Schools
Wilbanks Won't Seek Gwinnett Schools Contract Renewal
Longtime Gwinnett County School Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks announced Thursday he won't seek to have his latest contract renewed.
GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Gwinnett County’s long-time school superintendent opened the door for his departure Thursday when he announced he would not seek to have his contract renewed.
“I work at the pleasure of the board,” Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Should they decide they want me to stay until June 30, 2022, I am prepared to honor that contract.”
Wilbanks’ latest contract expires on June 30, 2022. He’s 78.
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Wilbanks has been superintendent since 1996, and he's overseen the growth of Gwinnett’s school district as the largest and one of the most respected in Georgia. According to the Council of the Great City Schools, Wilbanks is the longest-serving superintendent of a large school district in the United States.
At the same time, Wilbanks’ leadership has split community support, most recently over his handling of COVID-19 in Gwinnett County schools. According to The Gwinnett Daily Post, there are two dueling online petitions involving Wilbanks, one supporting him and the other demanding his removal. As of Thursday, the petition supporting Wilbanks had more than 2,100 signatures, while the one wanting him terminated had 442 signatures.
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On Wednesday, Gwinnett County’s school board spent more than two hours discussing Wilbanks in closed executive session, but no decisions were announced. The board can terminate Wilbanks' contract at will with 90 days notice, paying him either a year's salary or whatever is left on the contract, whichever is less.
“I’ve never worried about my job,” Wilbanks said in February to Curt Yeomans of The Gwinnett Daily Post. “I give 100 percent every day and I work at the pleasure of the board. If that’s not what they want, if they get three votes, they can change that.”
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Wilbanks takes home more than $621,000 a year in base salaries and add-ons, making him the highest paid superintendent in Georgia.
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