Simmons' qualifications for BOE run challenged

GAINESVILLE - All of the candidates who submitted paperwork to run in the Nov. 3 elections in Gainesville have qualified... except for one.

City Clerk Denise Jordan said board of education incumbent Kelvin Simmons' qualifications are being challenged based on a recent amendment to a state bill.

"The new part of the bill says no person who has an immediate family member sitting on a local board of education or serving as the local school superintendent or as a principal, assistant principal or system administrative staff in the local school system shall be eligible to serve as a member of a local board of education," said Jordan.

Simmons' wife serves as the principal of the Humanities Academy at Gainesville Middle School.

Jordan said Governor Sonny Perdue signed the new amendment to Georgia Code Section 20-2-51(c)(2) into law in May 2009.

She said a hearing will be scheduled to determine whether or not Simmons is eligible to serve on the school board.

Delores Diaz and Richard Lacey have both qualified to run for Ward 4, the seat Simmons currently holds on the city school board.