Jeff Whitten, correspondent
The Bryan County Board of Education didn’t go far to find a replacement for retiring schools superintendent Dr. Paul Brooksher, who spent 14 years at the helm of one of the nation’s fastest growing school districts.
Instead, the BOE named Richmond Hill High School principal Bivens Miller as its sole finalist for the role.
His hiring will be made official at an upcoming school board meeting on May 28 in Black Creek.
In the meantime Miller, one of 29 candidates for the position as part of a search led by the Georgia School Board Association, impressed the school board with his approach to education, his ability to work with the community and with his work as an administrator within the county, officials said.
“Throughout this process, the board was focused on finding a leader who understood the unique makeup of Bryan County, the high expectations of our community, and a leader who would continue to build upon the success of our district,” said BOE Chairwoman Amy Murphy on Friday. “Mr. Miller has been a long standing and beloved administrator, with a record of fostering high academic success and ensuring the very best for all students. He believes in the power of public education and the ability of all children to reach their fullest potential.”
Miller, in turn, said Friday as part of a lengthy statement he was “truly humbled and genuinely excited,” to be named superintendent.
“For the past 14 years I have had the privilege of serving in this district and seeing firsthand what makes the Bryan County School System special: visionary leadership, outstanding educators, supportive families, hardworking students, and a community that truly believes in the value of public education,” he said.
Miller praised the work of past educators who helped Bryan County Schools become widely regarded as one of the top districts in the area and as one of the reasons for decades of residential population growth, as the system went from around 8,000 students in 2016 to 10,800 now while its population also soared since 2001, when the system had approximately 5,000 students.
The system’s reputation and what has come over the years didn’t happen by accident, Miller said.
“It is the result of people who showed up with their time, their effort, and their energy, who cared deeply, led with purpose, and kept students at the center of every decision,” he said.
Miller promised to build on the foundation and said he was “excited about the opportunities ahead, grateful for the trust placed in me, and honored to continue serving alongside the incredible people who make Bryan County Schools such a special place.”
About Miller
Miller, who has multiple education degrees from Georgia Southern, came to Bryan County schools in 2013 after serving as an assistant principal and wrestling coach at Statesboro High School, where he began his career as a special education teacher.
Miller served as an assistant principal at Richmond Hill High School under former principal Debi McNeal, now an assistant superintendent for business services.
McNeal said in a 2015 story in the Bryan County News that working with Miller was one of the high points of her career at that time, after he was appointed an assistant principal of McAllister Elementary School in 2015. He was named principal of McAllister Elementary in 2016, and Richmond Hill High School in 2020, and has been repeatedly described as a first-rate administrator by school officials, who list his experience in a wide array of disciplines, from opening schools to working on legislative issues and working with peers from around the state.
Miller also has had to deal with polarizing issues, seemingly a necessity when it comes to leading a public school system. In 2022 he prohibited Lisa Freeman from awarding a scholarship honoring her late son, Marine Capt. Matthew Freeman, at Richmond Hill High School’s senior honors night.
The issue stirred emotions, with some seeing it as an effort to cancel a local Gold Star mother – Freeman’s son was killed in combat in Afghanistan in August of 2009 – while others said she had attempted to “hijack” the previous year’s honors night in 2021 with far-right politics.
Miller said at the time there was no intent to dishonor her son’s memory or the scholarship, but rather the result of Freeman’s actions at the 2021 honors night during the COVID pandemic when she attended the event without a mask and urged attendees to take off theirs, despite a school board requirement at the time that masks were to be worn.
Freeman, a retired educator in Richmond Hill, had since 2009 annually presented the scholarships at senior honors night, but now presents them privately. This year’s presentation was held at a ceremony at J.F. Gregory Park.
Further details, money
Miller’s contract still has to be approved by the school board and a salary has not been announced, but his predecessor made $393,166.99 and a travel allowance of $3,027.11 in 2025, according to the state website Open Georgia, which lists salaries for school systems. Brooksher’s starting salary in 2012 was not immediately available, but in 2019 he was given a raise from $199,598 to $261,000. By 2021 Brooksher was making more than $300,000 annually.
The increased salary has followed the district’s growth in enrollment, as well as number of employees, which went from about 757 employees in 2013 to more than 1,500 in 2022, the first year the school board approved an operating budget in excess of $100 million. A decade earlier, in 2013, that budget was $52.3 million.
This year, the system is proposing a budget of $145 million, up from a 2025 budget of $132.7 million. Public hearings on that budget will be held June 9 and June 18 at the BOE central office in Black Creek. It will be up for adoption June 26.