Schools
Chapman to Deal: Veto HB 978
House Bill 978, which will change the way Cherokee elects its school board, passed the Senate by a vote of 47-0 on Tuesday.
Cherokee County Board of Education Chairman Mike Chapman is calling on Gov. Nathan Deal to veto House Bill 978, which would and draw out Chapman and vice chair Janet Read from their districts.
Despite and a , the, which has become a flashpoint in the fight for local control of the Cherokee school board.
According to the website of the Georgia General Assembly, the final vote was 47-0 for House Bill 978.
Find out what's happening in Holly Springs-Hickory Flatwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The bill awaits Deal's signature. If he signs it into law, the school board chair will be elected county-wide and school board members will be elected from the posts where they live.
"This is our last hope for avoiding a change in school board governance structure that may ultimately have an extremely negative impact on the overall quality of the school system and the education delivered to its nearly 40,000 students," Chapman said in a statement. "It’s disappointing that the past 14 years of successful governance by the School Board may possibly be destroyed due to a vendetta led by the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation."
Find out what's happening in Holly Springs-Hickory Flatwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
For more of Chapman's appeal to Deal, open the attached PDF or read the text below.
Stay tuned to Canton-Sixes Patch, Holly Springs-Hickory Flat Patch and Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch for updates.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.