This spring, multiple seats on Bryan County School Board, including the chair, will be on the ballot. Early voting kicks off April 27 and the General Primary is May 19.
In this first Q+A installment, the Bryan County News spoke to those running for School Board Chair, starting with incumbent Amy Murphy. Those also running are J. Scott Novinski and Tiffany Gregg.
Follow the Bryan County News for more election coverage.
Who: Amy Murphy, current Bryan County School Board Chair
Describe your background for readers.
By profession, I am a licensed mental health therapist who specializes in working with children and adolescents. I have over 25 years of experience in the mental health field. I have served on the Bryan County Board of Education since 2012, and I have been Chairman since 2019. Also, I have served on the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) Board of Directors, representing school board members in our local region. I was elected this year by school board members across Georgia to serve as the President of GSBA. I am deeply passionate about public education and want to support and champion anything that makes the lives of children better.
Why are you running for school board chair, and what qualities would you bring to the role?
I am seeking re-election for school board chair because I believe experienced leadership matters, particularly for the board chairman. It is critical that the board chair understand the laws and rules that govern public education, the complexity of school funding, and the history of how our district has become so successful. Since serving as Chairman, Bryan County Schools has continuously improved to become not only the leader in our region but also a top 10 school district for the last 2 consecutive years. Equally important, our district was recently named the third most efficient school district in the state. We spend less per pupil than surrounding districts, yet our students show the highest academic success.
I am also seeking re-election because the Board of Education is currently conducting a Superintendent Search. A chairman with proven success is needed to onboard a new superintendent and to provide continuity in leadership for the board and Bryan County Schools.
Additionally, the qualities of integrity, compassion, and a deep love of the Bryan County community are qualities I have aspired to bring to the role of chairman. I care deeply about our community, our students, our teachers, and our staff, and want the best for our schools and our entire county.
What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing our school district, and how would you address them?
Two of the biggest challenges facing our school district are an ongoing explosive growth in population and hiring and retaining high quality teachers during a national teacher shortage. I will address these concerns by continuing to listen and work with our teachers, our staff, parents, students, and community members. By working together, we will ensure our district continues to provide our students a high-quality education.
Our parents, students, and community members have repeatedly expressed the importance of addressing issues such as the mental health needs of our students and the importance of providing students the education and skills they need to enter the workforce, military or attend college after graduation. Through their feedback, our board has unanimously supported adding additional counselors, hiring career coaches for students entering the work force directly after high school, and expanding our CTAE (Career, Technical and Agricultural Education) offerings. We now offer 23 career pathways for our high school students to explore while completing their education. Furthermore, we’ve expanded safety measures such as school resource officers on all our school campuses, the Centegix Crisis Alert system, safety vestibules, and indicator locks, as well as upgraded cameras and surveillance systems. This year, our board supported adding the Open Gate Weapons Detection System for large events. All of these additions in expanding programs and supports for students and improved safety measures have come from parent and stakeholder feedback. This communication with the Bryan County community helps ensure that local issues of importance are included in our strategic plans.
In addressing the high demand for teachers, particularly as we grow, I will continue to vote for teacher pay increases, ensuring Bryan County Schools stays above the state employee scale and stays competitive within our local region. I will also continue to support our employee sponsored daycare. Currently over 150 children of 47 staff members are enrolled in our BEE Childcare. Our childcare program has been so successful in recruiting and retaining teachers, other local school districts have started similar childcare programs. Our teachers have an extremely difficult job and their impact on our students is so important. I have always been a champion and cheerleader for our teachers- that will never change.
Where do you see the district in 5 years?
Bryan County Schools is estimated to grow 1,500 new students by 2031. This ongoing growth provides a real challenge. Our district will need to continue to prepare by monitoring approved lots and approved housing divisions to ensure there are enough classrooms for new students. We will also need to continue to recruit and retain high quality educators and staff for our district. The Board of Education is instrumental in helping build the climate and culture that supports great schools, great teachers, and high academic success. Having already helped navigate our district through high growth, I can attest to the importance of experienced leadership in making sure our schools remain high performing, while managing the challenges of growth. I hope the voters of Bryan County will consider giving me the opportunity to continue to serve them as Chairman.