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Doug Westmoreland speaks at the Farm Bureau political forum.
Doug Westmoreland, current chairperson of the Habersham County Board of Education representing District 1, is seeking his third term on the board and met with a challenge this year from Brett Barden.
Westmoreland said he is running for reelection because he has devoted most of his life to education in the community and wants to continue to do so. “I’ve spent almost 40 plus years right here in Habersham County in education,” he said.
Westmoreland spent 28 years teaching in the county, 25 years as a coach, and served as assistant principal at Ninth Grade Academy and principal at Habersham Success Academy.
“My whole career, my whole life has been centered around education in this one county, and I knew when I retired in 2015, this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to give back to my community,” he said.
He noted that the job of the board is not to micromanage. “I felt like I could be an advocate for teachers, coaches and administrators,” he said.
He’s proud of what the board has accomplished during his two terms, and wants to see certain projects through.
He said this includes upcoming accreditations, new additions to Clarkesville Elementary School along with improvements to athletic fields. He also wants to see test scores and graduation rates continue to increase and ramp up agriculture, arts and band programs.
He also looks toward the future with the expansion coming along Highway 365 and growth in the south end of the county. “In about three, four more years, all our bonds will be paid off, and we’re going to be totally debt free so we can build another school if we need to,” he said.
“I want to be a good steward of our taxpayers’ money. The eight years that I have been on the board, we have rolled the millage rate back every year,” he said.
“I want to do this as long as people elect me. This is my niche.”