SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 2: Garrett wants to give back

   Ernie Garrett spent most of his career in the Habersham County School system, and wants to win a seat on the school board to give back to his community.

   Garrett is a lifelong resident of Habersham County and retired from Habersham Schools in 2023 after 19 years in the system where he was a teacher, an assistant principal, and eventually a principal at Habersham Success Academy. He also worked at North Georgia Technical College.

   “I’m glad that I was able to retire, but I still want to be able to give back,” he said, adding that his passion is helping kids and teachers.

   If elected to the school board, he wants to see more openness and transparency. “A lot of times I think things are voted on and nobody even understands why or how it came to be,” he said. “I think we need to be more responsible to taxpayers. I think teachers and parents need an advocate. I think sometimes the board we have now kind of forgets that the taxpayers and the parents and the students are the ones they’re working for.”

   Garrett said he believes school choice for parents is important. “There’s a lot of things I think we can improve upon, myself included,” he said. “I’ve always got something, some goal I’m trying to work on.”