MACON, Ga. — Ella Carter is finishing up her maximum of three terms as the District 1 representative and now three candidates are looking to fill her open seat.
Former criminal defense attorney Tera Edwards, retired Bibb educator Myrtice Johnson, and Robins Air Force Base logistics manager Michael McKeever agree that Bibb Schools is moving in the right direction, and they want to keep it that way.
"The curriculum right now, it works well since the schools are improving. Right now, if I was to say anything that could be done better would be to include the parents in the community more in the activities for the school so we can have more support for our students," McKeever said.
"I feel like there are still a need to have something in place like an outlet for students who continue to display severe or chronic classroom behavior, we need to work on that," Johnson said.
"There's always room for improvement right? We need to keep that graduation rate going up. We need to keep our test scores going up, and we're about to have some really tough decisions to make with the budget cuts that Governor Kemp has ordered," Edwards said.
Edwards is pushing for more parent involvement and technology resources.
Johnson wants to provide more incentive for teachers to stay working in Bibb Schools and McKeever is focused on not raising property taxes.
"I'm used to making decisions that have long term effects and helping set budgets, so those things will serve me well on the board especially as budget will be a huge issue going forward," Edwards said.
"Not only do I have 31 years in education, and 17 of those years as a principal, and 14 of those years as a classroom teacher, I've served Bibb County my whole adult life," Johnson said.
"I would like to see district 1 have better representation on the board and I feel like I'm that candidate to do that, so we can have a role in decision making," McKeever said.
Edwards also supports continuing facility upgrades in the district 1 area.
Johnson and McKeever both focused on providing money to help improve low-performing schools.
Edwards has two children currently attending Bibb schools.
Johnson and her children attended and graduated from the district.
McKeever is also a product of the Bibb County School system.
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