HB 978 Tweak in Works

The lead author of a bill that has become a flashpoint in the fight for local control of the Cherokee school board is retooling the measure.

Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming) told the Cherokee Tribune that he plans to substitute a redistricting map that maintains seven posts with no countywide chair.

The statement to the  was issued late Wednesday, hours after , which would change the way voters elect the board.

Currently, school board members are elected countywide and the board appoints a chair and vice chair.

If the governor signed HB 978 into law today,  members would be elected from the respective posts where they live. The chairperson would be elected countywide. Chapman and vice chair Janet Read would be drawn out of the board. The law would become effective Jan. 1, 2013.

Despite  and a , the .

According to the website of the Georgia General Assembly, the final vote was 47-0 for HB 978.

"In moving to a district based system of elections we have also honored the American tradition of 'one man, one vote,' " Hamilton said in  just hours before the vote. "I am convinced the maps we have drawn meet every criterion we established, plus there is less than 2 percent deviation between all districts in each respective map. They are fair, balanced, compact, and equally distribute representation across the county."

Rep. Sean Jerguson (R-Holly Springs) told the  on Wednesday that the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation will begin the process of drafting a new bill on Monday.

The Delegation did not respond to Patch's request for comment on Wednesday.