Oglethorpe County Superintendent Phillip Powell was inspired by “The Andy Griffith Show” when it came time to name his new community chats.
Characters often sat on the porch to talk in the beloved show, leading Powell to come up with the Patriot Porch, which he held for the first time last Saturday morning.
About 33 people gathered at the Oglethorpe County High School cafeteria for the open-house style program, where Powell discussed his vision and answered questions from residents.
“One of the things that was very important to us, is that you guys could have the opportunity as community members to engage with Dr. Powell, to meet him, to create a connection and a relationship with him,” Board of Education Chair Becky Soto said.
Powell’s vision for Oglethorpe County is to be “a gold standard of rural education,” which means cutting down on absenteeism.
Of the district’s approximately 2,100 students, 413 missed more than 18 days of school while 83 kids missed more than 36 days of school last year.
“That is a systemic problem,” he said.
Powell said the system will create incentives for students, including giveaways, to help fix the attendance problem, while also providing support to parents who consistently struggle with getting their children to school.
“The piece that’s been missing is accountability,” Powell said.
Powell also discussed the importance of collaboration with county government and the community, particularly when it comes to the district's finances.
“I have a long-term plan, and the board knows this plan,” Powell said. “I’ll be happy to do that at another one, where I think we can, strategically, be much more fiscally responsible.”
Powell plans to work closely with the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners to identify additional resources of revenue for the district and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
He pointed to different sales tax revenues between Oglethorpe County and neighboring Athens-Clarke County as an example of the district's financial challenges. Powell said in June, Athens-Clarke County collected about $3.3 million in sales tax revenue, while Oglethorpe County collected about $116,000.
Powell also discussed the recent movement to eliminate property taxes in Georgia, saying how this change could have consequences for Oglethorpe County.
“If they did away with property taxes, do you know who the No. 1 affected county in the state of Georgia is? Where you are sitting right now,” Powell said. “In fact, they would bankrupt us. We would be out of business.”
Soto emphasized the importance of attending events like the Patriot Porch to promote collaboration and strengthen the community.
“Did you know that 80% of teachers were graduates of Oglethorpe County schools?” Powell said.
He highlighted the commitment these educators have to do more for the school system.
Elaine Kitchens, a ninth-grade English teacher, said she is part of that group who attend county schools. She decided to come to the Patriot Porch to see what Powell said and how the community was going to react.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback from the community about property taxes and things they were concerned about, and there’s also been some concerns about making sure that what we’re teaching is matching with the community values and things like that.”
Kitchens appreciated Powell’s emphasis on the community working together to create higher expectations for students.
“I think the important thing is that we all start pulling in the same direction,” Kitchens said.
She added the event could help Powell establish the type of relationship with the community that former Superintendent Beverley Levine developed.
“She was so entrenched in the community that (people) felt really comfortable talking to her, so I think it’s really smart of him to have these opportunities for the community to get to know him at a similar level,” Kitchens said.