Ga. official to donate 'Smarter' winnings

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Georgia schools Superintendent Kathy Cox says she will be donating all her winnings from the TV game show "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?"

The first $1 million winner in the game show's history said she will give the money to three schools as part of her ongoing attempt to improve education throughout the state, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday.

The schools set to receive the game show funds are the Georgia Academy for the Blind, the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf and the Georgia School for the Deaf.

Cox's former fifth-grade teacher, Sally Porter, told the Journal-Constitution she wasn't surprised the state schools superintendent was a big winner on the Fox series.

Cox had a 3.8 grade-point average at Emory University, and is the superintendent of Georgia schools, Porter told the newspaper. "Yeah, she's smarter than a fifth-grader," Porter said.

Despite her success, Cox was criticized by state Rep. Rob Teilhet, D-Smyrna, who said the Republican official should not be on television while Georgia students are still struggling to learn.