Muscogee County School Board member to conduct quarterly public forums

Kia Chambers, the nine-member Muscogee County School Board's lone citywide representative, announced Monday she will conduct quarterly public forums.

The first "Connect with Kia" event will be 6-7 p.m. Wednesday in the Synovus/CB&T Meeting Room at the Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road.

Among the topics she plans to address is the procedure for former students to petition for a high school diploma under House Bill 91, a retroactive law that eliminated the Georgia High School Graduation Test, the Georgia High School Writing Test and the Basic Skills Test.

"I was elected to represent all Muscogee County citizens on the school board, so I want to hear from the citizens," Chambers said in a news release. "I want to make sure I am aware of their concerns, and I want to make sure they are aware what our school district is doing to give our students the best education possible."

During last year's local elections, NeighborWorks Columbus president Cathy Williams didn't run for a third term as the school board's at-large representative. Chambers, a real estate company owner and former teacher, became the first black candidate to win the seat. In a three-way race May 20, she collected 52.55 percent (12,306) of the votes. Owen Ditchfield, a retired educator and former District 7 representative, finished second with 30.70 percent (7,189), and former NAACP Columbus chapter president and retired soldier Nate Sanderson finished third with 16.57 percent (3,880).

For more information, contact Chambers at 706-681-2034 or kiaforschoolboard@gmail.com.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 10:01 AM with the headline "Muscogee County School Board member to conduct quarterly public forums."