MACON, Ga. — Mayoral candidate Lester Miller is finishing up his second term in the district 4 seat, and now Juawn Jackson and David Sumrall hope to carry out their mission for Bibb Schools as the new representative.
"It's without question that our students, our educators and our support professionals are moving in the right direction, yet our ultimate victory is still in progress," Jackson said.
"There are many who do not consider our schools viable options for children, so they live other places or they send them to private school and so forth. So good progress, but a long way to go," Sumrall said.
Pre-college counselor Juawn Jackson and retired educator and Air Force colonel David Sumrall want to work on improving outside support for the school district.
"Listening to what our parents in our community and stakeholders are saying. I want to strengthen community partnerships that goes into that whole line of thinking here, especially with our local faith communities," Sumrall said.
"I would like to expand industry partnerships, champion entrepreneurship as well as carry out Dr. Jone's "three E initiatives" to make sure every senior is either enrolled, enlisted, or employed upon graduation," Jackson said.
Both Jackson and Sumrall have experience working inside schools and say they can identify areas where funding is crucial for students.
"I am ready to tackle the budget in this era of COVID. I believe that we have to be careful not to try and balance the budget on the back of our teachers. I believe furloughs are the equivalent to a teacher tax," Jackson said.
"Been involved in hiring, evaluating, promoting, personnel and leadership and so that's an important part of the School Board job. I've worked with budgets and government regulations and how they affect our budget," Sumrall said.
Sumrall is a senior pastor in Macon and taught special education for five years with Bibb Schools.
Jackson has worked as a pre-college counselor for three years with the U.S. Department of Education, where he's traveled across the country helping students.
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