Superintendent’s race getting more crowded | Online Athens

ATLANTA – Two more candidates will announce next week they are joining the contest for the open seat of state superintendent of schools, one Republican and the first Democrat.

Republican Nancy Jester, a former actuarial consultant and one-time DeKalb County school board member, will join Matt Shultz, Richard Woods and Fritz Johnson in the GOP primary.

Jester will make improving the financial operation of the Department of Education and local school boards a priority if elected. She’ll also seek reductions in state funding or state control for chronically underperforming schools.

“If schools are failing, there needs to be consequences,” she said Friday in an interview with Morris News.

Tuesday, Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan of Austell will become the only Democrat in the race so far. She wants to build on her 12 years in the General Assembly.

“Most of my work has been around teacher effectiveness,” she said.

She authored or cosponsored bills that would create an evaluate system for teachers and that determines who gets laid off based on effectiveness rather than seniority.

To get more effective teachers, she would restructure their pay so that the best ones, those teaching the most difficult subjects, and those taking on additional tasks would earn more.

via Superintendent’s race getting more crowded | Online Athens.