Clayton County school board elects Benjamin Straker chair, approves SPLOST 8 referendum and land-bank tax extinguishment

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Clayton County Board of Education on Jan. 13 elected Benjamin Straker as board chair and Mary Baker as vice chair, voted to place a proposed SPLOST 8 sales-tax referendum before voters and approved a request from the Clayton County Land Bank Authority to extinguish taxes on a Forest Park property intended for affordable housing for teachers and public servants.

The board elected Benjamin Straker to serve as chair after a board nominating and roll-call vote. Board member Jessie Goree nominated Straker; six members cast votes for him. Mary Baker was elected vice chair in a separate vote, 5–4, after nominations from the floor.

The board moved quickly through several personnel and administrative items. Superintendent Anthony W. Smith’s recommendations to appoint Dr. Jurita Barriere as principal of Lake Ridge Elementary School and Keith Evans as assistant principal at Eddie White Middle School Academy were approved unanimously. The board also approved a series of routine items, including easements and an employee hearing tribunal recommendation, and accepted financial reports and budget amendments included on the consent agenda.

Why it matters: The SPLOST 8 referendum would ask voters to reimpose a 1% education sales and use tax and authorize the issuance of general-obligation bonds tied to that revenue. The district’s presentation said the proposed referendum would call a special election for March 18, 2025, with a maximum project and bond amount of $495 million. The sales tax is proposed for a five-year period; the related bond issuance was described as having a term of up to 25 years with an interest rate “not to exceed 6%,” according to district staff.

On the SPLOST question, board members discussed how the sales tax and the proposed bond interact with property-tax policy. A district staff member explained that House Bill 581 (mentioned during the meeting) is a floating homestead exemption linked to inflation that affects the maintenance-and-operations property-tax digest; staff noted HB 581 would not directly affect the SPLOST sales tax. After discussion, the board voted to place the SPLOST 8 referendum on the March ballot. The motion carried with five votes in favor and three abstentions; there were no recorded “no” votes on the floor.

The board approved a request from the Clayton County Land Bank Authority to extinguish taxes for a parcel in the city of Forest Park. District staff presented the Land Bank’s proposal and said the property would be redeveloped to produce affordable housing and economic development targeted at teachers and other public servants. The motion to approve the tax extinguishment passed unanimously.

The board also approved a motion permitting MD Roberts to name the black-box theater at K Pace Elementary after Dr. Donna Jacks. That measure passed unanimously.

Academic data and board follow-up Dr. Keith Colbert, a district staff presenter, summarized the district’s College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) results and four-year trend data across content mastery, progress, closing-the-gap measures and readiness. He told the board that the district showed improvement in many schools but remains below state averages in several categories. Dr. Colbert said the district is “working very diligently with our schools to put practices and supports in place to accelerate our growth,” and noted, “We recognize that 1.1%, 2% improvement would not accelerate that gap closure between us and the state.” He asked board members to participate in smaller “3 on 3” meetings for deeper analysis of the CCRPI calculations and school-level plans.

Several board members asked for clearer definitions and examples during future briefings — for example, how the CCRPI categories (content mastery, progress and closing-the-gap) map to proficiency and to classroom instruction. The board chair and members emphasized that the district should present school-level dashboards and that the small-group briefings should occur soon to inform the district’s strategic-planning work.

Public comment and recognitions During the public-participation period, Cheyenne Jackson, a district graduate and employee, urged the board to strengthen responses to workplace abuse complaints and to ensure that principals, equity and compliance staff, and central office investigations fully examine reported incidents. Jackson said employees who feel abused at work have difficulty performing and urged the district to take complaints “a little bit more in-depth.”

The meeting also included multiple recognitions — theater and sports achievements, an art award and the district’s partnership accomplishments tied to the Generate grant program — but those were presented as ceremonial items and did not result in policy or funding actions.

Financial items and grants The district presented its financial report as of Nov. 30, 2024: a general-fund revenue budget of $707,468,341 with $158,718,399 collected to date (22.4% of budget) and year-to-date expenditures of $216,774,064 (30.6%), leaving an end fund balance of about $138 million; staff noted additional tax collections received in November would appear on the next report. The board also approved multiple budget amendments to recognize and appropriate grant and donation funds, including: - Generate grant (Mercer University / U.S. Department of Education): $9,600,000 (district staff said this funds MAT and leadership cohorts and supports tuition and stipends); - Georgia Power/Foundation award (general fund grant): $727,500; - Pre-K classroom refurbishments (Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning): $420,000; - Miscellaneous donations and carryover amounts (individual amounts ranged from $3,000 to roughly $79,118.11 for various programs); and - A noted Central Georgia EMC donation of $6,300 for superintendent initiatives.

Other actions The board approved superintendent-recommended easements and other routine contracting and purchasing items that had been provided in the meeting packet. A report on SPLOST construction projects was given by district capital staff, who confirmed the North Clayton High School guaranteed maximum price and other planning items were in progress. The board asked for the SPLOST referendum language and intergovernmental agreements for election services to be included as part of the public materials for the March special election.

Votes at a glance - Election of board chair: Benjamin Straker — approved (6 yes, outcome: elected). - Election of vice chair: Mary Baker — approved (5 yes, 4 no, outcome: elected). - Appointment: Dr. Jurita Barriere, principal, Lake Ridge Elementary — approved (unanimous). - Appointment: Keith Evans, assistant principal, Eddie White Middle School Academy — approved (unanimous). - Easement approvals (superintendent recommendations) — approved (unanimous). - Employee hearing tribunal 2024-2025-04 recommendation — approved (unanimous). - Consent agenda (financial report, purchasing, personnel changes, capital reports, many grant amendments) — approved (unanimous; SPLOST 8 pulled for separate vote). - SPLOST 8 referendum (motion to place proposed 1% sales-and-use tax and up to $495M bond on March 18, 2025 ballot) — approved to place on ballot (5 yes, 3 abstain). - Clayton County Land Bank Authority request for extinguishment of taxes — approved (unanimous). - Naming of black-box theater at K Pace Elementary for Dr. Donna Jacks — approved (unanimous).

What’s next The board set a March 18, 2025 special election date for the SPLOST 8 referendum and asked administration to provide clearer, school-level data and follow-up briefings ahead of strategic-planning work. District staff asked board members to participate in small-group 3-on-3 meetings to review CCRPI data in depth before taking further policy steps. The board adjourned after routine announcements; the next board work session and subsequent votes will determine implementation steps for the items approved on Jan. 13.

(Reported from the Clayton County Board of Education meeting, Jan. 13, 2025.)