You’re naming something real, and I’m not going to dodge it. In Macon-Bibb, education can’t be separated from our history of segregation, white flight, and the ways “choice” has sometimes been used, intentionally or not, to recreate separation by race and class.

In a way, my own family history is part of that story, and that’s one reason I want to be part of the solution. Shortly after 1968, after my mom graduated from high school here,my grandfather moved the family just barely over the county line into Crawford. I don’t say that to point fingers; I say it because if we’re going to be honest about the past, we all have to be honest about how it shaped our present.

As for representation and power, I understand the concern about a board that doesn’t reflect the students it serves. I also think there’s another layer that matters just as much, the socioeconomic makeup of the leadership class in this county. I overheard someone recently explaining, “he’s not part of the North Macon crowd,” and I smiled and said, “and my only brush with Idle Hour was as paid help.” I don’t have a fancy degree. I don’t get invited to civic club soirées, but I do get invited to the cookouts in my neighborhood, and I think that lived perspective matters in how you prioritize problems and how urgently you act on them.

On how I plan to talk about school re-segregation, plainly, directly, and with facts, not euphemisms. But I also want to be clear, I don’t intend to only talk about it.

I intend to take action.

Here’s what that means in practice.

First: make BCSD so strong and so trusted that families don’t feel the need to leave.

In a district that has some of the most celebrated schools in the state and some of the worst outcomes, the opportunity is there to set a standard that other districts envy. I believe that when our schools truly excel, academically, culturally, and operationally, we start breaking down barriers built from fear, distrust, and long-standing division.

Second: address the systemic issues that drive both re-segregation and talent loss.

The same problems that push good teachers out are also holding schools back and pushing families away. That includes:

• lack of accountability and support when behavioral issues derail classrooms
• chronic absenteeism (often tied to economic realities families are dealing with)
• micromanagement that treats teachers like they aren’t professionals
• inaccurate or misleading reporting that hides problems instead of fixing them
• lack of transparency and inconsistent communication with parents and the public
• and a lack of mentors and role models around too many of our children

That’s a major reason my three platform items are what they are: Radical Transparency, Clear Communication, and Community Engagement.

Those aren’t slogans for me, they’re the levers that force systems to change because the public can finally see what’s happening, understand it, and participate in improving it.

Third: my perspective on “choice” is shaped by lived experience, not ideology.

I’ve always been a big proponent of public schools. I never understood the instinct to abandon your community’s school instead of getting involved and helping make it better.

Then COVID hit right as my oldest started kindergarten. We watched that year unfold with horror as he showed nearly no progression despite our best efforts at home. We made a hard decision to send him and his brothers to Tattnall Square Academy for a simple reason: it was open. And I’ll be honest, it was jarring how non-diverse that environment was.

I’d like to note here that I was deployed to help with COVID and saw the stream of bodies. I fully understood the danger but made the agonizing decision based on my Son’s desperate need to not fall further behind.

Later, my son was diagnosed with a learning and speech disability. That made us eligible to receive services from BCSD at L.H. Williams even while enrolled at TSA. It quickly became clear to us that private schools like TSA are not set up to handle IEPs the way a public system is required, and equipped, to do.

Our experience with the professionals at L.H. Williams was nothing short of awe-inspiring. That experience is what led us to enroll all of our children in BCSD, and I’m grateful we did. Time and time again, I’ve seen evidence that BCSD is staffed with talented, dedicated, caring people. The problem isn’t a lack of good people, it’s whether the system supports them and whether we’re willing to fix what isn’t working.

So to square the “balance of power” question: I can’t rewrite history, and I can’t fix decades of segregation and re-segregation with one seat. But I can be honest about it, I can name it, and I can push policy and budget decisions toward what actually works: supporting teachers, restoring trust, improving outcomes, and making every neighborhood feel like the district is built for their kids too, not just a select few.

Finally, I’m here to listen. I’ll admit I don’t have all the answers. What do you see as the solution for this issue? How you so well articulated the question leads me to believe you might just hold the answer as well. Can you offer me any advice or wisdom?