(Georgia Recorder) – Fred “Bubba” Longgrear has big goals for Georgia’s public schools. Longgrear is president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, and he’s running as a Republican for state school superintendent.
In a phone interview, Longgrear said his top priorities include helping local districts deal with student discipline, boosting elementary school literacy rates and increasing the emphasis on career and technical school opportunities for graduating high schoolers in addition to promoting college attendance.
He said he’s the best candidate in the five-person race in part because of his 30-year education background and ability to work with others.
“I think the biggest thing is accessibility, relationships and being willing to listen to stakeholders, be it superintendents, teachers, students or families and find out what the biggest challenges are and let’s all pull in the same direction to accomplish the goals,” he said.
Early voting is already underway ahead of Election Day on May 19, and Longgrear has the endorsement of big Republican names in the world of Georgia education policy.
His list of endorsees includes House Speaker Jon Burns, Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte, Senate Education Chairman Sen. Billy Hickman, House Education Chair Rep. Chris Erwin and Senate Higher Education Chairman Sen. Max Burns.
“Georgia deserves a State Superintendent who shows up to advocate for education and delivers on promises,” Burns said in a statement.
Longgrear said he was grateful for the endorsements, which he chalks up to putting in facetime at the Capitol to advocate for local districts.
“Things get done through strong relationships,” he said. “And I feel like as a constitutional officer, you need to make yourself available to all leaders throughout the state to advocate for and ensure that we’re doing everything we can in public education to provide the best service to our families and students.”
High-ranking legislators endorsing a candidate from their own party would not be unusual except for the fact that the Republican incumbent, State Superintendent Richard Woods, is also in the race.
Woods has been Georgia’s superintendent since 2015, following three decades working in public education. On the campaign trail, he has touted his record, including eliminating the Common Core standards from school curricula, boosting school safety budgets and increasing graduation rates.
In response to an interview request, Woods’ campaign sent the following statement attributed to an unnamed spokesperson:
“Richard is focused on meeting with and earning the votes of Georgians. In the last two elections, Richard was honored to receive more votes than any other statewide official, which is a testament to his track record and the faith that voters have in his experience and vision for our state. On Primary election night, results will show who Georgians endorse to keep education, moving forward in our state — that endorsement is the one that matters the most.”
It’s not just lawmakers seemingly ready for a change.
Even an influential evangelical conservative political group, Frontline Policy Action, sent out a note to supporters saying it would support nearly any other Republican candidate other than Woods.
“I firmly believe that the Superintendent is a good man and an ally… whose understanding of the times we live in has passed,” Cole Muzio, president of the group, wrote, citing parental rights, what he characterized as obscene materials in school libraries and low literacy rates.
In a phone interview, candidate Randall Trammell, founder of the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, an education nonprofit, said he’s worked in education for more than 20 years and has three children in public elementary schools. He said he was inspired to run in large part as a reaction to Georgia’s low elementary literacy scores.
Trammell offered praise for Georgia’s new literacy overhaul bill, saying he hopes it will be as effective as a recent childhood literacy push in Mississippi, but he said it shouldn’t have been lawmakers’ responsibility.
“I’m glad that the Legislature did that, but they only did that because there was no leadership from the Department of Education,” he said. “The difference between Mississippi and Georgia is their state school superintendent was leading the charge. In Georgia, we just got a bunch of crickets when it came to that.”
Trammel said his top priorities if elected will include improving literacy levels, prioritizing graduates’ readiness for college and careers, and incentivizing teacher retention, including by expanding the pay scale so that teachers can continue to receive raises past 21 years of service.
Former state Rep. Mesha Mainor served as a Democrat but switched parties after intense disagreements over school vouchers. She then lost her bid for reelection running in a deep blue Atlanta House district.
In a phone call, Mainor said her priorities if elected will include emphasizing fiscal accountability, student success and safety.
Mainor said she was proud to receive the endorsement of the Georgia Republican Assembly, a conservative group whose goal is to move the official Georgia Republican Party further right. But she also said she’s the Republican candidate who is best positioned to draw Democratic support in November, which could make the difference in a tight race.
“I had a lady yesterday come up to me and give me a donation,” Mainor said. “She said she’s a Democrat, she’s not going to pull a Republican ticket, but she hopes that I win the primary, because even though she’s a Democrat, she wants to vote for me in November.”
Business owner Nelva Lee will also appear on Republican ballots on May 19.
The winner of the GOP primary will go on to face the Democratic nominee in November.
Hancock County School Superintendent Anton Anthony, educator Lydia Powell and past president of the National PTA Otha Thornton are competing to be the Democratic nominee.
