OCGA § 20–2–942(b)(4) provides that a teacher (or pre-April 7, 1995 administrator) who had obtained rights under the Act by working for a particular school system, who was subsequently employed by another school system, and “who accept[ed] a second consecutive school year contract from the local board at which the teacher [was] subsequently employed” is entitled to retain those rights. See also Dorsey v. Atlanta Bd. of Ed., 255 Ga.App. 104, 105(1), 564 S.E.2d 509 (2002). Consequently, the exact date that West accepted his second contract of employment as an administrator with the Dooly County School District, the contract for the 1995–1996 school year, is important.

OCGA § 20-2-942(b)(1) provides that the procedural safeguards of OCGA § 20-2-940 (such as a hearing before the local school board and reasons for dismissal) are available for tenured teachers, i.e., teachers who have accepted a school year contract for the fourth consecutive school year (or more) from the same local board of education. See Dorsey v. Atlanta Bd. of Ed., 255 Ga. App. 104, 105(1) ( 564 S.E.2d 509) (2002) ("Normally, a teacher must have held contracts for four consecutive school years in order to obtain tenure. OCGA § 20-2-942(b)(1).").

First, Plaintiff failed to bring this claim in her Complaint. Second, since Plaintiff was a non-tenured educator, she was not entitled to a hearing before the non-renewal of her contract. Dorsey v. Atlanta Bd. of Educ., 255 Ga. App. 104, 106 n. 2, 564 S.E.2d 509, 511 n. 2 (2002). Therefore, Plaintiff cannot establish that she was deprived of a property interest without due process.

So "[e]ven if [Sigmon] had requested a hearing pursuant to OCGA § 20-2-1160, [she] would not have been entitled to one because [she] was not a tenured teacher." Dorsey v. Atlanta Bd. of Ed. , 255 Ga. App. 104, 106 (1) n. 2, 564 S.E.2d 509 (2002) (rejecting school board's argument that non-tenured teacher failed to exhaust administrative remedies). As a non-tenured teacher who did not have "the right to a hearing under OCGA § 20-2-1160 ..., [Sigmon] therefore [did not] need [to] exhaust these administrative remedies before bringing suit in superior court." Atlanta Public Schools , 261 Ga. App. at 643 (1), 583 S.E.2d 500.

There is no dispute here that Baker was not tenured in McIntosh County as "a teacher obtains tenured status when he or she accepts a school year contract for the fourth consecutive year from the same local board of education," and Baker had been employed with the county for one year. 255 Ga. App. 104 ( 564 S.E.2d 509) (2002). Id. at 106(1).

Thus, as a non-tenured employee, Plaintiff had no right to the renewal of her contract, and she was not entitled to a hearing before the non-renewal of her contract; in other words, Plaintiff had no property rights in her employment as PEC Director. See Dorsey v. Atlanta Bd. of Educ., 255 Ga. App. 104, 106, 564 S.E.2d 509, 511 (2002) (finding that plaintiff was not entitled to notice and a hearing prior to the non-renewal of his contract because he did not achieve tenure status); see also O.C.G.A. § 20-2-942(c)(1) (2009) ("A person who first becomes a school administrator on or after April 7, 1995, shall not acquire any rights . . . to continued employment with respect to any position of school administrator."); O.C.G.A. § 20-2-942(c)(2.1) (noting that "[a] local board of education may enter into an employment contract with a school administrator for a term not to exceed three years" but that "the school administrator shall have no right to renewal of such contract").