---
title: Ga. Const. Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I. School systems continued; consolidation of school systems authorized; new independent school systems prohibited.
collection: code
id: ga-const:art-viii-sec-v-para-i
cite_as: Ga. Const. Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I
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date: 2016
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---

# Ga. Const. Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I. School systems continued; consolidation of school systems authorized; new independent school systems prohibited.

A constitution provision shown as in force is in force as printed in the volume. A court decision can make a printed provision unenforceable without changing the volume, and the volume does not record that.

Authority is granted to county and area boards of education to establish and maintain public schools within their limits; provided, however, that the authority provided for in this Paragraph shall not diminish any authority of the General Assembly otherwise granted under this article, including the authority to establish special schools as provided for in Article VIII, Section V, Paragraph VII. Existing county and independent school systems shall be continued, except that the General Assembly may provide by law for the consolidation of two or more county school systems, independent school systems, portions thereof, or any combination thereof into a single county or area school system under the control and management of a county or area board of education, under such terms and conditions as the General Assembly may prescribe; but no such consolidation shall become effective until approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon in each separate school system proposed to be consolidated. No independent school system shall hereafter be established. (Ga. Const. 1983, Art. 8, § 5, Para. 1; Ga. L. 2012, p. 1364, § 2/HR 1162.)

## Cross References

Generally, § 20-2-50. Consolidation of county schools, § 20-2-60. Consolidation or merger of school systems, § 20-2-370. Separate school districts within a county, § 20-2-431.

## Editor's Notes

The constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 2012, p. 1364, § 2/HR 1162), which added ‘‘; provided, however, that the authority provided for in this Paragraph shall not diminish any authority of the General Assembly otherwise granted under this article, including the authority to establish special schools as provided for in Article VIII, Section V, Paragraph VII’’ at the end of the first sentence, was ratified at the general election held on November 6, 2012.

As of July 1, 2015, the independent school systems are Atlanta, Bremen, Buford, Calhoun, Carrollton, Cartersville, Chickamauga, Commerce, Dalton, Decatur, Dublin, Gainesville, Jefferson, Marietta, Pelham, Rome, Social Circle, Thomasville, Trion, Valdosta, and Vidalia.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Cities and Towns in Georgia: A Distinction With a Difference?,’’ see 14 Mercer L. Rev. 385 (1963). For survey article on constitutional law, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 53 (1982). For article on the 2012 Constitutional amendment, see 29 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2012).

## 1976 Constitution.

Art. VIII, Sec. V, Paras. I, VI.

## ‘‘Maintain’’ Construed.

Word ‘‘maintain’’ as used in this paragraph does not constitute a constitutional prohibition upon the growth of municipal school systems. Upson County Sch. Dist. v. City of Thomaston, 248 Ga. 98, 281 S.E.2d 537 (1981) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I).

Prohibition on ‘‘establishment’’ is prohibition on ‘‘creation.’’ — Prohibition on ‘‘establishment’’ of new independent school systems is a prohibition on their ‘‘creation.’’ Upson County Sch. Dist. v. City of Thomaston, 248 Ga. 98, 281 S.E.2d 537 (1981).

Territorial expansion of existing city school system by annexation of territory into corporate limits of city is not ‘‘creation’’ or ‘‘establishment’’ of independent school system in contravention of this paragraph. Upson County Sch. Dist. v. City of Thomaston, 248 Ga. 98, 281 S.E.2d 537 (1981) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I).

## Construction of Paragraph.

The provision in this paragraph that authority was granted to counties to establish and maintain public schools within their limits, and that each county, exclusive of any independent school system now in existence in a county would be confined to the control and management of a county board of education amounted to complete constitutional vesting of authority to manage and control county schools in the county board of education. Bedingfield v. Parkerson, 212 Ga. 654, 94 S.E.2d 714 (1956) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I). tems can be merged, but merely establishes procedure by which two school districts or any portions thereof can be combined to create a new entity, an area school district, which is separate and distinct from either of merged school districts. Upson County Sch. Dist. v. City of Thomaston, 248 Ga. 98, 281 S.E.2d 537 (1981) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I).

Annexation by municipality also

## Paragraph Does Not Prescribe Exclusive Method by Which School Sysextends City School System Limits.

Absent expression of legislative intent clearly to the contrary or a valid agreement between school systems involved, annexation of territory into corporate limits of municipality operating independent school system also extends limits of city school system, so that limits of city school district remain coterminous with city’s corporate limits. Upson County Sch. Dist. v. City of Thomaston, 248 Ga. 98, 281 S.E.2d 537 (1981).

## Intent.

This provision of the Constitution was intended to do only one thing insofar as independent school systems were concerned, and that was to prohibit the creation of independent systems after adoption of the Constitution, and to preserve those in existence until consolidated or merged as provided by law. Bailey v. County Bd. of Educ., 213 Ga. 308, 99 S.E.2d 124 (1957) (see Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VIII, Sec. V, Para. I).

## Immunity.

School district, as established by Georgia law, was not an arm of the state for purposes of Eleventh Amendment immunity. Lightfoot v. Henry County Sch. Dist., 771 F.3d 764 (11th Cir. 2014).

Control and management of public schools is in the county boards of education, and will not be interfered with by the courts except in cases where that control and management is contrary to law. Colston v. Hutchinson, 208 Ga. 559, 67 S.E.2d 763 (1951). tems existing in 1945. Colston v. Hutchinson, 208 Ga. 559, 67 S.E.2d 763 (1951).

## Other Than Independent School sys-Local School Board Power Limited.

— Local school boards, existing only by virtue of the state Constitution, must be restricted to those powers either expressly granted or necessarily implied by statute, since their composition and function are extensively regulated by the state. Davis v. Griffin-Spalding County Bd. of Educ., 445 F. Supp. 1048 (N.D. Ga. 1975).

