Politics & Government
Commission Candidates Ask For Communication With School Board
In a citizen-run forum, the five candidates seeking seats on the County Commission asked for improved communication with the School Board.
The five Oconee County Board of Commissioners candidates participating in a virtual forum identified communication as the solution to the ongoing conflict between the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education.
Aaron Nowak, running as a Republican in the special election to fill vacant Post 3 on the Board of Commissioners, put all of the blame for the current problem on the Commissioners and said he would “communicate properly” with the School Board if elected.
Jacob Douylliez, running as a Democrat for the Post 3 seat, said he would use his skills as a Presbyterian minister to “facilitate communication” between the two Boards.
Find out what's happening in Oconeefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Amrey Harden, running as a Republican in the Post 3 special election, said the problem is “a communication issue that can be resolved” and “I want to be a part of that solution.”
Eric Gisler, the Democratic Party nominee for the Chair of the Board of Commissioners, said that “getting together and planning earlier on the process on some of these joints projects would really do a lot” to solve the problem.
Find out what's happening in Oconeefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Incumbent Chair John Daniell, the Republican Party nominee, said the two Boards have been talking, but the disagreement continues, and “That’s why I encouraged the Board of Education to sit down with the Board of Commissioners.”
What no one said, including Daniell, is that the Board of Education has said it does not want to meet with the Board of Commissioners in public and that state law prohibits private meetings of the two Boards.
The five candidates were responding in the forum to a question from a citizen who said the “clear public perception is that the BOE and BOC consistently squabble” and asked: “What would you do to change this?”
The candidates also responded to a variety of other questions from citizens in a nearly 90-minute long session that illustrated differences and similarities in their responses to citizen concerns.
Another forums--this one for legislative candidates--is scheduled for Oct. 19, and registration is HERE.
For more on this story, with a video of the candidate forum, please go to Oconee County Observations.