This is your State board of Education, 1965

THIS IS
YOUR
STATE BOARD of EDUCATION

STATE BOARD OF EDUCALION

..
Dr. Claude Purcell, State Superintendent of Schools and Executive Secretary to the Board -- Atlanta Phone:

/
688-2390 Ext. 322

1st District

Honorable J. Brantley Johnson, Statesboro

Term Expires: January, 1967 -- Phone: 764-5555 (Res.), 764-5491 (Office)

2nd District

Honorable Robert Byrd Wright, Moultrie, Vice-Chairman

Term Expires: January, 1969 -- Phone: 985-2003 (Res.), 985-3796 (Office)

3rd District

Honorable Thomas Nesbitt, Jr., Cordele

Term Expires: January, 1969 -- Phone: 273-1925 (Res.), 273-4244 (Office)

4th District _ Honorable Donald E. Payton, 608 Decatur Federal Bldg, Decatur Term Expires: January, 1971 -- Phone: 451-2638 (Res.), 378-2541 (Office)

5th District ~ ~onorable David F. Rice, 1175 W. Conway Rd., N. W., Atlanta Term Expires: January, 1969 -- Phone: 233 -4981

6th District

Honorable James S. Peters, Manchester, Chairman

Term Expires: January, 1971 -- Phone: 846-2113 (Res.) 846-2477 (Office)

7th District

Honorable Henry A. Stewart, Sr., C e dar tow n

Term Expires: January, 1969 -- Phone: 748-1328 (Res.), 748-2330 (Office)

8th District

Honorable Lonnie E. Sweat, Blackshear

Term Expires: January, 1967 -- Phone: 449-5365 (Res.), 449-3821 (Office)

9th District

Honorable Cliff C. Kimsey, Jr., Cornelia

Term Expires: January, 1971 -- Phone: 778-4828 (Res.), 778-2264 (Office)

10th District

Honorable William L. Preston, M 0 n roe

Term Expires: January, 1971 -- Phone: 267-3041 (Res.), 267-2503 (Office)

one from each Congressional district
This Is Your State Board Of Education
The Georgia State Board of Education has 10 members. There is one from each Congressional district.
A member of the Board is appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the Senate. A full term is seven years. Some members are appointed to fill the unexpired term of a member who has resigned or died.
The full Board meets on the third Wednesday of each month, at 10 a. m., in the Board Room of the State Department of Education. Here around a big table, in a room with pale green walls, a dark green carpet on the floor, and yellow leather chairs, they set policies for pUblic education in Georgia, hear appeals from local school systems, and transact other business that concerns Georgia schools. This meeting is open to press and public. You are welcome at any time.
The State Superintendent of Schools, who is the chief administrator of the nation's 12th largest school system, is executive secretary of the Board.
The Board elects its own chairman and vice-chairman annually, usually in December. The members are paid $20 a day when they attend meetings, plus travel and subsistence expenses for this time. Their position is one of public service.
1

Your State Board of Education members put the school laws into action and give meaning to regulations. The members who make up the State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Schools are people you should know.
Who are they? What are they like? What is their background? Who represents your Congressional District on the Board of Education?
In this booklet is a brief biography of each Board member and the State Superintendent of Schools. This information is designed to help you know these people better.
If you have any further questions, please write the Office of Information, State Department of Education, 244 - A State Office Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30334.

friend of FDR

The H~~?ra-ble James Solomon Peters ,Of Manchester .Represents The Sixth District

