MACON, Ga. — Voters will be deciding between two men for District 6 on the Bibb County School Board since current representative Bob Easter is not seeking re-election.
Macon attorney James Freeman and Bibb County Sheriff's Capt. Albert Hall -- a retired educator -- are looking to fill the seat.
"I think Bibb County Schools are in good shape, but there's always room for improvement. While our test scores and graduation rates have improved, we can always do better. There are still pockets where certain performance is not where it needs to be," Freeman said.
"Bibb County, if I had to give it a letter grade, I'd give it a B-, because they have improved a great deal over the last few years, even since my retirement," Hall said.
James Freeman and Albert Hall both agree on where Bibb Schools stand today, but they have different goals they'd like to achieve for the future.
"The millage rate. Keep decreasing the millage rate, which the school board has done a little bit, or stabilize it at least. The next one would be teacher retention. We need to retain more of our experienced teachers, we're losing too many of them," Hall said.
"Graduation rate, that's important. It shows that we are providing a quality education to our students that leads to them being college and career ready, which that should be our ultimate goal. We need to also focus on reading at a young age. I know from my work as a judge, that the reading level, if children are not reading by grade 3, there's a high likelihood that they end up in prison," Freeman said.
Both candidates feel their work experience will help the board's decision-making especially with the governor's budget cuts.
"I'm a small business owner, so I understand what it means to have to make payroll, I understand what it means to have to keep a budget, pay for your expenses, work within your means, and I'll bring that experience to the board of education," Freeman said.
"During the time with the law enforcement I had to prepare million dollar budgets and oversee those million dollar budgets to the county of corrections and detention centers, so I have a wide range of how to prepare those budgets and oversee those budgets," Hall said.
Both Freeman and Hall are also Macon natives.
Freeman earned his law degree from Mercer University. His wife is a Rutland Middle School teacher and they're raising an 18-month-old.
Hall has a masters degree from Troy University and a doctorate from North Carolina College of Theology. He is married to a retired educator and their three children have attended Bibb County Schools.
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