Post 8 Board of Education seat race between two longtime educators

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Candidates vying for the Bibb County Board of Education seat Post 8 have 8 days until the election they say could play a big role in the direction of the school district.

Longtime educator Lisa Garrett is running against current seat holder Dr. Wanda West for the Post 8 Bibb County Board of Education seat.

“I really wanted to run because in my years with Bibb County, I’ve sort of been all over the county. I’ve been in North Macon, I’ve been in East Macon, I’ve been in Sub-South,” Garrett told 41NBC.

She says after 34 years with the district, she’s ready to take on the challenges of making tough decision to move the county forward.

“I want to look for waste if there’s any waste in the budget to make sure that we’re getting all of the money in the classroom that needs to be in the classroom. I want to look at lowering class sizes,” she explained.

Garrett’s biggest priority is education for special needs children.

“I want to make sure we’re getting them the best education that’s available,” she said.

Dr. Wanda West says during her 8 years serving on the board, the school district has seen a lot of positive change and improvements.

“We’ve worked very hard to be able to say that our graduation rate has gone from 58.9% to 77.1%,” West said.

West helped in creating programs like the Leader In Me and another program to monitor efficiency in policies.

“We’re teaching young people leaderships skills,” she said.

West says she’s not done yet. Her next priorities, if re-elected, are addressing bullying, advocating for metal detectors in schools, and finding ways to fight the issue of failing schools.

“In the school improvement process, school improvement requires quality leaders, quality teachers, quality support persons the other piece is student engagement it requires parent engagement, it requires the wrap around services that gives those children at whatever level to be able to teach them how to read, how to write.”

With just days until the election, it’s up to voters to make their pick for the position. Early voters have until May 20th to cast their votes before election day.