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Georgia school board elections, 2024

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Elections

The table below contains links to all school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2024 in this state. This list may not include all school districts that held elections in 2024. Ballotpedia's coverage included all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment.

Editor's note: Some school districts choose to cancel the primary election, or both the primary and general election, if the number of candidates who filed does not meet a certain threshold. The table below does not reflect which primary or general elections were canceled. Please click through to each school district's page for more information.

2024 Georgia School Board Elections
District Primary General Election General Runoff Election Regular term length Seats up for election Total board seats 2022-2023 enrollment
Cherokee County School District 5/21/2024 11/5/2024 12/3/2024 4 3 7 41,891
Clayton County Public Schools 5/21/2024 11/5/2024 12/3/2024 4 5 9 52,186
Cobb County School District 5/21/2024 11/5/2024 12/3/2024 4 4 7 106,703
DeKalb County School District N/A 5/21/2024 6/18/2024 4 4 7 92,368
Forsyth County Schools 5/21/2024 11/5/2024 12/3/2024 4 3 5 54,077
Fulton County Schools N/A 5/21/2024 6/18/2024 4 3 7 89,935
Gwinnett County Public Schools N/A 5/21/2024 6/18/2024 4 3 5 181,814
Henry County Schools N/A 5/21/2024 6/18/2024 4 3 5 43,417
Muscogee County School District N/A 5/21/2024 6/18/2024 4 4 9 29,818
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System N/A 5/21/2024 6/18/2024 4 4 9 36,326


Ballotpedia covered all school board elections in Georgia, including those outside of our regular coverage scope. Use the links below to view all covered elections in Georgia.



Academic performance

See also: Public education in Georgia

BP-Initials-UPDATED.png The sections below do not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Education terms
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For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
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School board elections portal
Glossary of education terms
School choice on the ballot
Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The chart below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Georgia's scores were below the national average nearly across the board in the 2012-2013 school year.[1]

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
Math - Grade 4 Math - Grade 8 Reading - Grade 4 Reading - Grade 8
Georgia 39% 29% 34% 32%
Alabama 30% 20% 31% 25%
Florida 41% 31% 39% 33%
South Carolina 35% 31% 28% 29%
United States 41% 34% 34% 34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables"

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Georgia and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[1][2][3]

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.[4]

Georgia schools reported an average graduation rate of 71.7 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, lowest among its neighboring states.

In Georgia, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1452.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013
State Graduation rate, 2013 Average ACT composite, 2013 Average SAT composite, 2013
Percent Quintile ranking** Score Participation rate Score Participation rate
Georgia 71.7% Fifth 20.7 51% 1452 75%
Alabama 80% Fourth 20.4 78% 1608 7%
Florida 75.6% Fifth 19.6 74% 1457 67%
South Carolina 77.6% Fourth 20.4 51% 1436 64%
United States 81.4% 20.9 54% 1498 50%
**Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally.
Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express"
ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores"
The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013"

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Georgia was higher than the national average at 3.9 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.9 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[5]

State profile

State profile

Demographic data for Georgia
 GeorgiaU.S.
Total population:10,199,398316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):57,5133,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:60.2%73.6%
Black/African American:30.9%12.6%
Asian:3.6%5.1%
Native American:0.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.1%3%
Hispanic/Latino:9.1%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:85.4%86.7%
College graduation rate:28.8%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$49,620$53,889
Persons below poverty level:21.1%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia

Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[6]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia

Pivot Counties

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 159 Georgia counties—3.14 percent—are pivot counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Baker County, Georgia 8.68% 0.57% 1.07%
Dooly County, Georgia 2.05% 6.98% 3.53%
Peach County, Georgia 2.91% 7.48% 6.75%
Quitman County, Georgia 10.92% 9.04% 7.90%
Twiggs County, Georgia 1.58% 8.64% 6.97%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Georgia with 50.8 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 45.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Georgia voted Democratic 63.33 percent of the time and Republican 36.67 percent of the time. Georgia voted Republican in every presidential election from 2000 to 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Georgia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[7][8]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 64 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 45.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 74 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 42.3 points. Clinton won 14 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 116 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.6 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 106 out of 180 state House districts in Georgia with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


Additional elections

See also: Georgia elections, 2024

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Battleground election

Cobb County School District

See also: Cobb County School District, Georgia, elections (2024)

Ballotpedia identified the November 5 general election for Cobb County School Board as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.


Incumbent Randy Scamihorn (R), incumbent Leroy Tre Hutchins (D), John Cristadoro (R), and incumbent Brad Wheeler (R) were elected to four seats on the Cobb County School District school board in Georgia on November 5, 2024.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 4-3 majority on the seven-member board. Democratic incumbent Hutchins ran unopposed in District 3. The other three districts up for election each had Republican incumbents, one of whom did not run for re-election. Republicans won all three of those districts and maintained the 4-3 majority. A win for Democrats in any of the three contested districts would have changed majority control of the school board.

