BOE member's candidacy may be in jeopardy
by Colton Campbell/Times-Georgian
Jul 09, 2012 | 2831 views | 6 6 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Bernice Brooks, a 12-year member of the Carroll County Board of Education, said it came as "quite a shock" to find her name absent from her husband's absentee ballot.

A hearing is set for 4 p.m. today that could decide whether the District 1 incumbent lives in the district she is running to represent for another term.

District maps have apparently placed most of Brooks' property in District 1, while her actual residence was placed in District 3. Brooks said she was part of a committee during the re-drawing process at the state level.

Brooks lives with her husband, Morris, on Bailey-Brooks Road in Villa Rica. Brooks said Morris requested an absentee ballot because of health issues.

Brooks said she learned of the issue Friday after reading over the absentee ballot sent to her husband. The ballot he received listed only the District 3 candidates — her name was "not anywhere to be found," she said.

"It was quite a shock seeing that I wasn't on my husband's ballot," Brooks said. "I took the ballot down to the Board of Elections Office and asked them, 'Do you not want me to vote for myself?'"

Brooks said the issue should be reduced to a "map error" after today's hearing.

Nathan Lee, an attorney with the Newnan law firm Glover & Davis, is representing the Board of Elections in the hearing.

"It was just determined that according to the maps approved by the Legislature, her residence is in the new district," Lee said.

Lee said Brooks may have to withdraw from the race if the hearing does not go in her favor.

"This hearing will be to determine if she can remain in the race," Lee said. "The board will consider evidence, and the board will decide if she's allowed to continue with her campaign."

Brooks said Monday afternoon that she had sought legal counsel to represent her at today's hearing.

The hearing will take place at the Carroll County Board of Elections Office on College Street in Carrollton, and Elections Supervisor Becky Deese said the board of elections, its legal counsel, Brooks and her legal counsel will meet to come to a decision. The public is welcome.

The general election will be held July 31, but early voting began yesterday.

Brooks is running against Rob Cleveland and Terry Turner for the District 1 seat.
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alamo
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July 11, 2012
Bernice Brooks has virtually destroyed some of the schools in this part of Carroll County. She has placed certain people based primarily on racial preferences in administrative positions that are both unfit and lack the experience in leadership. The result in this failure of leadership are schools with extremely low morale from the teachers, secretaries all the way to the custodial staff. The ineptness of these administrators are embarrassing and causing good people to get hurt. Perhaps this her disqualification is a new beginning in cleaning house and finally getting these schools back together. A good school starts at the top with good leadership. An unhappy school is going to be an unhappy one for students and everyone involved, but Bernice only seems to be concerned with having certain people run the school, rather the right ones.
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VRGRITS
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July 11, 2012
Brooks whole demeanor is one of "self importance. She is the most racially motivated person I know at this time. She would use all her favor cards to put blacks in administration positions rather than improving the school systems with better buildings and equipment, etc. She thought it more important to help the blacks than anyone else. She is a member of the NAACP which is racially motivated just like her. She probably wants the upcoming VR Gymnasium/colliseum to be named after her, when it should be named again after the only coach that has ever taken a basketball team to state. She is at least 75 and needs to hang it up. She's just not that sharp, yet she will spend thousands of taxpayers dollars to regain the "position" she thinks she has to have and she thinks she deserves. Put her in District 3....the only reason she wants District 1 is because of the # of black voters. Teachers despise her. Let her retire. She got what she deserves and needs to stay out of it. She is a has been, and needs to stay home with her husband who is in ill health. She tries to turn everything into something about race....we don't need someone like that in any public office. You got your "just desserts". Her attorney was late to the "public hearing". Everything about this is tacky and tasteless.
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What????
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July 10, 2012
It is quite clear that Bernice Brooks lives in the newly drawn District 3 and should have qualified for the District 3 BOE race; NOT District 1.

It was fully incumbent upon Dr. Brooks to review the qualifying district maps to see where her qualifying residence was and NOT simply "take the word of the lady in the capitol map office."

The only error here was the elections office putting Dr. Brook's name on the ballot for District 1; when she did not qualify for District 1 because of her residence. The error is on the part of the elections office BUT they cannot let Dr. Brook's name remain on the ballot for District 1 contrary to state law qualifying requirements.

Dr. Brooks; sorry....there is no remedy for you because you DID NOT do your homework and personally research the newly drawn qualifying maps to see if you qualified for District 1.

I'll admit this is not the way an election should end; HOWEVER, your's should end if for no other reason than you DO NOT do your homework and too often you simply rely "on the lady's word" at the capitol or wherever.

Enjoy your retirement Dr. Brooks!
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Twaddler
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July 10, 2012
You wait...they will figure out a way to get her on some ballot. Even if they have to break some rules somewhere.
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itellthethruth
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July 10, 2012
You know it's just hilarious if it works out. Bernice Brooks gets blindsided just as she voted to allow school employees to have the same happen in losing their jobs. Goodbye and so long Bernice. And just the same should happen in her appeal. Uphold the decision to keep her off the ballot.
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upsetwithCCBOE
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July 16, 2012
Cowart needs to go the way of Brooks. He has done absolutely nothing to help the school system. He has helped and initiated budget cuts against teachers all while following his own agenda of improving sports in Carroll County. Prior to the 2011/2012 school year he gave head coaches and athletic directors an increase in their stipend that cost the school system over a million dollars, yet there were teaching and paraprofessional cuts made for that school year. When did the emphasis go away from learning and more towards athletics? It is not just Cowart but quite a few of the impotent people that are running the Carroll County School System. Where do you send an administrator that cannot do their job? Why no where except for the county office. Yet who suffers from budget cuts? The teachers, parapros, and other support staff. It takes 4 teachers or 10 parapros salaries to equal Scott Cowarts salary. Really, and this is just one example of how grossly overpaid the people are at central office. I have absolutely no respect for the Carroll County School System or Scott Cowart. When a superintendent will allow a principal, who is inept in his or her job, to make decisions as to which employees contracts will not be renewed; giving no consideration to qualifications, seniority, or skill. It all boils down to a popularity contest. This is an amendment that Brooks supported as well. Or because the county has suffered such horrible cuts in support staff and teachers, that a teacher is placed in a computer lab because there is not longer money for that subject to be taught in a face-to-face environment; the teacher is given crappy outdated computers that don't work half the time, students who have difficulty in a normal learning environment, more students than computers, and is required to have a seating chart. Not just any seating chart but a magical one that any time the principal enters the room the students will be exactly where they are written on the piece of paper. Anyone else see a problem with this, 15 computers and 30 kids. HOW do you make it work? A teachers contract can not be renewed because she doesn't have a working seating charts for an impossible learning environment, really. What wonderful people we have working in the administrative and county office positions. It is time for a change in the ways that the CCBOE is being run, our children, our future is at stake and it is time that the people in this county quit allowing all of this nonsense to happen without their knowledge. All of these underhanded and corrupt policies need to be eradicated as well as Bernice, Cowart, and more than half of the idiots working at the county office.
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