In its control and management of

## Schools, the County Board of Education Has Broad Discretionary Powers.

Patterson v. Boyd, 211 Ga. 679, 87 S.E.2d 861 (1955).

## Effect of Board’s Broad Powers.

Since a county board of education has complete control and management of the schools in the county and is empowered to reorganize them and fix the number of grades to be taught in each, action taken by it with respect thereto is not void and of no legal effect, though it may be erroneous. Patterson v. Boyd, 211 Ga. 679, 87 S.E.2d 861 (1955).

Board and School Superintendent authority to contract for employment

## Of Teachers Settled.

The right and power of the county boards of education and the county superintendents of education to operate the schools of the counties and to make contracts of employment with teachers is settled by the Constitution and laws of this state, as construed by this court. Jones v. Ellis, 182 Ga. 380, 185 S.E. 510 (1936).

It is the board of education and not a court which is empowered by law to manage a county school system, and it is their duty to hire and fire teachers as necessary. To this end, the law grants the board and its Superintendent broad discretion. The orderly operation of the schools depends upon their expertise and not upon whatever skills a judge may possess in the area of school administration. The board’s discretion, though, is not unbounded. Standards which they use in the evaluation of prospective teachers must be reasonably related to teaching competency and effectiveness. Their standards must be applied in a uniform fashion so that no group of prospective teachers is singled out for greater scrutiny than other prospective teachers and employment cannot be conditioned upon factors which infringe upon the free exercise of constitutionally protected rights. Doherty v. Wilson, 356 F. Supp. 35 (M.D. Ga. 1973).

Exercise of constitutional rights does not prohibit termination of

## Teacher.

The constitutional guarantees of free speech, free association, and free exercise of religion do not mean that a school board has no control over the activities or actions of its teachers. A school board may fire, refuse to rehire, or refuse to hire a teacher who has exercised constitutionally protected rights in such a manner as to seriously impair or destroy the teacher’s effectiveness as a teacher. Doherty v. Wilson, 356 F. Supp. 35 (M.D. Ga. 1973).

In an action against the State tory hiring practices, the burden of proof is on the state to prove justification of its actions once a plaintiff has shown that the state action stemmed from the plaintiff’s exercise of constitutionally protected rights. Doherty v. Wilson, 356 F. Supp. 35 (M.D. Ga. 1973).

## Board of Education for discrimina-Finality of Board’s Decision.

When sitting as a court to hear and determine an issue over which it has jurisdiction, decision of school board is final unless an appeal therefrom is taken. Patterson v. Boyd, 211 Ga. 679, 87 S.E.2d 861 (1955).

## Limited Interference by Courts.

Unless the board violates some law, or its action is such a gross abuse of discretion as amounts to a violation of law, courts should not and cannot interfere. Bedingfield v. Parkerson, 212 Ga. 654, 94 S.E.2d 714 (1956).

Judicial intervention requires gross abuse of discretion that must be such as of itself amounts to a violation of law. Bedingfield v. Parkerson, 212 Ga. 654, 94 S.E.2d 714 (1956).

## Necessary Showing for Equity Jurisdiction.

In the absence of a showing of the inadequacy of the remedy of appeal to the State Board of Education equity would not take jurisdiction and grant relief in a school matter contrary to former Code 1933, § 37-120 (see now O.C.G.A. § 23-1-4). Bedingfield v. Parkerson, 212 Ga. 654, 94 S.E.2d 714 (1956) (case decided under former § 32-414 re: appeals).

Equity will not interfere with the management of schools unless it clearly appears that the board has acted without authority of law. Patterson v. Boyd, 211 Ga. 679, 87 S.E.2d 861 (1955).

## Provision for Equitable Relief Construed.

Statement that decisions of the boards of education will not be interfered with by courts of equity unless they amount to a violation of law or are a gross abuse of discretion must be read and considered along with the rule of law that remedies at law, if adequate, must be exhausted before resort to equity will be allowed; when thus construed they mean simply that, when the remedy by appeal has failed to eliminate the law violation or gross abuse of discretion which is its equivalent, equity will grant relief or, as is permissible in all cases to prevent irreparable injury, or where equity alone can grant adequate relief, exhaustion of the statutory remedy of appeal is not a prerequisite to relief in equity. Bedingfield v. Parkerson, 212 Ga. 654, 94 S.E.2d 714 (1956).

Court must balance exercise of

## Rights with Effectiveness of Schools.

— A court must balance the individual’s interest in free exercise of the individual’s rights with the government’s need to maintain appropriate order and effectiveness in the operation of schools. Doherty v. Wilson, 356 F. Supp. 35 (M.D. Ga. 1973).

Rule governing review by Court of

## Appeals.

The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to decide questions of law that involve application, in a general sense, of unquestioned and unambiguous provisions of the Constitution to a given state of facts, and that do not involve construction of some constitutional provision directly in question and doubtful either under its own terms or under decisions of the Supreme Court of the state or of the United States, and that do not involve the constitutionality of any law of the state or of the United States or any treaty. Under this rule, the Supreme Court and not the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction where a surety seeks to be held free of liability on grounds of constitutional provisions which made obligation unenforceable against school system as principal. Franklin v. Mobley, 202 Ga. 212, 42 S.E.2d 755 (1947).

Legislative intent by enactment of

## § 20-3-59.

Conditions affecting schools and the operation of them frequently change materially and it was unquestionably the intention of the legislature, by former Code 1933, § 32-933 (see now O.C.G.A. § 20-3-59), to give county boards of education power to so deal with their schools whenever, in their opinion, the welfare of the schools and the best interests of the pupils require it. Patterson v. Boyd, 211 Ga. 679, 87 S.E.2d 861 (1955).

Liability of county education board


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