School probe, election security

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Good morning! In the news today: voter roll controversy; Chatham County schools under investigation by U.S. Department of Education; and Bulloch County moves to bar data centers. Finally, we note some things you may have missed. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.

NEWS: VOTING

Voting machines sit empty at the Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah on May 19, 2026. Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current GA/CatchLight/Report for America

‘Prone to error’

In conjunction with President Donald Trump’s speech on election security last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a report saying that 2,549 noncitizens have registered “and/or voted” in Georgia. Those alleged noncitizens were identified by a computer program offered free to states by the federal agency to verify citizenship status.

Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, supports the use of the “Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements” — or SAVE — computer program to check voter rolls, though it’s been described as “prone to error” and is under litigation.

Still, the picture that his office paints of noncitizen registration and voting in Georgia differs substantially from that of DHS.

His office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that out of the state’s 8.1 million registered voters, only about 150 registrants identified as possible noncitizens by DHS had previously voted. It also said that most of the people flagged by DHS had applied to become registered voters but were in a “pending” status.

In its “Alien Voter Registration Summary,” DHS praises the “numerous proactive, conscientious state officials who have successfully utilized free services offered by” DHS to assist election officials in identifying noncitizen registrants or voters.

At a joint meeting last week of the Chatham County Board of Registrars and Board of Elections, the State Election Board showed similar largesse. Three of its staff members pitched the use of another controversial computer program to clean up voter rolls, ELLY, to board members and employees. There were no immediate takers.

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NEWS: EDUCATION

Main office for the Savannah-Chatham Public School System at 208 Bull St., Savannah — Main office for the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System at 208 Bull Street, Savannah Credit: Wikimedia Commons

‘Fully cooperate’

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced earlier this month that the agency’s office of civil rights was launching investigations into 20 school districts for their handling of allegations of sexual abuse by educators against students, including “suspected offenders being transferred to new schools or roles in the district.”

McMahon didn’t identify the school districts under investigation. But in an email to ProPublica, whose look at the handling sexual misconduct allegations in California’s teacher disciplinary system appears have been a catalyst for the DOE’s investigations, the department named the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) as one of its targets. Also listed for investigation in Georgia were the public-school systems in Richmond and DeKalb counties.

In a statement on Monday to The Current, Kurt Hetager, the head of public affairs and administrative services for SCCPSS, said school officials were aware of the DOE’s investigation and would fully cooperate with it.

The school system “is committed to protecting its students and treats all allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment very seriously,” Hetager said.

He continued: “We work daily to offer a welcoming school environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. SCCPSS maintains procedures that are designed to keep students safe including the removal of staff from student facing positions when there are allegations of misconduct.”

NEWS: GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center is seen Jan. 13, 2026, in Newton County, East of Atlanta. Credit: AP File Photo/Mike Stewart

Bulloch County looks to quash data centers

Bulloch County’s Planning and Zoning Commission is set to vote Tuesday on an amendment to local zoning regulations that would explicitly bar the construction of data centers in the county.

The proposed amendment comes as opposition to data centers grows as a hot-button political issue in midterm elections. In an interview with Bloomberg last month, Gov. Brian Kemp described as “irresponsible” a call by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms to “press pause” statewide on the construction of data centers.

Under current regulations in Bulloch, data centers could be constructed under some zoning categories or by right in specific “overlay zoning” areas.

The amendment under consideration by the commission this evening would add a definition for “data center” and modify existing definitions for the general business, heavy manufacturing and light manufacturing zoning classifications to specifically exclude data centers.

If the amendment is adopted by the zoning commission and the county commission at its regularly scheduled Aug. 4 meeting, “a data center would not be able to locate in Bulloch County, in the unincorporated area, crypto-mining included,” the county’s planning and development director, James Pope, told the Statesboro Herald.

Chatham County School Buses. — Chatham County school bus. July 5, 2023, in Savannah Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

ICYMI

The Chatham County School Board votes 6-3 to maintain the current property tax levy — a.k.a. the millage rate. In dissenting, Chairman Roger Moss, David Bringman (District 6) and Stephanie Campbell (District 7) sought a rollback in the millage rate.
Savannah-Chatham County School Superintendent Denise Watts to discuss the school year ahead at a mass meeting of the NAACP’s Savannah Branch at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 26, 2026, at Tremont Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 1110 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Savannah.
To help provide relief to county jails, Georgia to build a 300-bed state psychiatric hospital, after state lawmakers earlier this year set aside $409 million for the project. The hospital will aim to provide treatment to those Georgians who have a mental illness or disability and have been charged with or convicted of a crime.
Interim Camden County administrator Joey Yacobacci and other county officials to hold three summer town hall meetings across the county, starting 6 p.m. July 30 at Maple Ford Park, 2059 Spring Bluff Road in Waverly. For more information, click here.
Effingham County officials unveil plan to eliminate county property taxes on “qualifying homestead properties.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has $42.6 million in his campaign war chest as of June 30, according to his latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission. His Republican opponent in this fall’s general election, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, has $2 million. In his losing bid for the GOP nomination, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter lists $10.3 million in total disbursements and personal loans to his campaign totaling $3.5 million.
An unnamed spokesperson for Collins tells The Atlanta-Journal Constitution that the congressman “has always condemned all forms of antisemitism” and been a lifelong supporter for Israel after CNN reports that his son-in-law, who lives on his property, used Nazi imagery and posted videos and images using White nationalist tropes.
In the open race for the 1st District Congressional seat, Republican Jim Kingston reported $294,092 in cash on hand as of June 30. His Democratic opponent in the general election, Amanda Hollowell, reported $7,388.
State Sen. Ben Watson (District 1) says a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week that would make daylight saving time permanent is a good idea. The U.S. Senate is now considering the bill.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock praises a new federal law that limits the number of single-family homes that corporations can buy. “If you’re a single mom, if you’re the married father of two trying to buy a home, owning a small barbershop, you cannot compete with Wall Street,” he says. “They will outbid you every time. And so this is about fairness.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson holds his first general-election rally. Asked by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution if he’ll endorse Jackson, then if he’ll vote for him, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, says, “We’ll see.”
As private schools proliferate in Florida and across the country, fueled by taxpayer dollars, states are choosing not to closely regulate who is operating them or to oversee student safety and achievement, a ProPublica investigation finds.
President Donald Trump to deliver a speech at Wheeler High School in Marietta on Wednesday. It isn’t yet clear how many Republican candidates in this fall’s midterm elections will attend. For tickets, click here.