Chairman

"Mister Jim" Peters has been a member of the Board since 1949. He has been Chairman since February 9; 1959. He was first appointed by Gov. Herman Talmadge on January 31, 1949. A close friend of the governor's father, the
late Gov. Eugene Talmadge, he was also a confidant of the son, now U. s.
Senator. Reappointed repeatedly, his latest appointment was for another seven
year term by Gov. Carl Sanders, in 1964. He was the first State Board Member to have taken the oath of office four times. He was formerly on the Board of Regents.
He is a banker, and a past president of the Georgia Independent Bankers' Association. He organized his own bank more than half a century ago in Manchester, near Warm Springs, once the part-time home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He also owns a telephone company. Mr. Peters recalls the day that Al Smith called Roosevelt to ask him to run for governor of New York -- and started FDR on his way to the White House. "We sent up to Dowdell's Knob on the mountain to tell him. He was having a road built up there. He never did come. That night he spoke to the Kiwanis Club in Manchester, and went from there to the PTA. About 11 o'clock that night, he stopped by the drugstore and talked with Smith. We heard him say, 'I'll have to talk this over with Eleanor.' But they had already gotten her consent. So he promised to give them his answer the next morning." And that was the start of his journey toward the ~idency. FDR used to stop his little car and call Mr. Jim out. They would sit there for an hour or so talking. "Mostly, I just listened to him while he talked," Mr. Peters remembers. "President Roosevelt liked steak and ice cream sodas. The last afternoon he was alive, I looked out the window of my bank and saw him pass by, driving his little hand car. He had just returned from Yalta, and death was in his face. He stopped by the drugstore and had an ice cream soda -- and that was the last time I saw my friend and neighbor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt," he recalls. Mr. Peters was born in Berrien County, where his father was a fireman. He started to school when the term was only three months. He was once a school teacher. He

3

started educating himself by reading the Valdosta Times. His extensive reading

now includes the London Times. He has traveled all.over the world, seeing how

different countries educate their children. He has two children and three grand~

children. Hi& son is a doctor in Lakeland, Georgia. His daughter lives in

Manchester.

He got interested in politics early. He served for 10 years as chairman of

the state Democratic Executive Committee.

Mr. Peters has crusaded for consolidation of schools. (Georgia once had

8,447; now has 1,942) "We pay 46 superintendents in 52 little counties who

supervise as many teachers and pupils as TWO superintendents in DeKalb

County," he says. When grown-ups complain to him that "moving the school

would ruin our community." he replies that the school is not run for the com-

munity but for the children. A newspaper report said, "He has been 10 years

ahead of statewide thinking on this."

His hobbies are watching trains and rambling over old Civil War battle-

grounds. His memory is phenomenal. He remembers people, places, names,

dates, happenings. A former employee commented, "Mister Jim has a darn

convenient memory. Hl~ remembers what he wants to remember, and forgets

what he wants to forget."

He has been in education continuously since he himself started to school:

as pupil, teacher, member of his local' board, or member of the State Board.

He has also served in the legislature.

.

Emory University conferred upon him in 1964 the honorary degree of

Doctor of Laws. Said President Sanford Atwood, "Your alma mater cites you

for educational statesmanship. Every citizen can be grateful for your broad

vision, your intelligent analysis, your logical decisions, and your firm leader-

ship in times when their absence could have led to confusion instead of progress.

You have made Georgia a better place to live and rear our children."

4

. 0 the theater's classic beauty became part of his handsome home

The Honora-ble Robert Byrd W right, Jr.

Of Moultrie

Represents The Second District

Vice-Chairm an

The vice~chairmanof the State Board of Education is a personable bachelor who owns one of Georgia's most beautiful and interesting homes. He is Robert Byrd Wright, Jr., of Moultrie. A school in Moultrie is named for his father.
He was first appointed to the Board in 1959. :eob Wright was born in Macon, but his family moved to Moultrie soon thereafter. He graduated from the high school at Moultrie, and then from the University of Georgia, with a BSC degree. He was a Phi Delta Theta. He served four years in the U. S. Navy on destroyers in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operations. He was a naval lieutenant when the war was over. He has served as a member of the official board of the First Methodist Church in Moultrie, and chairman of the Colquitt-Thomas County Regional Library Board. He is a member of Kiwanis, Elks, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also active in the Chamber of Commerce. The story of his house - a Georgia show place - is interesting. It was described in many newspaper articles and in the Journal - Constitution Sunday Magazine in 1962. Governor and Mrs. Carl Sanders were among the guests at the housewarming. The Magazine story said, "Two men stood on Peachtree Street in Atlanta and stared intently at the old Paramount Theater shortly before it was torn down. They admired the classic beauty of the building's ornate hand - carved limestone

