HB767: HB767 Gwinnett County; Board of Education; compensation of members; revise provisions

Gwinnett County's school board currently can raise its own members' pay under a 1972 law (as amended in 2005), following rules like advance newspaper notice and a delay until after the next election. This bill keeps those existing rules but adds a new twist: if the board approves paying a superintendent to leave early (a contract termination buyout), the board's normal authority to raise its own compensation gets suspended. That suspension lasts until either the amount members would have received in raises catches up to the buyout amount paid to the superintendent, or until every board member who approved the buyout is no longer serving on the board. While suspended, members would instead get the standard per diem set by state law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-55). The bill also adds a new section barring the board and Gwinnett County Public Schools from restricting individual members' communication with constituents, the public, or the media, while still allowing rules to protect legally confidential information. The changes would take effect the first day of the month after the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

• Keeps the existing rules requiring newspaper notice, a delay until after the next election, and no action during qualifying periods before any board pay increase can take effect.
• Adds a new rule suspending the board's authority to raise its own pay if the board approves an early buyout of a superintendent's contract.
• Ties the length of that suspension to either the buyout amount being matched by foregone raises or the departure of all board members who approved the buyout.
• Requires board members to receive the standard state per diem (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-55) instead of board-set compensation while the suspension is in effect.
• Prohibits the Gwinnett County Board of Education and Gwinnett County Public Schools from infringing on a board member's right to talk to constituents, the public, or the media.
• Allows the board to still adopt policies protecting confidential executive session discussions or legally privileged or exempt information from unauthorized disclosure.

Members of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, whose pay-setting power and public communications would be directly regulated; Gwinnett County Public Schools as an institution; and, indirectly, any current or former Gwinnett County superintendent involved in a contract buyout.

If the board pays a superintendent to leave early, board members would not be able to raise their own pay until the cost is offset or those members leave office, tying board compensation decisions to how the district handles leadership departures. The communication protections could also affect how freely board members speak publicly about school district matters.

• Section 1 revises Section 2 of the 1972 Act (as amended in 2005) governing how the Gwinnett County Board of Education sets its own compensation, keeping the notice, timing, and election-cycle restrictions.
• New subsection (b) suspends the board's compensation-setting authority if the board approves a superintendent contract termination buyout, or while such buyout payments are still being made to former superintendents.
• The suspension ends when foregone board compensation equals the buyout amount, or when all board members who approved the buyout have left the board.
• During any suspension, board members are paid the per diem set under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-55 instead of board-set compensation.
• New Section 2A bars the board and Gwinnett County Public Schools from infringing on board members' communication with constituents, the public, or the media, with exceptions for confidential executive session matters and legally protected information.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the first day of the month following the bill's approval by the Governor or its becoming law without approval.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-03-20House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-03-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-03-13House Hopper (House)

• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)Primary sponsor
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Sandy Donatucci (R, HD-105)
• Reynaldo Martinez (R, HD-111)
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
• David Clark (R, HD-100)

• Gwinnett County schools
• school board compensation
• local legislation
• school board transparency
• superintendent contracts