DUBLIN, Ga. (WGXA) — Georgia State Superintendent Richard Woods is calling for financial safeguards for school districts across the state, amidst financial mismanagement at Dublin City Schools.

Woods is calling for the state General Assembly to introduce "sweeping reforms" to prevent financial crises, including the "severe budget shortfall" under investigation at Dublin City Schools, according to a release from the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE).

WGXA previously reported how the school system is currently two years behind on its required audits and owes more than $6.6 million to the State Health Benefit Plan for unpaid premiums, and faces a $12 million deficit by the end of 2025, which could increase to $13 million by mid-2026.

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Dublin City Schools is currently receiving interim funding to keep its schools' doors open under the "Quality Basic Education Act." Personnel are also working with GaDOE's team to navigate the crisis under a Financial Improvement plan, designed to create a viable budget and reduce the deficit.

However, GaDOE wrote that it is "currently providing support beyond its fiscal and statutory obligations in an attempt to ensure stability for the students, teachers, staff, and families of Dublin City Schools."

“Georgia’s students deserve stability in their learning, and teachers deserve to go to work knowing they will be paid for their efforts,” Woods said in the release. " Over the last several months, we have seen an increased need for clarification regarding how the state may legally support school districts which do not meet their local fiscal requirements, by updating and expanding state law. I am asking that the General Assembly come together to consider what additional supports are needed to ensure the financial health of local school districts.”

Woods recommends a blueprint for potential reforms that would include strengthening mandated financial training, enhancing reporting requirements along with results and increasing stakeholder communication and district accountability. He added that these reforms will prevent similar situations from happening at school systems statewide.

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“It’s essential that students, teachers, staff, and families do not bear the costs of financial mismanagement – anywhere in the state, now or in the future,” Superintendent Woods said. “I believe we can work together to put additional guardrails in place to ensure stability in the education of our 1.7 million students across the state, and I appreciate the attention of our partners in the Georgia General Assembly to these recommendations.”

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