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Liberty County board says Fort Stewart meeting started tensely; members call for shared data and follow-up visits
Summary
Board members described a tense meeting with Fort Stewart leaders about school climate and test scores, raised concerns about unfair comparisons to Bryan County and planned follow-up sessions and data sharing.
Members of the Liberty County School Board said a meeting with Fort Stewart leaders last week began with a tense exchange over school performance data but ended with agreement to continue conversations and share information.
Board members said the meeting with Brigadier General Nori and Colonel Austin, held at Fort Stewart, included military leaders and local stakeholders. Several board members said they felt “blindsided” when Fort Stewart staff presented comparative data that drew direct comparisons between Liberty County and Bryan County; board members said socioeconomic differences between the counties made that comparison misleading.
“I'm not sure where they got some of this data from,” a board member said during the announcements portion of the Feb. 19 meeting. Another board member said the tone at the start of the session “felt rough” but that the discussion concluded with mutual agreement to keep working together.
Board members said they will provide the Fort Stewart team with the district’s data and asked Fort Stewart to visit district schools so both sides can examine the same information. Several members emphasized the district’s commitment to military students and noted that student mobility and higher poverty rates in parts of Liberty County complicate direct comparisons with neighboring districts.
The board cited a site visit to Louis Fraser (transcript spelling) Elementary School as an example of district efforts to address performance gaps. Board members praised the school’s principal and staff for targeted interventions and said they expect to share progress in subsequent meetings.
No formal action or vote related to the Fort Stewart meeting was recorded during the Feb. 19 session. Board members said staff will compile and distribute the data presented by Fort Stewart and arrange follow-up meetings with military and county stakeholders.
Board members also asked staff to provide training and to review the governance handbook and reimbursement rules for travel and meeting-related expenses; those follow-ups were described as administrative directions rather than formal board actions.
Looking ahead, board members said they will continue outreach to Fort Stewart and other partners and will return updates at future board meetings.