The candidates running had differing views on the district's budgeting process, school safety, and approach to book selection.

Scamihorn defeated Vickie Benson (D) in District 1. Benson ran against Scamihorn in the 2020 election and lost 56.7%-43.3%. Scamihorn, first elected in 2012, said his background as a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force and as a former teacher and administrator in the county made him the more qualified candidate. Benson, a science teacher, said she would make improving the relationship between the board and families in the district a priority.

Cristadoro defeated Laura Judge (D) in District 5. Both Cristadoro and Judge were veterans and parents of students in the district. Cristadoro was the owner of a marketing firm who said he would make school safety and academic quality priorities. Judge was, at the time of the election, a scientist who said she would make financial transparency, literacy, and school safety priorities.

Wheeler defeated Andrew Cole (D) in District 7. First elected in 2012, Wheeler was a former teacher and administrator in the district. Wheeler said he would make school safety and supporting vocational training programs priorities. Cole was, at the time of the election, a medical device manager and parent of children in the district. Cole said he was running to break the Republican board majority, which he said was not delivering results.

In interviews with the Cobb County Courier before the election, all three Democrats running in contested races said they opposed the district's existing budgetary process, saying it did not provide enough room for public comment. All three Republicans said they supported the existing budgeting process.[9][10][11]

School safety was also an issue in the campaign. Two shootings took place in Cobb County schools in 2024 – one on February 1 and one on September 21.[12][13] A Cobb County elementary school was shot at twice in 2023.[14] Cristadoro said he would "ALWAYS make your child’s safety my number one priority." Wheeler said school safety was his top priority. He said, "I will never support any suggestion we should defund our CCSD police officers and I will continue to vote to hire well-qualified School resource officers."[15][16] A satellite group ad described Judge as "a leader on gun violence prevention in our community...she's running for Cobb County School Board to keep our kids safe."[17] Cole said he was running because of the board's approach to school safety. He said, "I got involved in the first place because of school safety. The part-time armed mercenary safety policy that was proposed two years ago and rubber stamped caused me a lot of alarm and it still does."[18]

Democrats and Republicans differed on the district's approach to book selection. As of the 2024 election, district Superintendent Chris Ragsdale had ordered the removal of 20 books from school libraries he said contained inappropriate content. Hutchins, Judge, and Cole said they opposed the process Ragsdale followed, with Judge saying, "I truly think that he’s trying to protect children, but what I worry about is the unilateral decision-making that can be a slippery slope." In a statement following a round of book removals, Scamihorn said, "Let me say simply: We have not ‘banned’ a single book. We have removed age-inappropriate, sexually explicit content for minors."[19][20]

Located immediately northwest of Atlanta, Cobb County was, as of the 2024 election, Georgia's third-largest county by population.[21] The Cobb County School District oversees most of the county's public schools with the exception of some schools in the city of Marietta.[22] As of the 2024 election, the Cobb County School District was the second-largest in Georgia by enrollment and the 23rd-largest nationwide.[23]


See also

Georgia School Boards News and Analysis
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Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
  2. ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
  3. ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
  4. ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
  5. ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
  6. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  7. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  8. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  9. ↑ Cobb County Courier, "Cobb County school board Post 1 candidate Q&A: Scamihorn and Benson," May 15, 2024
  10. ↑ Cobb County Courier, "Cobb County school board Post 5 candidate Q&A: Cristadoro and Judge," May 9, 2024
  11. ↑ Cobb County Courier, "Cobb County school board Post 7 candidate Q&A: Wheeler and Cole," May 14, 2024
  12. ↑ FOX 5, "Teen arrested, 1 wanted in shooting at McEachern High School, police say," February 2, 2024
  13. ↑ FOX 5, "1 injured, 14-year-old arrested in South Cobb High School football game shooting," September 22, 2024
  14. ↑ WSB-TV, "Cobb County elementary school shot up twice in one week," April 28, 2023
  15. ↑ Brad Wheeler 2024 campaign website, "My Mission," accessed October 21, 2024
  16. ↑ John Cristadoro 2024 campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 29, 2024
  17. ↑ YouTube, "Everytown for Gun Safety - Laura Judge for Cobb County School Board," October 21, 2024
  18. ↑ Cobb County Courier, "Cobb County school board candidate forum draws only Democratic Party candidates," October 3, 2024
  19. ↑ Atlanta Civic Circle, "Cobb School Board candidate forum: Democrats show out, Republicans MIA," October 2, 2024
  20. ↑ Andrew Cole 2024 campaign website, "Learn More About Andrew's Positions," accessed October 21, 2024
  21. ↑ Georgia Demographics, "Georgia Counties by Population (2024)," June 20, 2024
  22. ↑ Marietta City Schools, "Charter System," accessed October 28, 2024
  23. ↑ Cobb County Schools, "The District," accessed October 28, 2024
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