Muscogee County School Board member Mike Edmondson dies
Mike Edmondson, the District 2 representative on the Muscogee County School Board, has died.
He had been battling cancer and was receiving care at Columbus Hospice when he died Wednesday at 66.
Board chairwoman Pat Hugley Green confirmed the news to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Edmondson taught Advanced Placement chemistry and physics in MCSD for 33 years, with stints at Spencer, Hardaway and Northside high schools. His awards include 1990 Muscogee County Teacher of the Year, Georgia Secondary Schools Science Teacher of the Year and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics.
In 2017, he tried raising money to buy the historic but dilapidated Bibb Elementary School from the MCSD board to establish an “iSTEAM center” for science and arts education. But he couldn’t raise the necessary money before Georgia state rep. Earl Davis bought the property to convert the building into apartments.
Edmondson won the 2018 runoff against Bart Steed for the District 2 seat.
“On behalf of our nine member board we express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the friends and relatives of Dr. Michael Edmondson,” Green told the L-E in an email. “His daily service and leadership on the Muscogee County Board of Education was admirable and valued.”
Green appreciated Edmondson’s perspective as a former teacher and noted his experience helped shape board decisions.
“His passion for education and learning is evident in every endeavor he pursued,” she said. “He was a tireless advocate for teachers and their professional development, all with a focus on students and their success. His impact as an educational leader will be lasting.”
MCSD superintendent David Lewis said in a news release, “Our school district family and community is truly saddened by the passing of master teacher and board of education member, Dr. Mike Edmondson. We pause to reflect and celebrate his personal and professional legacy.
“His life served as a testament to us with an unwavering commitment to educating generations of Muscogee County School District students. . . . He was highly respected by students, parents and colleagues alike and will be greatly missed.”
Marquette McKnight, director of the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, which conducts the MCSD Teacher of the Year Program, told the L-E that Edmondson “at his very core was an exceptional teacher, a passionate advocate for teachers and a dedicated MCSD school board member who loved the district and its people. He leaves a great legacy for his students, fellow teachers and board members.”
Edmondson served for several years on the Teacher of the Year selection committee. Despite being a superior teacher, he didn’t have a superior attitude, McKnight said.
“He was always bending over to express his awe and amazement at the elementary first-grade teacher who taught reading,” she said. “… He had a real respect and admiration for the profession, no matter what it was you taught.”
As the news of Edmondson’s death spread, McKnight heard from former students — some who became teachers and were mentored by him — mourn the personal, professional and communal loss.
“Mike’s the teacher that you remember, that made that impact on your life,” she said. “Other teachers are feeling that now.”
Retired teacher and nurse Jennifer Fletcher, a friend of Edmondson for 41 years, described him as “one of the most genuinely good people I have ever known.”
“He did not have a malicious bone in his body,” she said. “He would help anybody with anything at any time. He did not care whether you made a million dollars a year or whether you were homeless under a bridge. He truly cared about people. He was good to the core.”
His care and goodness were evident in the way he taught and treated his students.
“We had so many conversations about his goals as a teacher for his students and what he wanted them to remember,” Fletcher said. “One of those things was to never, ever, ever, ever give up. He was concerned about their mental and emotional health as much as them learning the material.”
For example, Fletcher said, Edmondson often provided students with resources for mental health or substance abuse services when they weren’t getting the proper support at home.
“If you needed him,” she said, “you could come to him. He always, always had their back. He would keep private what he could keep private, but he was a real team player with the parents about his students.”
Edmondson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three months ago. A scan following a medical procedure to break up a kidney stone revealed the disease, Fletcher said.
Born in LaGrange, he was 11 when his family moved to Columbus. His parents, Mattie Ruth Hurley Edmondson and Herman Edmondson, worked in a cotton mill.
Edmondson graduated from Hardaway High School. He earned his teaching degree at Columbus State University and his doctorate in chemistry from Auburn University.
Attendance for the memorial service and interment of Edmondson’s ashes will be private, Fletcher said. But the service will be livestreamed Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. on the website StThomasColumbus.org.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 1:13 PM.
