Georgia · Dublin, Laurens County · Education

Dublin, GA School Board Suspended: All 7 Members Named in Kemp's Order

Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Monday suspending every member of the Dublin City Board of Education. No replacement has been named. A five-member committee will nominate temporary members for the governor to appoint.

What did Gov. Kemp actually do?

Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order suspending every eligible member of the Dublin City Board of Education. The document is dated Aug. 17, 2026, and it names seven people, each of whom, it says, is “hereby suspended.”

The order is published by the governor's office as executive order 08.17.26.01. It runs two pages, and it does two things: it suspends the seven, and it sets up a committee to find people to sit in their place. It cites Code Section 20-2-73 as the authority for both.

The same document recites how the case got to the governor's desk. The Dublin board, it says, told the State Board of Education that the district had landed on “the level of accreditation immediately preceding loss of accreditation.” The State Board then held a hearing on Aug. 12 and recommended suspension.

The Courier Herald, the newspaper in Dublin, reported that Kemp acted Monday afternoon.

Who was suspended in Dublin?

The order lists them in this sequence: Amanda Smith, John Bell, Jeff Davis, Joanna Glover, Peggy Johnson, James Lanier and Kenny Walters. Smith is the board's chairwoman.

Three of them are new to the job. The Courier Herald reported that Smith and Glover took office in 2024 and that Davis began serving this January.

None of the seven is accused of a crime in the order, and no criminal charge against any board member has been announced. A suspension under this process is a governance action, not a criminal one.

41NBC reported that the suspensions carry pay under state law. It also reported that the board had already given up its $150-per-meeting pay for two fiscal years, 2026 and 2027, one of the savings steps in the district's deficit plan. Both 41NBC and the Courier Herald reported that Monday night's board meeting was canceled.

Advertisement

Does Dublin have new board members now?

No. Nobody has been appointed to a seat on the Dublin school board. The order creates the Dublin City Board of Education Nominating Committee and says the committee “shall make nominations to me for temporary replacements” that the governor would then appoint.

41NBC put the sequence the same way, reporting that the order does not appoint the temporary replacements and that the committee recommends candidates to Kemp, who makes the appointments.

Accounts of the order differ on that point. WALB reported that Kemp “suspended an entire school board in Georgia and appointed two new members to temporarily serve on the board,” identifying the two as Rep. Matt Hatchett and Sen. Larry Walker; the order names Hatchett and Walker to the nominating committee and appoints no one to the school board itself.

FOX 5 Atlanta described a “four-member Dublin City Board of Education Nominating Committee,” and listed a chairman, a state representative, a former mayor and a community member. The order names five people to the committee.

No timetable is attached. FOX 5 reported that the order “does not say when the temporary board members will be selected,” and WGXA reported that it sets no deadline for submitting nominations.

Who is on the nominating committee?

The order names five, and makes the first of them chairman.

• Matt Donaldson, the State Board of Education member from the congressional district where the local board sits — chairman
• Sen. Larry Walker, whose 20th Senate district covers the area
• Rep. Matt Hatchett, whose 155th House district covers the area
• Phil Best, a former mayor of Dublin
• Edwin May, described in the order as a member of the community

The Courier Herald called May a local businessman. WALB reported him as a member of the Dublin-Laurens County Economic Development Authority. Walker is the Senate's president pro tempore and Hatchett chairs House Appropriations, as Capitol Beat News Service reported.

The order explains the design in a single clause: a committee of “education professionals and advocates” drawn from the community, it says, best ensures the quality of the temporary replacements.

What did the committee's lawmakers say?

Hatchett and Walker issued a joint statement, carried by the Courier Herald and by WALB.

“We recognize the importance of this responsibility and want to ensure that we do what is right for the students, families and educators of Dublin City Schools,” Hatchett said. “We look forward to working together to help identify the best individuals to serve the school system during this transition.”

Walker's portion went to what the committee is for. “The work of this committee is crucial to restore confidence and stability to Dublin City Schools,” he said. The focus, he said, “must remain squarely on improving outcomes for students, families, educators and ultimately taxpayers who fund the school system.”

Neither the governor's order nor the two statements addresses any individual board member's conduct.

Why did the state move against this board?

Accreditation opened the door. The order says the district notified the State Board that it had been placed on the accreditation level directly below full accreditation, which is what obliged the state to hold a hearing at all.

The accreditor is Cognia, a private agency. Capitol Beat reported that Cognia downgraded the district's rating last spring to one step from full loss of accreditation.

What the state argued at the hearing was about money. Capitol Beat reported that state officials presented evidence of “persistent deficits” in the system's finances. The Courier Herald reported that the hearing ran almost 11 hours.

