Governor Names Six Members to the Board of Education

I received this email from the DeKalb County School District:

Governor Nathan Deal announced today the appointment of six new DeKalb County Board of Education members. These new members will join Board Chairman Dr. Melvin Johnson, Vice-Chairman Jim McMahan and continuing member Marshall Orson. The new members are John Coleman of District 1, Joyce Morley of District 7, Karen Carter of District 8, David Campbell of District 5, Thad Mayfield of District 9 and Michael Erwin of District 3.

“We look forward to a collaborative relationship among all Board members and the superintendent,” said Johnson. “There are important tasks ahead of us – with SACS accreditation status serving only as a starting point.”

“Together, we will move our district in the right direction for our 14,000 colleagues and for the 99,000 children we have the privilege to serve,” said Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond.

The five new members have a background in a range of areas, including accounting, energy conservation, strategic planning and post-secondary education.

Johnson pledged to make the district’s SACS accreditation status the starting point: “Our Board also will be tasked with approving a budget which faces an ongoing difficult economic climate, providing the superintendent the tools needed to improve overall educational outcomes, addressing employee morale and undertaking the necessary restructuring to make the district more efficient, responsive and prepared to meet the expectations of our 99,000 students, dedicated educators and our community.”

Five of these new members were sworn in today, and the sixth will be sworn in at a later time.