Stephens Co. BOE To Meet Tonight

The Stephens County Board of Education is expected to fill both of its current board vacancies at its regular business meeting later today.

Stephens County school board members are meeting at 5:30 p.m. today at the Stephens County School System Administrative Offices on Big A School Road in Toccoa.

On the meeting agenda is discussion of filling both the District 2 and District 3 vacancies on the board.

The District 2 vacancy came about in April when Jeff Webb resigned from the board and the District 3 vacancy stems from Jim Ledford’s resignation in May after he lost in the primary election.

Over the past two weeks, the Board of Education has interviewed six candidates for the District 2 vacancy.

They are Patricia Chism, Clint Simmons, Bill Wheeler, Dave Stancil, Choyce Watson, and Isaac White.

Whoever is chosen will serve the remainder of Webb’s term, which runs through the end of 2018.

Meanwhile, no candidates have been interviewed for the District 3 vacancy.

However, Mark Smith defeated Ledford in the May primary and is set to already join the board in January at the latest for a full four-year term.

Also on today’s Board of Education meeting agenda is final approval of the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

School board members approved the tentative budget last month.

That tentative budget had just under $32.5 million in general fund revenues and about $31.75 million in general fund expenditures, with a millage rate for the Stephens County school system of 18.3 mills, which is a cut of 1.45 mills from last year’s 19.75 millage rate.

Today’s 5:30 p.m. Stephens County Board of Education meeting is open to the public.