Georgia lawmakers have passed a bill to let the governor remove members of local school boards in Georgia in certain cases.
We do not doubt that sometimes there may be some poorly performing board members in school districts, not only in Georgia but in every state. And it is understandable there may be a sound desire to remove them.
But there should be extreme caution about delegating to any non-local official — such as the governor — the power to overturn the will of local voters or local officials.
Think about it this way: Voters in Chattanooga and Hamilton County would not want Tennessee’s governor to have the power to remove members of our local school board. Decisions about them should be made by local voters.
The same principle involving voters’ wishes should also prevail in Georgia and elsewhere. If any board member commits an act that deserves actual impeachment and removal, there should be due process to handle that.
Are some local officials sometimes inefficient and unwise? Yes, and that is unfortunate. But it is best to let local voters make decisions to remove bad local officials at the ballot box, rather than grant that authority to other elected officials.