steps to improve governance, financial accountability and public confidence.

What did the district's lawyers argue?

The Courier Herald reported that the Dublin City Board of Education blamed its financial crisis on “multimillion dollar fraud” by its former finance directors.

Board attorney Brian Smith argued that former finance director Chad McDaniel “intentionally and knowingly hid” the district's cash flow problems from the board. “He was told to do so by the financial director who trained him. … This board was betrayed. The taxpayers were betrayed,” Smith said.

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.

What did the state's lawyers argue?

The Courier Herald reported that the Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, David Younker, put the responsibility on the local board, noting 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.

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

He said board members for years were or should have been aware of the district's financial troubles: “They signed the reports. They signed all the plans.”

Before testimony began, Younker introduced numerous documents as evidence, including 3,800-page binders given to each state board member.

What happened when the former finance director testified?

The Courier Herald reported: “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. A person may decline to answer for many reasons, including on the advice of counsel.

Chad McDaniel is not charged with a crime. No arrest, indictment or finding against him has been reported.

The Courier Herald reported that “School attorneys and Dublin board members have accused McDaniel of deceiving the school board about the district's financial troubles,” and that they blamed him for the district not paying more than $6 million into the State Health Benefit Plan. Those are accusations by a party with an interest in the hearing's outcome.

The Courier Herald reported that the board's attorney said McDaniel is being investigated by both state and federal authorities, quoting Smith saying “Criminal charges may be coming, hopefully.” No investigating agency has confirmed an investigation, and no charge exists.

What did the state finance official say?

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

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

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

On the scale: Rowell called the district's struggles a “systemic problem,” noting it has been in deficit almost every year since 2009, and said “There's not another district that has had the level of financial difficulty for this long.”

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What do the agreed facts say about the money?

Much of the financial record was not in dispute. 41NBC reported that “The joint filing contains 246 facts that attorneys for GaDOE and the Dublin board agreed are true,” in a 76-page statement of facts.

41NBC also reported that the district entered a Financial Improvement 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.

The two accounts describe the health plan shortfall slightly differently: the Courier Herald reported more than $6 million in overdue payments revealed last August, while 41NBC reported about $5.6 million in unpaid fiscal 2025 employer contributions learned of in August 2025 and a balance of about $6.7 million by September 2025.

What did state auditors find?

41NBC reported 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 reported: the district's original fiscal 2024 budget projected an $849,000 deficit while actual spending exceeded the budget by nearly $5 million; actual expenses exceeded the original budgets the board approved by about $15.6 million over fiscal 2022 through 2024; the district spent about $3.9 million more on salaries than comparable districts; and it spent more than $14 million in federal pandemic-relief money on salaries and benefits instead of academic programs.

41NBC also reported that a separate fiscal 2023 audit by Mauldin & Jenkins identified material weaknesses, significant deficiencies and failures to comply with some federal grant requirements.

An audit finding is a professional judgment by auditors. It is not a criminal finding, and no charge arising from any of it has been reported.

41NBC reported the state also pulled its help: the department provided full-time on-site staff and independent contractors from October 2025 through April, and State School Superintendent Richard Woods notified the district March 24 that the department would withdraw its dedicated staff because it no longer had confidence district leadership would make the decisions needed to balance the fiscal 2027 and 2028 budgets. The assignment ended April 3.

Board chair Mandy Smith disputed part of the state's account, 41NBC reported, saying a tentative budget showed an estimated $342,000 surplus based on information from a department staff member, and that the district was told the following day the information was incorrect.

Is there a $20 million deficit?

No. The $20 million figure circulating with this story is not a deficit figure.

It comes from David Younker's opening statement, quoted by the Courier Herald: “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 the district had operated in deficit for two decades before COVID relief funds briefly balanced the books.

The deficit and shortfall figures reported are different numbers entirely: a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026, a negative general fund balance of about $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.

What can the State Board do, and what can only the governor do?

The governing provision is O.C.G.A. § 20-2-73.

One provision affects taxpayers directly: the statute provides that a local board of education shall not spend public funds on attorney's fees or litigation expenses relating to proceedings initiated under that Code section, subject to an exception in the statute's own terms. What the Dublin board has spent, and how any legal costs are being paid, has not been reported.

What happens if Kemp suspends the members?

41NBC described what the law allows: “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 word may is doing real work. The statute makes the governor's action discretionary. He is not required to act on a recommendation, and nothing published says what he intends to do or when.

Who counts as an “eligible” member is defined by the statute. 41NBC explained 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.” How many of the seven meet that definition has not been reported.

41NBC laid out the reinstatement 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 continued: “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.”

So removal is a possible endpoint several steps down the road — and the first step, the governor's decision, has not been taken.

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What does this mean for Dublin students and employees?

Accreditation status is not the same as a school closing. No school closing, no change to enrollment and no effect on a student's ability to attend has been reported.

“Accredited Under Conditions” is a status with conditions attached, not a loss of accreditation. 41NBC reported that 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.

41NBC reported the district's own recovery steps: about $3 million in additional reductions, 10 fewer calendar days, transportation and travel cuts, staffing changes and fewer workdays for some employees. In May the district reported progress toward its Financial Improvement Plan goals, budget savings and the hiring of a chief financial officer.

