City Schools of Decatur board votes 3–2 on DeKalb delegation's referendum request for ECLC plan
Loading...
Summary
At a special-called meeting, the City Schools of Decatur board considered a March 15 request from the DeKalb legislative delegation asking the district to hold a public referendum on the Early Childhood Learning Center plan and, after legal analysis and member debate, recorded a 3'0 vote on the motion.
At a special-called meeting called to consider a request from the DeKalb legislative delegation, the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education held a roll-call vote and recorded a 3–2 tally on whether to approve the delegation's request that the district voluntarily put the Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) plan to a public referendum.
Board Chair Dr. Carmen Sulten opened the meeting at 12:06 p.m. and invited outside legal counsel Jody Campbell to brief the board on the legal issues raised by the delegation's March 15 letter. Campbell told the board he found no Georgia precedent requiring a school board to submit a single, specific project to a post-approval public referendum and described the delegation's request as "very unique" and potentially in tension with the board's charter authority to make school-construction decisions. "I could find no legal authority anywhere in the state of Georgia that requires . . . a public referendum has to occur to approve a specific project," Campbell said.
Members debated whether the district had provided adequate public input while also discussing financing and fiduciary risk. One board member who said they work for Edward Jones told the panel they routinely recuse themselves if a specific bond company is named and said they saw no conflict for the question at hand. Other members raised concerns about the scale and transparency of project costing and about whether philanthropic commitments were sufficiently documented.
The motion before the board, as stated on the record, was to approve the referendum request from the DeKalb delegation. In the meeting transcript the motion was identified on the record as moved by "Board member Iria" and seconded by "Board member Anderson." Chair Sulten conducted a roll-call vote and announced the final tally as 3–2; she recorded her own vote against the motion.
Members who supported the referendum framed their votes as a response to community concerns and a desire to rebuild trust. "My yes for the referendum doesn't mean that I am against the ECLC," one board member said, adding that they wanted additional steps such as an archaeological study and engagement with Beacon Hill elders. Members who opposed the referendum emphasized legal and financial risks, arguing that the board has the authority and obligation to make decisions about school construction and that voluntarily accepting referendum constraints could create a precedent limiting the district's ability to carry out its mission.
The board also agreed to place additional operational and philanthropic detail on the April meeting agenda to address questions about affordability and the district's projected use of philanthropic support. The regular board meeting was announced for 2026-04-14 at the Wilson Center.
The meeting record shows the board considered but did not adopt any changes to the HPC (historic-preservation commission) process; counsel said the district was neutral on historic designation and that the HPC process could proceed independently, subject to compliance with Georgia law.
