Williamson Addresses MCBOE Proposed Building Dedications

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Citizen Allen Williamson spoke to the Montgomery County Board of Education during its Tuesday, August 20, meeting about a proposal to name school district buildings after former employees.

Last month, the Board suggested naming three facilities after three longtime Montgomery County employees – Harold Quarterman, Sr., Coach John Peacock, and Patricia Dobbins. Upon introducing this idea, the Board made the decision to defer a vote on the proposal for at least 30 days to allow the public to have input on the dedications.

Williamson stated that he felt that naming buildings after others is not a bad thing, but is not appropriate at the current time. “I think that’s a positive thing, but not positive right now. There is an expense of signage and time and effort in these things, and I don’t know why all of the sudden in 2024 we decided to name buildings after people. My hang up with it as a citizen and taxpayer is that there are needs that our children have here at the schools that aren’t being met, but we are going to spend money for signage to put up at a field house that is less than desirable,” he emphasized.

He continued, noting that because of the condition of the field house – which is proposed to be named after Coach John Peacock – he would not want to name the facility in anyone’s honor. “It’s really not worthy of being named after anyone,” Williamson said.

The citizen also explained that putting someone’s name on a building might cause issues down the road. “There is a legend in our community surrounding Coach [John] Peacock. He did a lot of things – he owns the greatest percentage of wins in his tenure here – but every coach that comes here is unfairly compared to him. There probably will never be another John Peacock. That’s just the environment that we are in – no coach is going to work anywhere for that period of time,” he remarked.

Williamson then asked the Board what would happen when other great coaches came along and made history at the school, or what would happen if alumni wanted to come back and invest in the facilities. “Would we take one name off of it and put up another?” he asked. “Would we just bulldoze the dedicated facilities?”

He added, “We are raising money constantly for things that I feel like are [the school system’s] responsibility. We have things at the schools that are unfunded constantly, but we want to spend money to name a building after someone that poses no benefit for our kids? I just can’t get behind it,” he concluded.

Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Ronda Hightower told the Board that Quarterman had been removed as a potential candidate for a building to be named after because of the input from the public, but that this statement was the first time within the period that someone had spoken up about Peacock or Dobbins. The Board agreed to table the decision, and to think more on it before voting.

In addition to this, Montgomery County High School freshman Hazel Wydra was recognized during the meeting for earning a perfect score on her end of the year 8th Grade Physical Science Georgia Milestone Assessment this spring. “That is almost unheard of! We are so proud of Hazel and her brilliance,” Superintendent Hightower commented.

Hightower also spoke of the accomplishment of Montgomery County High School junior Evan Hardeman, who has been named a national finalist in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Specialty Animal Production Proficiency competition. Hardeman is among the top four competitors in the nation, and will be recognized and compete in the finals at the FFA National Convention in October.

Robin Crumpler was hired as a Montgomery County Middle School Teacher, Mark McDaniel was hired as a substitute teacher, and the FY25 Salary Schedule was approved as presented.

During the superintendent’s report, Hightower informed the Board that music appreciation classes have been incorporated into the middle school connections classes, and that health classes are also being intertwined with P.E. classes. She said that 67 high school students are taking advantage of the classes offered at the Southeastern Early College and Career Academy, and that 42 high school students are taking college classes through dual enrollment.

Hightower shared that all of the district’s pre-k classes are now full, and that the district improvement plan is moving forward in preparing for its next steps. The Board’s next work session will be at 5:30 p.m. on September 10, and the next meeting will be at 6 p.m. on September 17.

PERFECT SCORE – Hazel Wydra (right) was recognized by the Board of Education for her perfect score on the Physical Science Georgia Milestones Assessment. She was presented with a gift by Chairman Henry Price (left) to commemorate the occasion.Photo by Makaylee Randolph