For employees: 41NBC's account of the agreed facts describes unpaid employer contributions to the State Health Benefit Plan and employee contributions months behind, and a Financial Improvement Plan requiring the district to pay the overdue employee contributions. Questions about individual coverage go to the plan administrator and the district's human resources office.

For questions about a specific student's transcript, diploma or college admission, the district's central office is the right first call.

How do I get the underlying documents?

Almost every document described here is a public record.

The 76-page joint statement of facts and other hearing filings sit with the Georgia Department of Education. The State Board's written decision becomes a state record once issued. The January special report came from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, which publishes its reports. District budgets, monthly financial reports and board minutes are held by Dublin City Schools.

Requests are made under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 and the sections following it, to the agency that holds the record. An agency must respond within three business days — producing the record, or describing responsive records it cannot produce yet with a timeline, or citing the specific Code section, subsection and paragraph it is withholding under.

On cost: no charge may be made for the first quarter hour of search, retrieval and redaction, copies are capped at ten cents per page for letter or legal size documents, and an agency expecting to charge more than $25 must notify the requester with an estimate.

Put the request in writing. The Act's enforcement provisions are available only where the request was made in writing. Cognia is a private organization and is not subject to the Act — though a copy of its review held by the district is a district record.

What we don't know yet

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, and a recommendation is not an order. Every member named still holds office.

What exactly did the State Board vote to recommend?
The two accounts of the hearing describe it differently. The Courier Herald reported the state board voted to ask Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend and remove the Dublin City Board of Education; 41NBC reported it voted unanimously to recommend that Kemp suspend all eligible members with pay.

What was the vote?
The Courier Herald reported a 10-0 vote, taken after the board reopened the hearing following an executive session. 41NBC reported the state board voted unanimously and did not give a numerical tally.

Who decides whether the board members are actually suspended?
Gov. Brian Kemp. 41NBC reported 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. Under O.C.G.A. section 20-2-73 that action is discretionary, not mandatory.

Which board members are involved?
41NBC reported 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 members oppose suspension according to a 76-page statement of facts agreed to by both sides.

What triggered the hearing? Was it a vote of no confidence?
No. The trigger was an accreditation status. 41NBC reported that a joint filing says accreditor Cognia conferred Accredited Under Conditions status on Dublin City Schools on April 10, placing the district one step from losing accreditation and triggering the State Board's authority to hold a suspension hearing.

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. Cognia notified the district on July 9 that it would remain at that status until at least its next monitoring review, with the district required to carry out its action plan and submit evidence of progress.

What did Cognia actually find?
41NBC reported 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, and that the report also found inconsistent compliance with Georgia's open meetings requirements.

Is there a $20 million deficit?
No. The $20 million figure comes from the opening statement of David Younker, the Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, who said: In a district serving 2,300 students, they burned through $20 million and they were still $13 million short in 2026. The deficit figures reported are different numbers, including a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026 and a negative general fund balance of about $1.76 million in February 2026.

What do the agreed facts say about the district's finances?
41NBC reported that the joint filing contains 246 facts both sides agreed are true, among them general fund deficits for each fiscal year from 2009 through 2014, about $5.6 million in unpaid State Health Benefit Plan employer contributions in fiscal 2025, an outstanding health-plan balance of about $6.7 million and a projected cash shortage of more than $13.4 million by June 2026, Quality Basic Education advances from September through January, and a negative general fund balance of about $1.76 million in February 2026.

Who is Chad McDaniel, and is he charged with anything?
He is the district's former finance director, and he is not charged with any crime. The Courier Herald reported that he took the stand but answered few questions, repeatedly invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, which is the exercise of a constitutional right and not an admission. The board's attorney said McDaniel is being investigated by state and federal authorities; no agency has confirmed that.

What did the two sides argue at the hearing?
The Courier Herald reported that the Dublin board blamed its financial crisis on multimillion dollar fraud by former finance directors, with attorney Brian Smith arguing that Chad McDaniel intentionally and knowingly hid the district's cash flow problems and describing the members as blindsided last August. The Georgia Department of Education's lawyer, David Younker, put the responsibility on the board, saying members were or should have been aware and that they signed the reports and signed all the plans.

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.

If the governor suspends members, what happens to their seats?
41NBC reported that a suspended member could petition Kemp for reinstatement beginning 30 days after the suspension but no later than 60 days afterward, and that a member who does not petition within that period would be permanently removed. If a member seeks reinstatement, Kemp or a designee would hold a hearing within 90 days to 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.

Did the state pull its financial help from Dublin?
Yes. 41NBC reported that the Georgia Department of Education provided full-time on-site staff and contractors from October 2025 through April, and that State School Superintendent Richard Woods notified the district on March 24 that the department would withdraw its dedicated staff because it no longer had confidence district leadership would make the decisions needed to balance the fiscal 2027 and 2028 budgets. The assignment ended April 3.

Are Dublin schools closing, or are diplomas at risk?
No school closing, change to enrollment or effect on a student's ability to attend has been reported. The district's status is the level immediately preceding loss of accreditation, which is not a loss of accreditation. Questions about an individual student's transcript, diploma or college admission go to the district's central office.

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 and board minutes sit with Dublin City Schools; the January special report came from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts. An agency must respond within three business days, and requests should be made in writing because the Act's enforcement provisions apply only to written requests.