School Board Fills Vacancies

The Stephens County Board of Education will once again have a full board after it votes to fill two vacant seats.

Tuesday, the Board of Education voted unanimously to name Bill Wheeler to the District 2 vacancy created by Jeff Webb’s resignation in April and Mark Smith to the District 3 vacancy created by Jim Ledford’s resignation in May.

Wheeler is the Director of the Georgia Baptist Conference Center.

He was chosen from among six candidates who were interviewed for Webb’s seat.

Meanwhile, Smith is a cattle farmer who had defeated Ledford in the May election and was already set to take over Ledford’s seat in January for a full, four-year term.

Smith will now take his seat a few months early.

As for Wheeler, he will serve until the end of Webb’s term at the end of 2018.

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said that the school system will move quickly to get both Wheeler and Smith set up to begin serving on the Board of Education.

“With these approvals, we will now have to send in who the board has approved to the Governor’s Office and when we hear back from that, we will let the two new members know they can go to the Probate Judge’s office and get sworn in,” said Dorsey.

Dorsey said he is hopeful that everything could be set up for both Wheeler and Smith to begin serving on the Stephens County Board of Education next month.