Bibb BOE District 5 race draws three candidates

The District 5 seat on the Bibb County school board is guaranteed to have a new occupant when this term is up, and there are three candidates vying for the spot.

Jerome Collins, Sundra Woodford and James Timley are running for the seat now held by Tom Hudson, who is completing his third and final term.

Collins, a real estate agent who is also employed at Robins Air Force Base, has run five times for Macon City Council or commission posts, as well as the state House of Representatives, but has not come out victorious.

“I’m still very passionate about this community,” he said.

He said the “education piece” is at the heart of strengthening the community. A better-educated populace would lead to lower crime and blight, and it would also help attract companies to come to Bibb County as well as boosting Macon’s families.

“Education, it’s the most important driver that we have if we want to impact this community in a big way,” he said.

On top of that, Collins said, there needs to be more open dialogue from the school district through teachers down to students and parents about the need to graduate.

“It’s just important that we get kids to understand the importance and the significance of education,” he said.

Woodford, manager of neighborhood revitalization for the Macon Area Habitat for Humanity, said that her work — particularly in the Lynmore Estates area of south Macon — has shown her what the community needs.

“As a parent and community developer, I am concerned about the quality of our education,” she said.

Woodford has a doctorate in educational leadership. She said she thinks some of the learning concerns in public schools come back to the handling of students. When children are treated as a group instead of as individuals, she said, they aren’t able to reach their potential.

“I think there are many students in the public school system that have diverse learning styles,” Woodford said. “I think oftentimes teachers teach to their style of learning, and that leaves out many of our youth.”

She also pointed to discipline as a major focus area, but not just in terms of diverting negative behavior in the classroom. Just as important, she said, are positive practices of self-confidence and goal-setting.

“A lot of times our kids don’t self-correct, and oftentimes if we give them an opportunity and we talk to them directly to find out what’s going on, I think we will find that there’s so much more that we don’t know about,” Woodford said.

Timley, who could not be reached for an interview despite repeated attempts, is a retired educator who served on Macon City Council from 1999 to 2013.

District 5 encompasses the areas surrounding Hartley and Riley elementary schools as well as Ballard-Hudson Middle and Southwest High. The election is May 24.