A Walker County Superior Court judge rejected a claim of nepotism in the county school system Thursday.
Superior Court Judge Brian House agreed with school board members Mike Carruth and Karen Harden that they did not violate state nepotism laws by serving on the board while their respective adult sons work in the school system.
Chelsea Cagle, a resident of Walker County and parent of a Walker County Schools student, said Carruth and Harden had sons in administrative positions at the school system, but the board members said their sons are coordinators rather than administrative staff.
Cagle said the arrangement violates the school board's nepotism policy that says board members can't have close relatives in system administrative staff positions.
"The state Board of Education allows local county school systems to draw that line," between administrators and other staff, Christopher Harden, the attorney for the school board members, said at the Walker County Courthouse in LaFayette. Christopher Harden is also a son of Karen Harden
(READ MORE: Nepotism lawsuit seeks to remove 2 Walker County school board members)
House agreed and said the two employees, Justin Carruth, vocational director, and Scott Harden, technology director, reported to an administrator with broader duties. Titles are not always that important, House said, adding that sometimes even custodians are called engineers.
John Monroe, a Lumpkin County-based attorney for the plaintiffs, said at the hearing the case is simple despite the differences in titles.
"They work in administration," he said. "Whether they are called coordinators or administrators."
In a follow-up phone call, Monroe said the plaintiffs obviously were disappointed in the judge's decision and will evaluate their next step after the judge's order is released.
(READ MORE: Walker County school board members respond to nepotism lawsuit)
Phyllis Hunter, chair of the Walker County school board, testified that both of the employees were introduced to her as administrators. But when questioned by Christopher Harden during her testimony, she also said the two employees reported to someone else.
After the judge's decision, Cagle declined to comment.
In a previous comment, she said when board members have ties to administrators, it's impossible for them to be objective in evaluating their performance or setting departments' budgets. In her filing, she asked the judge to have both board members removed from their positions.
Cagle's two-page September filing quoted Georgia Code 20-2-52(4)(A): "No person who has an immediate family member ... serving as ... system administrative staff in the local school system shall be eligible to serve as a member of such local board of education."
A state Board of Education rule document says system administrative staff is not defined in its rule, but can be by local board policy. The rule document says system administrative staff is "commonly referred to as employees of the local school district assigned to duties other than instructing students."
According to state database Open Georgia, Justin Carruth earned $96,000, and Scott Harden earned $105,000 in fiscal year 2022.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.
Staff Photo by Andrew Wilkins / Walker County Schools board members Mike Carruth and Karen Harden were present at a hearing Thursday in a LaFayette, Ga., courtroom for a nepotism case against them.