The forum for candidates for chairman of the Jones County Board of Education was held last week with the event available to be viewed in its entirety on the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
The April 27 event was held in the community room of the Jones County High School and was live streamed by Adam Gillhouse the new Communications Director of the Jones County School System.
The Board of Education election is nonpartisan, which means the winner of the contest will be selected in the May 19 election. Early voting for the election started Monday and will continue until May 15.
The forum was moderated by William Mathews and sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and The Jones County News.
In addition to the two local candidates, incumbent Ginger Bailey and challenger Marilyn Norfleet, two candidates for Georgia House District 149, Randy Peters and Ross Sheppard, attended the event.
Sheppard is running against incumbent Floyd Griffin in the May 19 primary election. The victor in that Democratic Primary will face Peters, the sole Republican in that contest, in the Nov. 5 General Election.
Introductions
The forum began with opening statements by Bailey and Norfleet. Bailey spoke of her 25 years in teaching and four terms as board chairman.
“I love education, and I love children,” she said.
Norfleet said she has spent her life as a public servant and believes in transparent leadership.
“Every child in Jones County deserves a safe learning environment,” she said. The challenger went on to state that a strong school system strengthens the entire community, but the community has concerns about the transparency of the school system.
“Parents feel left out of decisions that affect their children,” she added. “Families deserve leadership that keeps them informed.”
Questions
The first question was about recruiting and retaining qualified teachers. The questions were rotated between the candidates with the first going to Bailey.
The incumbent said the school superintendent is in charge of hiring teachers, and she is proud that teachers want to come to Jones County.
“We have a process. The superintendent recommends the teachers to be hired, and the board approves them,” Bailey said.
Norfleet said it is important to offer competitive salaries, make sure teachers are supported and have what they need in the classroom.
“They need to feel they are part of a family, and we need to mentor our new teachers,” she said.
Norfleet was asked the next question, which was about supporting teachers with student behavior in the classroom.
Bailey said teachers cannot teach if they do not have control of the classroom.
“If that’s not happening, learning doesn’t occur,” she said. “It only takes one to dispute a class.”
Norfleet said severe behavior in a classroom cannot be tolerated. She went on to say that parents need to understand the policies and the procedures that deal with student conduct.
When questioned about contracts being paid out after a person is no longer employed, both candidates agreed the contract must be followed as is required by law.
Bailey was the first to answer a question of how to involve parents and churches in the school system. She said Jones County has churches that have adopted schools and noted that two board members are pastors.
“We have seen improvement when the churches are involved,” Bailey said.
Norfleet said it is about partnerships, and the community and churches should be involved whenever possible. She also commented that communication at Board of Education meetings are a one-way street.
The challenger was first to answer a question about stakeholders feeling disconnected at the meetings. She said she understood that because she felt that way when attending the meetings.
“You can’t ask questions and you don’t know what’s going on. The community needs to have a voice,” Norfleet said.
She said if elected, she plans to have phoneline dedicated to talking to people and have an open-door policy.
Bailey said the law governs the Board of Education meetings, and anyone wanting to speak at the meeting must call ahead to be placed on the agenda. She said 95 percent of board policies come from the state, and those policies continue to change.
“No one is turned down who asks to be on the agenda, but the chairman has to obey the law,” the incumbent stated.
The support of special needs students was the next question.
Bailey said she had worked with special needs students when she was teaching. She said filling out an IEP form is essential. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program, which allows teachers to work with parents.
“Every child should have what they need to succeed,” she said.
Norfleet suggested reducing the number of students per teacher and strengthening the collaboration with parents. She said the community also needs to be involved.
Bullying is a big topic in every education conversation. Norfleet said bullying should not be tolerated.
“We need to communicate with parents to make sure they know the policy about bullying,” she said.
Bailey said bullying falls under discipline, and those policies have been strengthened. She said bullying is against the law.
“Every school has a plan. Sometimes it is not enforced, but it needs to be enforced across the board,” she said.
The incumbent said the idea of bullying is in the eye of the beholder, meaning that not everyone agrees what it is.
“Bullying is when a child is threatened, and that is not tolerated,” she said.
Bailey said the board continues to work to make schools a safe place, and that means bullying has to be controlled. Making sure there is supervision is a big part of that.
The question of class size was next.
Bailey said when she started teaching, she had 32 students in her class, and they had to crawl over desks.
“Jones County now uses 80 percent of the state recommendation for class sizes. Learning can’t happen when there are too many kids,” she said.
Bailey said Jones County is the Garden of Eden for those outside of the county, but the board has to make sure the class sizes are doable.
Norfleet said the state guidelines need to be followed. She also said more teachers needed to be hired, and the community needs to be involved.
The idea of making sure Jones County High School is competitive was asked.
Norfleet said she was on the steering committee for the Jones County College and Career Academy.
“It’s important for our students to have options and opportunities,” she said.
Bailey said a lot of Jones County students have received internships, and the JCCCA has opened those doors. She said five young ladies received welding certificates and were hired before they walked across the stage at graduation.
“We have students working in local businesses. This is their future. You don’t have to go to college anymore,” Bailey said. “We have a 95 percent graduation rate at the JCCCA.”
More than one question was asked about communication issues at Board of Education meetings and the selection of the school superintendent. The bottom line with both has a lot to do with state laws and regulations.
Anyone wanting to speak at board meetings are required to be put on the agenda prior to the meeting. And in Jones County, those speaking during public comments are allowed three minutes.
School superintendents do not run for the position in Jones County. They apply and are interviewed. By law the names of the three finalists for the position are to be released to the public, but that did not happen in the last two superintendent searches in Jones County.
Bailey referred to the law when talking about the 2025 superintendent search. She said the board received 24 applications that were vetted by the Georgia School Board Association. She said six candidates were interviewed.
“The personal information of candidates can’t be released. Laws can’t be broken; we have to go by the law,” Bailey stated.
Norfleet stated the process needed to be explained.
“Communication is the key. Lack of communication leads to mistrust,” she said.
Candidates agreed on the question of advanced learners. Both said the SPARK program being implemented at Jones County’s two middle schools would help students to grow.
Closings
Norfleet was first to give her closing statement. She said she has been part of the Jones County community for 40 years and is committed to public service leadership. Her background includes managing Jones County’s Adult Education program before managing the program for four counties.
The candidate said she serves on the Jones County Library Board of Trustees, served on the boards for the Jones County College and Career Academy and Family Connections along with faith-based services.
“I will communicate clearly, manage recourses responsibly and make decisions rooted in transparency and integrity,” Norfleet said.
In her closing, Bailey said she taught in the Jones County School System for 25 years before becoming the chairman of the Board of Education in 2011.
“I’m dedicated to serving the community, parents and children,” she said.
The incumbent said she has an open-door policy and added that transparency has to be done lawfully.
“I take every child’s education seriously,” she said. “But laws are being passed that are hurting that education.”
Read more written questions from the candidates that were not asked at the forum >> PAGE A9
