She worked with ‘grace and dignity’ for 41 years. Now MCSD exec. assistant is ready to retire
A lighthouse is on the Muscogee County School District’s logo as a symbol of its intent to be a beacon of education in Columbus. For those who know Karen Jones and her work, the consensus is clear: Nobody has represented that notion better than she has for the past 41 years.
But while a lighthouse helps ships avoid crashing into rocky shores by being a prominent feature on the landscape, Jones has made her positive impact in the background.
Jones, who plans to retire Nov. 30, started her MCSD career as a payroll specialist and a teacher certification specialist. She received promotions in the early 1990s, including her current role as executive assistant for the school board, and in 2012 she also become the superintendent’s executive assistant.
A half dozen former board members and retired superintendents, then each of the current nine board members and superintendent, took turns praising and thanking Jones during this month’s board meeting. The comments from superintendent David Lewis and board chairwoman Pat Hugley Green summed up the sentiments.
“I could not think about doing this job without your guidance every day,” Lewis told Jones. Then, to everyone else in the room, he added, “And she does it in such a gentle way.”
For example, the superintendent said, when Jones would interject, “Have you thought about …?” or “You might want to consider …,” what she really meant was, “Don’t do that.”
“She’s so pleasant when she says that,” Lewis said, “with such grace and dignity.”
Since she received Jones’ retirement letter, Green said, “I’ve been in panic mode. … We are truly grateful for every single thing, every single phone call, every single word of advice, every single snatch-me-off-the-edge that you’ve done over the years. And you do that so gracefully with everybody.”
Even with upset parents, Green noted.
“You just don’t even break a sweat,” she said. “It’s quite remarkable. We can learn so much from your kind of patience and gentility. … We thank you, Karen. We love you tremendously for everything.”
In an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Jones said, “It’s been a delightful career.”
Asked why she’s retiring now, she said, “I’m just at a point in my life I feel like I’ve done all I can do (for MCSD). It’s time to explore other things, just traveling, just enjoying, sitting on the patio, reading a book or working in my yard. I’m just looking forward to that.”
Rising above racism
Jones grew up in Chattahoochee County, where her parents, Mattie and Prince Jones, taught her to rise above racism.
She started elementary school in Cusseta during a time of “heightened racial tension,” she said. “My dad was very involved in the NAACP, so he used me and my sister (Cheryl) as examples.”
They went to a previously whites-only school. When more integration followed, an arsonist burned down the school, Jones said.
She finished elementary and middle school in Buena Vista. ChattCo didn’t have a high school then, so she was bused to Columbus and graduated from Baker High School in 1976.
With a work-study scholarship, Jones earned a secretarial science diploma in 1977 from Columbus Area Vocational-Technical School, now called Columbus Technical College. Perry Gordy, the school’s director then, gave Jones her first job in the office. She took a Trailways bus from Cusseta to Columbus each workday until she saved enough money to buy a car.
In 1980, Joan Gallops hired her as a clerk in MCSD’s payroll department. After a series of promotions, Jones was among the few Black members of the district’s leadership team, appreciating the mentoring she received from then-assistant superintendent Eddie Lindsey.
“When I first got the position, of course there were some naysayers, that I was just a token,” she said. “But I’m so thankful that I proved that a token lasted 41 years — and hopefully set an example for others.”
Jones admitted she was “a little afraid” doing double duty as executive assistant to the board and the superintendent, but she embraced the challenge.
“I knew I had to get it together, balance things and get the job done,” she said.
Lessons learned
Being on the inside of the district’s decision-making, Jones wants folks to know that the central office leaders “have a passion and a love for children, for education. The majority, they’re in it for a service.”
Jones hopes her successors understand that being on the leadership team shouldn’t be about power. Instead, she said, it’s “an opportunity to lead, to set an example, to come in humble, to have humility and know that you are serving.”
Her faith — and simply her grit to “suck it up,” she said — has helped her rise above the low blows of racism. Growing up amid racial strife strengthened her resolve as an adult, Jones said, “to do what’s right in the eyes of God and to do right by people, whether they live in Green Island or they live in Wilson Homes.”
That considerate approach gets tested when she answers the phone and an irate parent is on the line.
“I want to help that person reason, be rational and let’s get this solved,” she said. “… Some overreact, but you’ve got to see beyond that and help the individual.”
The highlight of her career came in 2009, Jones said, when MCSD moved its headquarters from a dilapidated building behind the Columbus Museum to the state-of-the-art Muscogee County Public Education Center on Macon Road
Although critics nicknamed the $25 million project the Taj Mahal, Jones contends it was crucial to consolidate most of the administration’s offices into one facility fitting the value of its mission.
“We don’t have to send them all over the city to get help,” she said. “… It was a lot of money, but it’s also worth it. This shows in Columbus, Georgia, how important education is to us.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
