Whitfield grand jury accepting applications for unexpired term on county school board
Published 11:21 am Tuesday, July 31, 2018
- Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsRodney Lock, left, speaks during a candidates forum in this file photo. Lock resigned from the Whitfield County Board of Education in May. He was the only candidate to qualify in March for the next term for that post. The grand jury is accepting applications to fill his unexpired term, and qualifying for a new Republican Party primary for the next term for that post starts Wednesday.
DALTON, Ga. — A Whitfield County grand jury has been accepting applications for a vacant seat on the county Board of Education for more than a week but there have been no qualified applicants.
“So far the only person to express interest did not live in the district. Just barely outside,” said District Attorney Bert Poston.
Rodney Lock resigned in May from the District 2 seat, citing the impact being on the board was having on his family business. District 2 is a sprawling district that covers the very north end of the county and the northeast part of the county. But it’s borders are very irregular.
“When (the district attorney) asked me to describe the district, I told him it’s hard to describe and it would be better if he just came and looked at the map,” said Registrar Mary Hammontree.
The elections office in the courthouse has a map showing all of the school board districts.
The grand jury will appoint someone to fill Lock’s unexpired term, which ends on Dec. 31. There is no deadline for when that appointment has to be made. Applications can be picked up in the district attorney’s office in the courthouse.
Applicants must be a U.S. citizen and a resident of Whitfield County for at least 12 months. They must also be a resident of District 2. They must be at least 21 and eligible to vote, and they cannot be employed by Whitfield County Schools, the state Department of Education or the state Board of Education. They also cannot be employed by or serve on the governing board of any private school.
Whitfield County Schools Superintendent Judy Gilreath said school officials are looking forward to having someone fill that seat.
“Things have been running smoothly. There have been no problems, but it will be good to have someone in there,” she said.
Lock was the sole Republican to qualify for the position in March for the next term. No Democrat qualified. With his victory in the May GOP primary, Lock looked set for a third term. But with his resignation, the county will have to have another Republican primary for that seat. That primary will take place Nov. 6, the same day as the general election.
Qualifying for that primary is Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon in the elections office in the courthouse. The qualifying fee is $18.
