Byline: Ava Dunaway 

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The Clarke County Board of Education is officially moving forward with its search for a new superintendent following a presentation Tuesday night from the Georgia School Boards Association.

The search  has started and is now entering its next phase, as the board will complete a qualifications survey that will help form an outline of the next superintendent. The board will complete the survey, upload the job posting to the GSBA website and close the application on Jan. 18, 2026. 

“The position of posting, the announcement, the brochure, all of those things are designed to attract candidates that are that feel that they are a great fit for Clarke County, based on what you said is important to you in that profile,” said Dr. Sam King, director of board development and superintendent search services.

The board unanimously approved a $142,924.25 contract with the American Property Restoration for trash removal and asbestos abatement at the vacant West Broad Campus. The cleanup follows a September fire caused by arson that left one of the buildings unsafe and sped up the need to secure the property from further damages.  

“Because of the current state of the building, it does require a fairly extensive amount of cleanup, including hazmat cleanup, because of the asbestos that is already in the building,” Jennifer Scott, interim superintendent said.

The cleanup process is expected to take 30 to 45 days and will include additional fencing and boarding up of doors and windows. 

“I also will be supporting this. This is an an important place in Athens, and we cannot allow it to continue to sit idle and fester,”  Mark Evans, board of education vice president said. “This is a place where so many people that we all know and care about and and friends we love got their start, and we need to make sure that this place is protected. We need to do something with it that will benefit the community.”

The board reviewed and unanimously passed its financial report for August. Revenue came in higher than expected at over $4 million, compared to the budgeted $4 million. Actual expenditures totaled $30,103,440, about $103,440 more than the planned spending of $30 million. The district’s General Fund balance stands at $28.1 million, slightly above the budgeted $27.9 million. 

Board members honored Felicia Barrett, a behavior interventionist and ASP coordinator at Timothy Road Elementary, during the meeting for performing the Heimlich maneuver and saving a choking child during lunch. They also recognized Jordan Billing, a seventh grader at BHL Middle School, for stopping to help a young child with autism who had run into the road and restraining him until an adult arrived.