GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The state's largest school district just voted to oust its longtime superintendent during a Thursday school board meeting.
The Gwinnett County School Board voted 3-2 to part ways with Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks. The board is expected to terminate his contract at the end of July 31, 2021. His original contract was supposed to end on June 30, 2022.
During the meeting, board members said they wanted to embrace new leadership while building on Wilbanks' success.
According to a bio on the Gwinnett County Schools website, Wilbanks was named chief executive officer and superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools in March 1996.
Wilbanks, according to the bio, is also the founding president of Gwinnett Technical College, which opened in 1984 and was named “2005 Georgia Superintendent of the Year.”
Wilbanks earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Georgia, and his education specialist degree from Georgia State University.
His ousting comes in a year of change for several of the major metro Atlanta school districts.
In May 2020, Atlanta Public Schools named Dr. Lisa Herring as its superintendent, after the Atlanta School Board chose not to renew the contract of Meria Carstarphen.
A month later, DeKalb County named Cheryl Watson Harris as its new superintendent, after Dr. R. Stephen Green chose not to extend his contract.