Georgia State Superintendent of Schools

Georgia Superintendent of Schools
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Georgia Constitution, Article VIII, Section 3
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	John Barge
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	January 10, 2011
Compensation:	$123,270
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
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The Georgia Superintendent of Schools is a state executive position in the Georgia state government. The superintendent is the administrative head of the Georgia of Department of Education, which oversees the state's K-12 public education system. The superintendent is charged with instituting the policies of the state Board of Education and managing operations for the school system; he is popularly elected to four year terms during federal midterm election years.

Current officeholder

The current superintendent is John Barge, a Republican, who was first elected on November 2, 2010 and took office on January 10, 2011. He will come up for re-election, if he chooses to run, in 2014, and his first term will end on January 12, 2015.

Before becoming superintendent, Barge was director of secondary curriculum and instruction with the Barlow County (GA) School System. He has also served as a principal and assistant principal, and has taught both high school English and middle school Spanish. Barge holds a bachelor's degree from Berry College in Rome, GA.

Authority

The office of superintendent is created by Article VIII of the Georgia Constitution.

Georgia Constitution, Article VIII, Section 3

There shall be a State School Superintendent, who shall be the executive officer of the State Board of Education...

Qualifications

Superintendents must hold a four-year degree from an accredited college or university, and may not have been convicted of "any crime involving moral turpitude."

Georgia Code, 20-2-31

To render a person eligible to hold the office of State School Superintendent, he or she shall hold a four-year degree from an accredited college or university. No person who has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude shall be eligible to hold the office of State School Superintendent.

Additionally, the Georgia Constitution requires that the superintendent be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the U.S. for ten years prior to his election, and a legal resident of Georgia for four years.

Georgia Constitution, Article V, Section III, Paragraph

(a) No person shall be eligible to the office of the ... State School Superintendent ... unless such person shall have been a citizen of the United States for ten years and a legal resident of the state for four years immediately preceding election or appointment and shall have attained the age of 25 years by the date of assuming office.

Elections

The superintendent is elected every four years during federal midterm elections years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.) "in the same manner and for the same term as the Governor is elected." Like the governor, the superintendent takes office on the day the Georgia General Assembly convenes itself in January of the year following his election.

Georgia Code, 20-2-31

The State School Superintendent shall be elected by the persons qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly at the same time and in the same manner and for the same term as the Governor is elected.

Term limits

There are no term limits for the superintendent of schools.

Duties

The superintendent is charged by state law to "carry out and enforce all the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and the laws governing the schools receiving state aid." Additionally, he is directed to make recommendations to the board on matters related to the "welfare and efficiency" of the public school system.

Divisions

• Office of External Affairs and Policy
• Office of Standards, Instruction and Assessment
• Office of Education Support and Improvement
• Office of Finance and Business Operations
• Office of Technology Services

Compensation

In 2010, the superintendent received a salary of $123,269.

Contact info

Address:
2066 Twin Towers East
205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: (404) 656-2800
Fax: (404) 651-8737
E-mail: state.superintendent@doe.k12.ga.us

See also

• Superintendent of Schools
• John Barge

External links

• Georgia State Superintendent of Schools