facade, as they had many times before. One of the men was Robert Byrd Wright, . Jr.. . The other was his friend, W. Frank McCall, Jr., Moultrie architect. 'Do you think we can do anything with that second story?' asked Mr. Wright. looking above the gaudy marquee to the handsome windows and eight ornamental finials on top."
It became a part of the front of an Italian town house on Tallokas Road in Moultrie. Around it are formal gardens, with fountains and statues like Diana and Apollo. He got the idea for the gardens as he looked out of his Rome. Italy, hotel window one day. Inside are many treasures that Mr. Wright brought back from his many trips to Europe, especially to Italy. A friend described Mr. Wright as "a man with fine taste who has always loved old and beautiful things."
Among the treasures are two 200 - year old statues of French slave boys holding chateau garden ligQts that flank the entrance solid mahogany, handcarved doors from an old mansion in Cuba . gold -leaf carvings from Italy appliqued on inside doors . black marble from Italy . white marble from Georgia . English bronze and green damask on the walls in the foyer a Louis XV secretary . a 1783 Venetian sofa a Napoleonic Empire walnut chest .. antique chand.eliers .. and gold flatware. like in the White House. The morning room, overlooking the garden, has Chinese and English antiques, and a 200 -year old Chinese rug. On the wall is a portrait of Mr. Wright's brother, killed at 19 on D-Day at Normandy.
Mr. Wright, who enjoys his house and dispenses there a genuine hospitality that draws people as to a bright fire on a wintry night, nevertheless must be away from it often. He has many business interests: automobiles, finance, plastics, and others.
One of his great interests is education. He is chairman of the finance committee of the State Board of Education, and must be in AUanta on the second Wednesdays of each month to preside at this, and back again on the third Wednesdays for the Board's regular meeting. There are other Board meetings, too, called when important measures come up. And there are educational meetings in Georgia and outside of Georgia that Board members must attend to keep informed and alert so they can more wisely develop educational policies.
6

In Europe the red carpet for 12
Dr. Claude Purcell
State Superintendent Of Schools
Executive Secretary
Dr. Claude Purcell, Georgia's 14th chief state school officer, administers the 12th largest school system in the nation, and serves also as ex e cut i v e secretary of the State Board of Education.
He is a career man in education. He started teaching in a one-room school in the mountains of his native North Georgia (he was born in Banks county) and in 1958 was appointed to the top spot in the administration of public school
education in Georgia. He has been since elected 'by the people of Georgia for two four-year terms. He has been principal and local superintendent, and therefore, k now s s c h 00 1 problems from experience.
He is a graduate of Piedmont College and now serves on its board of trustees. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, from which he has a master's degree. He has more than one honorary doctorate, awarded for his achievements in education. He has taught courses in educational finance and administration at the University.
He is a Georgia director of the National Education Association. He has s e r v e d as national legislative chairman for the American Council of Chief State School Officers, and is often called to Washington to testify before Congressional committees devising legislation from which the schools of Georgia, and the entire nation, benefit. He testified in 1965 before the House Committee on the Johnson Education Bill.
Two years ago,hewasoneof12 American educators invited to Europe as guests of the West German government. The group was hospitably en t e r t a in e d, and vis it e d and evaluated the G e r man educational system in the West.
Two independent sou r c e s, viewing the national e d u cat ion a 1 :s~ne', rat e d Dr. Purcell as one of the four best state superintendents in the nat ion, and the Department of Education of G e 0 r g i a as one of the six top ranking ones.
7

