School Board Chair Odom Steps Down, Citing Health Issue

Tom Odom, less than nine months into his third, four-year term as chair of the Oconee County Board of Education, announced on Monday that he is stepping down from the Board on Sept. 1 for health reasons.

Odom said in a statement he read at the Board of Education meeting on Monday that he made the decision after an “unexpected health issue” caused him to consider his tenure on the Board.

Much of the rest of the meeting was devoted to tributes by other board members and by Superintendent Jason Branch, who praised Odom for long service to the school system and the community even before Odom was elected to the Board as chair in 2012.

Under local legislation that has been in place for many years, the Oconee County Board of Education is allowed to appoint a replacement for Odom under procedures it sets.

Anisa Sullivan Jimenez, director of Communication for Oconee County Schools, said on Tuesday that the process to be used and the time line for a decision “are not yet available.”

Board Vice Chair Kim Argo said the Board will appoint a chair before the end of the calendar year but did not indicate the procedure that will be used.

At the end of the meeting on Monday, the Board listened to comments from six members of the community, four of whom praised by the Board for not requiring masks and vaccines as the school year launched, and two of whom asked the Board to reconsider its policy.

For more on this story, with a link to a video of the meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.