History

1960 The Association moves its operations to the Sheraton Biltmore Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

1961 J. K. “Jack” Acree becomes GSBA’s Executive Secretary and serves until 1978. Mr. Acree’s title changes from executive secretary to executive director and finally to executive vice president. Mr. Acree runs the Association from his home until the early 1960s.

1972 Fair Dismissal Act – GSBA is a major player in developing a reasonable Fair Dismissal Act.

1973 First Policy Reference Manual is published. (The publication is later renamed the Legal Reference Manual.)

1978 Gary Ashley becomes GSBA’s executive vice president. The Association’s headquarters is moved to an office at Presidential Parkway in Atlanta.

1983 GSBA Executive Vice President Gary Ashley officially opens the Association’s present headquarters in Lawrenceville.

1985 The first year of legal requirement for school board members to obtain annual training under the “Quality Basic Education Act”.

1995 GSBA works with legislators on the Administrative Tenure Bill and sees the legislation through to passage. This legislation ends the practice of awarding tenure to school system administrators.

1996 Constitutional Amendment 2 – GSBA is instrumental in making the governance structure consistent throughout the state by helping to ensure passage of this amendment that provides for elected local school boards and appointed superintendents.

1997 GSBA leads the statewide effort to see the passage of the constitutional amendment to allow local boards of education to call for and use a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for educational purposes.

1998 GSBA introduces the first-in-the-nation voluntary program of “Standards for Local Boards of Education”. This program provides minimum standards by which local boards should measure their operations and thus, accountability to local communities.

2001 GSBA celebrates its 50th anniversary! Jeannie M. (Sis) Henry becomes GSBA’s fourth executive director. GSBA continues forging ahead in technology by being the first in the country to develop an online guide to school law. The online guide is web-based and is keyword searchable.

2002 Rounding out its package of online resources, GSBA unveils eBoard, a paperless board meeting solution. Combining eBoard with eLaw and ePolicy, the three services come under the name GSBA eSolutions. GSBA eBoard continues to grow in popularity and is recognized around the country for its innovation. The GSBA Worker’s Compensation Fund celebrates its 10th Anniversary.

2003 The GSBA Board of Directors adopts a far-reaching strategic plan drafted by a diverse group of school board members, superintendents, business leaders, legislators and others.

2005 Ground is broken on a new building to house the Association. It is in the same location as the old building, but because of stunning growth in services and the age of the existing building, a new, much larger structure was built. The first phase of the two-part construction process was completed in November, and the staff was able to move into the new section at that time. The second phase began shortly afterward, with the total reconstruction of the original building.

2006 The reconstruction of the original building that joined seamlessly with the new addition was completed in May. GSBA Risk Management Services staff that had previously been working from a satellite office moved into the revamped office space, thus joining all staff under one roof with room for future growth.

2007 GSBA announced the beginning of operations for its subsidiary, eBOARDsolutions, Inc. (EBS). EBS is now command central for GSBA’s technology products and services.

2008 Technology tied to good governance continues to grow. 160 of Georgia’s school systems out of 180 use at least one of GSBA’s technology tools.

2009 GSBA offers a Strategic Improvement Planning Service for the first time.

2010 GSBA and GSSA entered into a partnership for the purpose of creating a new vision for public education in Georgia.

2011 GSBA celebrates its 60th Anniversary! GSBA staff grows from 39 in 2008 to 47 in 2011.

2013 GSBA updates its strategic plan for the next several years.

2014 GSBA releases a services video that explains who GSBA is and the many services it provides for members.

2015 Sis Henry retires from GSBA and Valarie Wilson becomes GSBA’s fifth Executive Director.

2016 GSBA updates its strategic plan for the next three years.

2018 Georgia School Boards Association announces the creation of the GSBA Governance Team of the Year Award. This prestigious award honors the top board/superintendent team that best demonstrates its commitment to maximizing student achievement and enhancing trust and support for public education in their community.