Bibb County Schools settle on new president despite raised concerns on position

Three Bibb County Board of Education members will take on new officer roles for the 2025 calendar year.

For its first meeting in the new year, the board agreed in a 7-1 vote to appoint Myrtice Johnson as board president, succeeding 2024 President James Freeman. Daryl Morton was approved unanimously to become the board’s new vice president, and Kristin Hanlon was approved unanimously to serve as treasurer.

But the determination of new leadership was preceded by some conflict.

Right before a motion was proposed to close the nominations for board president, new board member Henry Ficklin raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest regarding Johnson and her son-in-law, who is Springdale Elementary Assistant Principal Eric Fuller.

“As much as I love Ms. Johnson and supported her to become on the board of education … by law, a board member cannot have a member of the immediate family in administration,” said Ficklin, the lone dissenting voice against electing Johnson as president. “That’s in our code section.”

Georgia law Section 20-2-51 (4)(a), in part, states:

“No person who has an immediate family member sitting on a local board of education or serving as the local school superintendent or as a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff in the local school system shall be eligible to serve as a member of such local board of education.”

Freeman said that the same concern regarding Johnson was initially brought up in 2021, leading the board to seek legal advice, which ultimately allowed both Johnson and Fuller to retain their positions. He further pointed out that Johnson has since been re-elected by the community.

“The community doesn’t know a lot of things, and they don’t know the law,” Ficklin said in response to Freeman. “We are the ones that are supposed to apply the law, and as officer of the court, you’re the one who should be sure that we have the right application of the law.”

Prior to this discussion, the board voted 7-1 to appoint Parker Poe law firm as the district’s interim general counsel. Freeman said the board’s former legal representation deserted them, leaving the district without an attorney to even address important legal matters in executive session Thursday night.

Ficklin emphasized that the board needs a lawyer who can clarify and resolve issues, including his concerns regarding Johnson and the board’s operational procedures.

“If we can’t abide by what the law says, then we all need to go home,” he said.

On social media, Johnson thanked the board for choosing her to hold the prestigious position.

“It is my goal to to always place our students at the top of the list as we strive to prepare them for today’s and tomorrow’s world,” Johnson wrote.