The Oglethorpe County Board of Education spent Friday creating priorities for the 2026-30 strategic plan and discussing Superintendent Phillip Powell’s first-year goals.
That was just part of the day-long retreat at the Historic Depot in Crawford.
Laurie Allison, director of Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), led board members through governance exercises designed to clarify the roles of the board and the superintendent.
“What I think that you will see is that in working with Dr. Powell there's going to be a level of transparency where you’re going to be able to see where expenditures are going and what initiatives they’re supporting to an extent,” Allison said.
Allison also walked board members through hypothetical scenarios they could face and how to approach them.
Powell led discussions on the district’s performance, the finalized 2026-30 strategic plan and building a foundation of communication.
Powell said the strategic plan shifts the district’s focus toward academic achievement, attendance and whole-child support.
“Which is a little bit different than the strategic plan that they had in the past,” he said.
Powell said improving attendance will be one of the district's first initiatives.
“We have a systemic attendance issue that we’re gonna try to deal with from multiple angles from supporting kids’ parents, and then having accountability, and then how can we provide better support for students socially, emotionally, mentally, physically and academically,” Powell said.
Powell said the retreat also focused on strengthening communication between district leadership and the board. He added that survey responses from staff helped shape the district’s priorities and reinforced a shared vision for the future.
“I think establishing a foundation of a governance team, where we are one team driving the direction of our school system to create the best learning environment for our students, and the best working environment for our teachers and staff,” Powell said.
BOE meeting
The BOE held its monthly called meeting on Tuesday night.
Powell said the roof at OCHS is under warranty and will be repaired this month. All work will begin after 4 p.m.
The BOE is working with Parrish Construction on five air conditioning units at OCES that have gone out. Crews from Parrish are on site at the school, which opened in January 2025.
- Patriot Health Hub requested the purchase of an autoclave, which cleans and sterilizes equipment and supplies for $5,632 and a high/low exam table for $11,000. Both will be purchased using funds from the school-based health center (SBHC) grant that expires in October.