A Look into Local Boards of Education

The week of March 8 to March 14 marks School Board Appreciation Week in Georgia, as proclaimed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, celebrating an important body in local communities.

A Board of Education is a collection of elected community members placed in charge of a local school system, enacting the broad overarching policies which the schools must follow.

“It’s very important for every community to be represented by elected board members, so that together, the community can decide how the school should place its focuses and goals, and how to measure its success,” said Montgomery County Superintendent Dr. Ronda Hightower.

A board of education operates at the top of a school system’s chain of command. Rather than engaging with principals and teachers directly, the Board is represented by the school superintendent, who in turn represents the principals, teachers, parents and students of a school system.

“The board operates as a governance team not in day-to-day operations but in defining the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the district’s work,” said Treutlen County Superintendent Dr. Susan Stone.

Montgomery County

The Montgomery County Board of Education is guided by three overarching goals: improving student and teacher success; improving culture and climate; and improving organizational and operational effectiveness.

However, the Board is also guided by a fourth unofficial goal located on the wall of Dr. Hightower’s office: “the right decision becomes clear when the focus is on the students.” According to Dr. Hightower, the phrase helps guide the Board during difficult executive sessions.

“Often in executive sessions, especially when a decision becomes very difficult, somebody – some board member or me – will point to those words on that wall and try to bring everything back to the real focus,” said Dr. Hightower.

The Montgomery County School system has made multiple strides in service of its goals, such as the establishment of a student advisory council and a strengthened relationship with parents. 

However, the Montgomery Board has been limited due to budget cuts stemming from issues regarding the appraisal of property taxes in Montgomery County. According to Dr. Hightower, the school system lost over $1 million to improperly appraised property taxes.

Despite the cuts, the Montgomery County School System has not had to lay off any of its employees, instead restructuring itself to accommodate its staff and budget.

“We’ve been able to absorb, we’ve been able to restructure, but we’ve not had to tell anyone they no longer have a job here because of the budget cuts,” said Dr. Hightower.

Due to the budget issues, the Montgomery Board is not looking to make any major changes moving forward, rather focusing on maintaining stability. 

However, the school system does have major projects lined up, such as renovations to the school’s baseball field and subsequent renovations to their bus shop. To these ends, the Board has earmarked up to $1 million in a capital outlay for these projects, including $500,000 from its SPLOST fund and $500,000 from its general fund..

The Montgomery County Board of Education meets every third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m., except when the third Monday would be a holiday.

Wheeler County

The Wheeler County Board of Education operates under five overarching goals: student achievement and growth; safe, caring and supportive schools; family and community partnerships; operational excellence and fiscal responsibility; and staff recruitment, retention and leadership development.

According to Wheeler County Superintendent Dr. C. Alex Alvarez, one of the school system’s biggest advancements toward these goals was the implementation of the “Wheeler Wins” initiative. Through this program, the school system celebrates student accomplishments big and small.

“We have our #wheelerwins and really build that positive culture, and celebrate small wins and big wins for our students and staff,” said Dr. Alvarez.

Dr. Alvarez also cited the students’ multiple sports and academic successes as major accomplishments for the school system, such as a doubled dual enrollment rate.  The Wheeler County Middle School also saw the implementation of an honors academy.

“We are adding more opportunities for advanced content and trying to build a pathway into high school,” said Dr. Alvarez.

In the future, the Board looks to expand the honors academy to provide eighth graders with both academic rigor and schedule flexibility, as well as providing advanced content for elementary students. Athletic buildings will also see improvement and renovations.

The Wheeler County Board of Education also adopted a new five-year strategic plan on February 9, which outlines multiple plans to fulfill the school system’s overarching goals moving forward.

The Wheeler County Board of Education meets every second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m., except in October, when it meets on the third Monday.

Treutlen County

The Treutlen County School System operates based on seven overarching goals: student achievement and academic excellence; safe and supportive learning environments; fiscal responsibility and stewardship; high-quality personnel; community engagement and transparency; continuous improvement and accountability; and the monitoring of district performance. 

According to Dr. Stone, one of the biggest advancements made in service of those goals during her tenure was the training of all Treutlen County teachers in Letter Essential for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), providing each of them with “a deep understanding of how to teach students to read.”

“LETRS training is the gold standard in literacy education for teachers and was a huge investment for our county,” said Dr. Stone. “However, we believe that one of our most important jobs as a school system is to teach our students how to read, so it was an investment we were happy to make.”

Another major step for the school system was the opening of the Treutlen County School-Based Health Clinic on September 12, built in cooperation with East Georgia Health Center (EGHC). The clinic provides students and staff with medical access similar to a non-school based EGHC clinic, such as examination, blood work and vaccinations.

The school system also began offering certified nursing assistant and welding certification courses to students through a partnership with Southern Technical University.

Moving forward, the Treutlen County Board of Education and School System is focused on expanding opportunities and retention for students and teachers, as well as improving its athletic facilities.

“Overall, the 2026 direction for Treutlen County Schools is focused, intentional growth building on our district’s strengths while improving student outcomes and sustaining community trust,” said Dr. Stone.

The Treutlen County Board of Education meets every second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m., except in July, when it meets on the third Monday.