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Brett Barden speaks at the Farm Bureau political forum.
Habersham County native Brett Barden said he is “a big believer in lifelong learning,” and thinks that, combined with his business and engineering background, will make him a good fit for the board of education.
Barden graduated as valedictorian from Habersham Central in 2007 and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech, a master’s in business administration from Piedmont University, and is currently working on an associate’s degree in computer science at Lanier Technical College.
He currently works as an engineering manager for Ethicon manufacturing plants in Cornelia and Athens. “Efficient use of funds is part of what I do everyday, and I think that also lends itself to the board of education,” he said.
He loves his community and is a member of the leadership council at Cornelia United Methodist Church, a prospective member of Cornelia Rotary Club and involved in United Way through his work.
“Running for Habersham Board of Education has been a long term goal of mine,” Barden said.
“I think we should strive for excellence in academics and extracurriculars to prepare the young people to be leaders in the community. I think we need to empower and reward our frontline folk in the school system, meaning teachers and counselors, and of course we need to do that with the taxpayer in mind.”
He added that he wants to see more transparency in school board meetings. “It feels like the board meetings are sort of a dog and pony show to hand out attendance trophies. It really should be a place to discuss issues and decisions more openly,” he said. “But overall, I just think it’s healthy for executive committees to have occasional turnover, only to bring fresh perspectives.”
He also wants students to see more opportunities with two-year degrees and technical schools. “I would be an advocate for that more technical skills based curriculum, which I think we need more in our country, and I think it would serve our area well.”