Section 20-2-101. Appointment of school superintendents

   (a) Superintendents of each school system shall be employed by the local board of education under written contracts for a term of not less than one year and not more than three years. Any provision of any such contract which provides for an extension of the duration of employment thereunder, whether automatic or contingent upon the occurrence of one or more events, shall be void if that extension would result in employment under the contract, as extended, for a period which exceeds three years.

(b) (1) No person shall be eligible to be appointed or employed as superintendent of schools of any county or independent school system unless such person is of good moral character, has never been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, and possesses acceptable business or management experience as specified by the Professional Standards Commission or the minimum valid certificate or a letter of eligibility for said certificate required by the Professional Standards Commission.

   (2) No person shall be eligible to be appointed, employed, or to serve as superintendent of schools of any county or independent school system who has an immediate family member sitting on the local board of education for such school system or who has an immediate family member hired as or promoted to a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff on or after July 1, 2009, by that school system. As used in this subsection, the term "immediate family member" means a spouse, child, sibling, or parent or the spouse of a child, sibling, or parent whose term as a member of the local board of education or whose employment as a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff in the local school system began on or after January 1, 2010. Nothing in this Code section shall affect the employment of any person who is employed by a local school system on or before July 1, 2009, or who is employed by a local school system when an immediate family member becomes the superintendent for that school system.

(c) Superintendents shall have such additional qualifications as may be prescribed by local law or policies of the local board for that school district, not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.

(d) At any time during the 12 months immediately preceding the expiration of an appointed school superintendent's contract or term of office, or when a vacancy in the office of school superintendent occurs, the local board may appoint and employ a successor in accordance with the above provisions of this Code section, notwithstanding that the terms of some or all of the board members will expire before the employment of the superintendent so appointed and employed begins.

(e) A local school superintendent may concurrently serve as a principal, teacher, or in another staff position as directed by the local board in its sole discretion and in accordance with the terms of the contract between the superintendent and the local board. A local school superintendent may also serve concurrently as superintendent of one or more local school systems in accordance with the terms of his or her respective contracts and upon approval by each affected local school system.

(f) No substantive or procedural right regarding employment or termination of employment of a superintendent by a local school system shall be created by this Code section. Rather, the terms and conditions of employment of a school superintendent by a local school system shall be determined exclusively by the contract between those parties and may include, without being limited to, the conditions under and procedures by which that contract may be terminated prior to the end of the term of that contract.

Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 147; Ga. L. 1931, p. 124, § 1; Code 1933, § 32-1002; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1279, § 8; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1315, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1182, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 82, § 2/HB 1209; Ga. L. 2009, p. 782, § 3/HB 251; Ga. L. 2010, p. 452, § 9/SB 84.