By Andrew Wilkins

Oversight of Walker County School District’s superintendent and public engagement are two key issues in the election for a Walker County school board seat.

Tina Painter has held the District 3 Walker County school board seat since earlier this year. She was appointed by the board after board member Mike Carruth stepped down from his nearly 20-year term due to health issues.

Challenging Painter is Travis Q. Middleton, who works in industrial product manufacturing and has started started three non-profits to raise money for school recreation. Painter has worked for about 40 years in education, with the majority of that time in the classroom.

Images from the school board candidates’ websites. Read more about Middleton on his campaign website and Painter on her campaign website.

The runoff for the District 3 seat, representing Chattanooga Valley and Flintstone, is being held Tuesday, Dec. 3. It’s a county-wide election, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day. Visit the Walker County Elections and Registration website for more information or call them at 706-638-4349.

After the Nov. 5 special election, a runoff election was required because none of the four candidates received more than 50% of the vote for the seat. In that election, Painter received 8,904 votes and Middelton received 7,311 votes.

Painter is endorsed by the Walker County Republican Party, according to a post on her Facebook page. Jackie Harling, party chair, said in a statement that Painter earned the endorsement because she has been willing to make hard decisions during her time on the board.

“We believe that Tina’s approach to leadership— rooted in integrity, transparency, and accountability— is exactly what our school system needs,” Harling said.

Harling also criticized Middleton for a quote from his interview when he vied to be appointed to the board earlier this year. In the recording of his interview, he said the job of a board member is to be the superintendent’s biggest fan.

Middleton followed up on that comment in a phone interview, and said he would be willing to criticize the school superintendent and fire them if their actions warranted that decision.

Three school board candidates ran unopposed in the General Election and Republican primary this year: Dennis Willerson in District 1, Stacey Meeks in District 4, and incumbent Phyllis White Hunter in District 5.

In January, the two new board members will be sworn in, and for the District 3 position either Painter will retain her seat or Middleton will also be sworn in.

Walker County school board candidates Travis Middleton and Tina Painter debate on UCTV earlier this week. Tap on the image or tap here to watch the full debate on Facebook.

Middleton made himself available for a phone interview, while Painter did not respond to a similar request.

The candidates appeared in a Wednesday, Nov. 27 debate broadcast on UCTV. Randall Franks was the debate’s moderator.

Both candidates said they want to see student achievement improve, are against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, and want to see the state of Georgia rework the funding formula to ease the tax burden on property owners.

Public engagement

Franks said that nationally, school boards have seen more participation and criticism from the public recently. He asked the candidates how they would respond to that kind of engagement from the community if elected.

Painter said the school board aren’t involved in day-to-day operation of schools, but sets policies that the superintendent follows. She said she would address critiques from the public directly, guided by her conservative, family-first values.

In an interview with Roy Hambrick on Small Town Underground, Painter said how community members testify at school board meetings needs to be looked at again, and meetings should be more accessible to the public. 

Middleton also said he would like to see the board meeting comment policy change, because now those who want to testify have to contact the superintendent ahead of time rather than just showing up to speak or deciding to speak at the meeting.

If meetings are long because stakeholders like parents want to testify at board meetings, he said that’s what board members signed up to do.

The Walker County school district office in LaFayette, Georgia.

Superintendent oversight & nepotism lawsuit

The candidates addressed two recent controversial issues facing the school board: an investigation into Damon Raines, school superintendent since 2012, and two nepotism allegations.

The reason for the investigation into Raines was not made public, but after an investigation the school board voted to retain him in a specially-called meeting filled with his supporters in late October.

Middleton said that soon after Painter was seated on the board, she voted to fund the investigation into Raines and pay for an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit about the nepotism allegation brought by a school system parent.

Two school board members— Karen Harden and former board member Mike Carruth— have children employed by the school system.

A Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit in late March, but the case is being appealed.

At the trial, the board members’ defense argued that the two employees in question are middle managers and the state allows school boards to define management roles, while critics believe the relationships violated the board’s nepotism rules based on the employees’ duties and pay scale.

In the phone interview, Middleton said he would have wanted to do his own research before immediately making those two decisions if he was on the board. Painter said she was part of a closed board session where she was informed about both issues, and stands by her decisions.

Painter also said Raines was given a three-year contract extension by the current board when two new members are joining the five-member board, and the District 3 seat is currently being decided. She voted against the contract extension. 

“Most of the time you only extend it one year,” she said of the superintendent’s contract. “It just doesn’t look good.”

Reducing taxpayer burden

Painter said during the debate that the school board needs help from state legislators to recalibrate funding formulas. She also said the county could possibly implement another penny sales tax that would fund school operations. The county’s one-cent ESPLOST sales tax can only fund certain expenditures like buildings or tangible things like school busses, she said.

Middleton agreed that the funding formula needs to change at the state level, but said he was against another penny sales tax because citizens were already overburdened.

Transparency

Middleton also criticized the current board for not responding to stakeholder comments at board meetings. Those testifying at board meetings should get an answer, he said, instead of silence and what he described as “puzzled looks” from board members.

“They’re coming there because they want an answer,” Middleton said about stakeholders who testify at school board meetings. “I think we owe it to the parent to give them an answer.”

He said he wants the school board meetings to be live streamed too. Meeting videos are available online, but aren’t currently live streamed.

In the Small Town Underground interview, Painter said how community members comment at school board meetings needs to be looked at again, and made more accessible to the public. 

Regarding transparency, Painter said she was the only board member who voted to make the investigation into the superintendent public. 

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Contact Andrew Wilkins at andrewtaylorwilkins@gmail.com or by phone or text at 971-337-5285.