Students and parents urge Columbia County School Board to keep popular teachers amid reassignments

At a Columbia County Schools board meeting, students and parents urged the board to consider the personal impact of personnel changes and to keep teachers who provide stability to vulnerable students.

Jacob Wilson, a seventh grader at Lake City Middle School, told the board that teachers mean more than qualifications on paper. “A great teacher is someone who makes students feel seen, supported, and capable of accomplishing things they never thought they could do,” he said, asking the board to “look beyond paperwork.”

Kristen West, speaking on behalf of her son and five other special‑needs students, said the children ‘‘rely on stability, routine, and adults who understand their communication needs.’’ West said the students had been with ‘‘Mr. Kashar Thomas RSG’’ (also referred to in her remarks as “Mr. Cash”) for two years and asked the board to allow him to continue with the students in seventh grade, and ideally eighth, to avoid regression.

Another student, Jasper Henson of Lake City Middle School, urged the board to retain guitar teacher Miss Ellis, saying she had changed students’ lives and that losing her would be a shame.

Later in the meeting, parent Mickey Garrett criticized the state Legislature’s funding choices and urged the board to prioritize frontline staff — including cafeteria workers, bus drivers, janitors, paraprofessionals and teachers — when district budget decisions are made.

The board heard these public comments during the open‑comment period. The board then moved and approved the personnel items on the agenda by voice vote with no recorded roll‑call; the motion carried and the personnel items were approved. The meeting record shows no immediate reversal or specific commitment to the individual personnel requests made by speakers during public comment.

Why it matters: Parents and students said several classroom placements and teacher assignments affect day‑to‑day learning and the well‑being of students with special needs. Board members later described the district’s personnel process to the public, noting certification, vacancies and teacher surveys were used in staffing decisions and that the district prioritized keeping employees on staff while meeting Title I requirements.

What’s next: The personnel items approved at the meeting stand as adopted by voice vote; parents and students who sought individual exceptions or reassignments were advised to seek further one‑on‑one follow up with district staff or board members.