Anti-Nepotism Lawsuit Dismissed

In a mass email, DeBroux said final entries have been filed and the case involving a former board member "is finally, officially, completely over."

The Bartow County Republican Party, along with Secretary of State Brian Kemp, were named co-defendants in the suit filed by former school board chairman Lamar Grizzle and a Gainesville school board member. The local GOP was required to administer the qualifying process for candidates in partisan races within the county.

In the suit, Grizzle challenged a 2009 law passed by the General Assembly. H.B. 251, in part, made a person ineligible to serve on a local school board if that person "has an immediate family member sitting on [that] local Board of Education or serving as the local school superintendent or as a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff in the local school system." Immediate family is defined as "a spouse, child, sibling, or parent or the spouse of a child, sibling, or parent."

Grizzle daughter serves as assistant principal in the county school system.

He won an injunction, prohibiting elections officials from enforcing the nepotism law and was allowed to qualify for the July primary. A couple months ago, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, as reported here by .

Three former board members, including Grizzle, lost their seats in the election last year. Grizzle was defeated by current board member John Howard.

DeBroux said of the dismissal in the email: "This is welcomed news considering that the taxpayers of Bartow County will not be responsible for covering any more legal costs. The previous school board had unanimously approved $17,000 of school board funds to cover the cost of Mr. Grizzle's lawsuit."