WSB-TV reported that the State Board recommended the suspension in a 10-0 vote, and that the crisis had prompted the state to step in with emergency payroll assistance.

Advertisement

Hurt in a Georgia accident?

Find out what your claim is worth.Before you talk to anyone.

Ask what your accident claim could be worth, what a police report actually establishes, and what an adjuster is allowed to ask.

Trained on thousands of top injury lawyers — not a chatbot guessing.Answers in minutes, day or night.No forms. No spam. No callbacks.

1-866-CALL-HIM

Free24/7Any question

What do the district's finances show?

Capitol Beat reported that the Georgia Department of Community Health told the state education department last summer that Dublin had paid no employer contributions at all to the State Health Benefit Plan for fiscal 2025, a total of $5.6 million.

Two further items appear in Capitol Beat's account. A March notice from the Georgia Department of Labor, it reported, put the district's bill for unpaid taxes, interest, penalties and costs at $435,798.32. Officials also reported four straight years without a complete audit on file.

WGXA reported the cuts the district has already made: at least 46 job cuts, 10 calendar days trimmed for fiscal 2026, school choice transportation routes eliminated, district-paid travel suspended, board members' salaries waived and positions reduced and realigned across schools and departments. WSB-TV reported the district cut costs by shedding dozens of staff and shortening the calendar.

WGXA and WSB-TV both put the shortfall at about $20 million. That figure entered the record as an argument by the education department's lawyer at the hearing, and it is not the same as the district's reported deficit balances. The Local Alert set out those separate numbers when the State Board voted.

Can a suspended member get the seat back?

There is a window. 41NBC reported that a suspended member may ask the governor to be reinstated, but not before 30 days have passed and not after 60.

41NBC also reported what happens to anyone who lets the window close: the suspension becomes a permanent removal, and that member's temporary replacement becomes permanent. The Courier Herald reported the same window and the same consequence, and that a petition would be decided at another hearing.

WGXA framed it as an appeal, reporting the seven remain suspended unless they choose to appeal within 30 to 60 days.

Who is running Dublin City Schools now?

The order reaches the board, not the front office. It names seven board members and no district employee.

The district's superintendent is an interim. The Courier Herald reported on Aug. 7 that the board voted after a long closed meeting to extend Marcee Pool's contract through next June, or until a superintendent is hired. Pool, previously the district's curriculum director, has held the interim job since last September.

That vacancy traces back to the same crisis. The Courier Herald reported that Fred Williams stepped down into early retirement last September after the severity of the district's finances came to light; WGXA described the retirement of Superintendent Dr. Fredrick C. Williams as part of the removal of top leadership.

The Courier Herald also reported that the board had named Marietta City Schools human resources director DeMarcos Holland its sole finalist last month, then withdrew the offer over salary.

What we don't know yet

Frequently asked questions

Who suspended the Dublin school board?
Gov. Brian Kemp, by executive order dated Aug. 17, 2026. The order is published by the governor's office as executive order 08.17.26.01.

Which Dublin board members were suspended?
The order names Amanda Smith, John Bell, Jeff Davis, Joanna Glover, Peggy Johnson, James Lanier and Kenny Walters.

Has anyone been appointed to the Dublin school board?
No. The order creates the Dublin City Board of Education Nominating Committee, which is to send the governor nominations for temporary replacements that he would then appoint.

Who is on the nominating committee?
State Board of Education member Matt Donaldson as chairman, Sen. Larry Walker of the 20th District, Rep. Matt Hatchett of the 155th District, former Dublin Mayor Phil Best and community member Edwin May.

Are the suspended board members charged with a crime?
No. The order accuses no board member of a crime, and no criminal charge against a board member has been announced.

Are the suspensions with pay?
41NBC reported that they are with pay under state law, and that the board had already given up its $150-per-meeting pay for fiscal 2026 and 2027.

What triggered the suspension process?
The order says the Dublin board notified the State Board of Education that the district had been placed on the level of accreditation immediately preceding loss of accreditation. That was followed by a State Board hearing on Aug. 12 and a recommendation to the governor.

Can the suspended members return to their seats?
41NBC reported that a suspended member may ask the governor to be reinstated, but not before 30 days have passed and not after 60, and that failing to ask within that window turns the suspension into a permanent removal.

Does the order affect the superintendent?
The order names only the seven board members. The Courier Herald reported on Aug. 7 that the board extended interim Superintendent Marcee Pool's contract through next June or until a superintendent is hired.

What county is Dublin, Georgia in?
Laurens County. Dublin City Schools is a city district within it.