Endorsements Board of Education District 5

The Bibb County Board of Education District 5 race features three candidates. District 5 stretches from Riverside Drive and Wimbish Road in the north to just past Southwest High School in the south. The other schools in the district are Hartley and Riley elementary schools and Ballard-Hudson Middle School.

Tom Hudson will finish his third term this year and is restricted from seeking a fourth. There are three candidates in the running for the office that pays a whopping salary of $7,200 annually: Jerome Collins, is a realtor who is also employed at Robins Air Force Base; James Timley, a former Macon City Councilman; and Sundra Woodford, a manager of neighborhood revitalization for the Macon Area Habitat for Humanity.

Collins is energetic and believes in strong discipline. He will remind anyone who will listen that he came from poor circumstances to become a self-made success with two successful children and a strong marriage. He wants to share that formula with the district’s children.

Woodford, a lifelong Macon resident, received her Ph.D. from Mercer in educational leadership. She would like to provide opportunities for success for all of the district’s students. She believes many of the discipline issues students present are the manifestation of deeper psychological issues.

Timley did not respond to our request for an interview.

Both Collins and Woodford are against the Opportunity School District proposed by Gov. Deal that will be on the ballot in November. While Collins enthusiasm is infectious, a lot in education has changed since the glory days he fondly remembers at Southwest High School. Sundra Woodford has the right background and temperament to sit on the Bibb County Board of Education for District 5.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Endorsements Board of Education District 5."