Group rallies for Gwinnett superintendent outside county office

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Some Gwinnett County parents rallied Tuesday to save the superintendent’s job.

The group of parents rallied at the entrance of Gwinnett County school’s administrative building. They want to keep schools open and keep the long serving superintendent, Alvin Wilbanks, in office.

They carried signs saying, “Stop the removal”, “Thanks, Mr. Wilbanks” and “Experience matters.”

There is a push online to remove Wilbanks. He’s in his late seventies and has been superintendent for 25 years.

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Critics accuse him of being out of touch and don’t like the way he’s handled the pandemic. Two of the critics are new school board members. It only takes three to oust the leader.

This group and others online say Gwinnett is a great school district and they want Wilbanks to stay as long as he wants.

Wilbanks released the following statement in response to the protest on Tuesday.

“As Superintendent, I have never worried about my job. I give 100% every day and I work at the pleasure of the board. If the Board decides I am not who they want, they can take action and change that. In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do on behalf of Gwinnett County Public Schools and I am committed to getting it done.”

The school board meets next Thursday. There is no official motion on the agenda about the superintendent’s future but many expect the topic to come up.

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Cox Media Group