Stephens County BOE Begins Search for New Board Member

By Charlie Bauder, WNEG Radio, Toccoa

The Stephens County Board of Education is beginning to search for a new board member to replace outgoing member and Chairman Jerry Steele.

Steele announced last week that he would resign from the Board of Education effective at the end of this month.  He said his resignation is to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest once his son, Sandy Steele, takes over as principal at Stephens County High School on July 1.

The Stephens County Board of Education will be responsible for selecting someone to serve out the remainder of Steele’s term, which runs through the end of 2014.

To be eligible for the seat, a candidate must live in Stephens County School Board District 1, which is the district Steele represents.

School Board District 1 covers an area stretching from downtown Toccoa southwesterly into Stephens County.

Stephens County School Superintendent Sherrie Whiten said those interested in serving should send a letter stating their interest to Susan Lambert at the Stephens County School System Administrative Offices, located at 2332 Mize Road in Toccoa.

Whiten said the deadline to submit a letter of interest is June 28.

She said those letters will then go to the Board of Education to make a selection.  According to Whiten, the goal is to potentially select Steele’s replacement on the Board of Education at a board meeting in July.