07 LC
33 1968
House
Bill 641
By:
Representative Coleman of the
97th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to elementary and secondary education, so as to revise a provision relating to
the delegation of authority to employ staff at the Department of Education; to
provide that the State Board of Education can solicit donations, grants, gifts,
devises, and bequests; to establish the Georgia Educational Excellence
Foundation and provide for its membership, duties, powers, and purposes; to
provide that the State School Superintendent is authorized to enter into
contracts for $100,000.00 or less; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary
and secondary education, is amended in Code Section 20-2-11, relating to
budgets, supervision of the Department of Education, and funds for the state
office, as follows:
"20-2-11.
The
State Board of Education shall prepare and submit to the Governor and General
Assembly an estimate of the funds necessary for the operation of the state
public school system. It shall have general supervision of the Department of
Education and may delegate to the State School Superintendent the authority to
employ and dismiss such clerical employees, supervisors, administrators, and
other employees
who are
members of the classified service under Article 1 of Chapter 20 of Title
45 as may be necessary for the efficient
operation of the Department of Education. It shall set aside the necessary
funds for the maintenance of the office of the department and the State School
Superintendent, the amount and sufficiency of such funds to be in the discretion
of the state board, such funds to be disbursed by the superintendent in the
payment of salaries and travel expenses of employees and for printing,
communication, equipment, repairs, and other expenses incidental to the
operation of the department."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2-14, relating to acceptance of
donations, grants, and federal aid for vocational or other educational purposes
by the State Board of Education, as follows:
"20-2-14.
The
State Board of Education is authorized to
solicit,
receive, accept, hold, and operate, on behalf of the state, donations, grants,
gifts, devises, and bequests of real, personal, and mixed property of every kind
and character; to lease, manage, and otherwise administer such property for the
use, benefit, and behalf of the public school system of Georgia; and to accept
on behalf of the state any funds which may be now or hereafter provided for, or
be, or hereafter become available or allotted to the state by virtue of any
appropriation by Congress or under any governmental regulation, order, or
declaration of policy for either vocational or other educational purposes
conducted either in or out of school, in connection with, or as an incident of,
any program of vocational education now or hereafter established as essential to
national defense either for industrial or agricultural occupations, and whether
as part of a federal or a state program or a combination of both, in furtherance
of vocational educational objectives generally. The state board is authorized
to acquire and hold title for and on behalf of the state for the benefit of the
public school system thereof any equipment or supplies, both permanent and
expendable, that may be necessary for such purposes; to act as the contracting
agent therefor and the custodian thereof; to delegate, in whole or in part, any
function or activity enumerated or contemplated under this Code section; to
contract with and cooperate with any department, agency, or instrumentality,
either of the state or of the United States in any manner which shall be
requisite or incident to this Code section and which in the judgment of the
state board may be deemed proper for the carrying into effect of the purposes of
this article; and to use so much of the public school fund or other funds
appropriated by the General Assembly as may be necessary to match any such
federal aid or to meet the terms of any past, present, or future grant to the
state or any local school unit whereby the state or any local school unit,
respectively, may be enabled to derive full advantage of the benefits thereof to
the state as contemplated under the terms and provisions of any such grant for
educational purposes."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"20-2-14.1
(a)
There is established the Georgia Educational Excellence Foundation existing as a
public corporation and instrumentality of the state, exclusively limited to the
following charitable and public purposes and powers:
(1)
To solicit and accept contributions of money and in-kind contributions of
services and property for the purpose of supporting educational excellence in
Georgia;
(2)
To solicit and accept contributions of money and in-kind contributions of
services and property for the purpose of supporting educational excellence at
Georgia Academy for the Blind, Georgia School for the Deaf, and Atlanta Area
School for the Deaf;
(3)
To make and disburse contributions to the department and others for such
purposes; and
(4)
To seek recognition of tax exempt status by the United States Internal Revenue
Service and to seek confirmation concerning the deductibility of
contributions.
(b)
The Georgia Educational Excellence Foundation shall be attached to the
department for administrative purposes. The Attorney General shall be the
attorney for the foundation. The State School Superintendent may solicit and
accept contributions from the foundation. The department may cooperate and
contract with the foundation for their mutual benefit and authorize others to do
so. Upon any dissolution of the foundation, its assets will devolve in trust to
the State Board of Education or its successor for use only for the benefit of
the department and the schools listed in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this
Code section.
(c)
The creation of the foundation and the execution of its corporate purposes are
in all respects for the benefit of the people of this state and constitute a
public and charitable purpose. Further, the foundation performs an essential
governmental function in the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by this
Code section. Accordingly, the foundation shall not be subject to taxation or
assessment in any manner, including without limitation taxation or assessment
upon any transaction, income, money, or other property or activity. The
exemptions granted by this Code section shall not be extended to any private
person or entity.
(d)(1)
The foundation shall be governed by a board of directors composed of between
five and 15 members as determined by the State School Superintendent. Two
members of the board of directors representing the interests of students who are
blind or deaf shall be designated by the State Board of Education, and the
remaining members shall be designated by the State School Superintendent. The
foundation board of directors shall draft and adopt governance bylaws, subject
to approval by the State School Superintendent.
(2)
The foundation shall have complete discretion to invest any and all assets as it
sees fit, and at no time shall the assets of the foundation be considered assets
of the state.
(3)
The foundation shall have the authority to roll over any unused funds into the
next fiscal year.
(e)
The foundation´s operations shall not be subject to Article 1 of Chapter 13
of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.'"
SECTION
4.
Said
chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2-241, relating to the State
School Superintendent, as follows:
"20-2-241.
(a)
The State School Superintendent shall be the executive officer of the State
Board of Education and the administrative chief executive officer of the
Department of Education. The State School Superintendent is authorized to
organize and reorganize the Department of Education and the various offices,
divisions, sections, and units thereof and to prescribe the duties, functions,
and operations of each at such times and in such manner as the State School
Superintendent deems necessary or desirable for the more economical or effective
organization, administration, or functioning of the
department,
including the authority to establish policies and procedures for the internal
operations of the department. He or she
shall also be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this article
and other school laws in accordance with such laws and with rules, regulations,
policies, and standards adopted or prescribed by the state board for the
implementation, administration, or enforcement of such laws.
(b)
The State School Superintendent shall have the authority to employ persons to
serve in the five senior staff positions within the Department of Education.
The State
Board of Education may delegate to the State School Superintendent the authority
to employ other persons within the Department of Education pursuant to Code
Section 20-2-11.
(c)
The State School Superintendent shall have the authority to enter into contracts
and to issue
grants for the amount of
$50,000.00
$100,000.00
or less on behalf of the Department of Education.
The State
Board of Education may delegate to the State School Superintendent the authority
to enter into contracts in amounts greater than $100,000.00 or to issue grants
in any amount, at its
discretion."
SECTION
5.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.