A gigantic color photograph of the nation's chief state school officers, captioned ~~Education's Summit Conference," sent to 17,000 schools in the nation, showed the Georgia superintendent front and center, and had this caption: "THESE PEOPLE ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUR CLASSROOM WHO ARE THEY? . . . If you were to name the most important people in the nation, whom would you choose? You might want to list all the 57 pictured here. Few people will have a greater influence on the future of the nation. They are the top education officials for every state plus American Samoa, Canal Zone, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They met in New York to discuss such topics as federal aid to education, teachers' qualifications and the kinds of courses that should be taught. The decisions these people make will no doubt affect the lives of several future Presidents -- and all the rest of us too!"
Dr. Purcell's hobby is coin collecting. On his desk is a paper weight made of gold coins. He has been especially interested in the gold region around Dahlonega, where the nation's first gold rush occurred in 1829 - 20 years before the gold rush at Sutter's Creek in California.
Mrs. Jannelle Moorhead of Oregon, national PTA president, told the United Press, "I have served on many committees with Dr. Purcell. He is regarded as one of the outstanding school superintendents in the U. S. "
8

tt

dedicated to the proposition,"

the editor said

The Honorable J. Brantley Johnson
Of Statesboro
Represents The First District
J. Brantley Johnson is executive vice - president of the Bulloch County Bank at Statesboro. He is a native of Bulloch County, and according to Editor Leodel Coleman of the The Bulloch Herald - Times, Mr. Johnson is I 'dedicated to the proposition that Statesboro and Bulloch County as a place to live and rear one's children, is without equal in the nation."
The energetio banker haf? inv'ested'a great deal of time and energy in making his section a good place to live. He has been president of the Statesboro Rotary Club, president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, president of the Sallie Zetterower Elementary School PTA, and of the Statesboro High School PTA. He has served as a member of the board of trustees of the Statesboro Regional Library. (Georgia has more regional libraries than any state in the nation.) He has helped with the community campaigns for the Heart Association and the

9

Cancer Society. For ten years he was secretary and treasurer of the Forest Heights Country Club. He is an active Elk, Mason, and member of the American Legion.
He has served as chairman of the board of deacons of the First Baptist Church at Statesboro. He has been a member of the City Co~ncil of Statesboro, serving for two unopposed terms before he resigned in December 1964.
Mr. Johnson was born on November 16, 1920. His parents were Mrs. Nettie Barron Johnson and the late John Brantley Johnson. He went to school in Statesboro, and when he was in junior high school, won second place in the state in debating. He was elected president of his class in his senior year. He attended Georgia Southern College there for two years and then went to Atlanta where he completed a business course at Draughon's Business College.
He used his business education to become court reporter for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit, which included Bulloch, Effingham, Screven, and Jenkins counties. He was in the position when World War I I started, and he volunteered for service in the U. S. Marines. Entering as the traditional "buck private," he emerged as staff sergeant in this elite fighting force. He served at several posts in the United States and later in the Pacific Theater of War. He was one of the first to enter Tokyo after the signing of the treaty with Japan. He was in service four years.
When he got back home, his people elected him as their representative to the Georgia General Assembly. Then he went to Washington, D. C., as executive aide to the late Congressman Prince Preston who served his district for six years in Congress. Mr~ Johnson was elected president of the Congressional Executive Secretaries' Club.
When he returned to Statesboro, he entered the banking business, first as assistant cashier, then cashier, then vice - president and cashier, and then to executive vice -president and member of the board of directors.
He and Mrs. Johnson (the former Ruth Evelyn Lee of Brooklet) have three children: John B. Johnson, I I I, a student at Mercer Univ.ersity in Macon; Cynthia, a senior at Statesboro High School, and one of the 402 exceptionally bright Georgia students chosen for the first Governor's Honors Program in 1964; and Gayle, a member of the seventh grade at the Statesboro Junior High School.
In January 1963, Governor Carl Sanders appointed Mr. Johnson to a seven year term Qn the State Board of Education, representing the First District. He was soon elected vice - president of the Southern Region of the Nat ion a 1 Association of Members of State School Boards.
10

an ancestor of his host, the Prime Minister, burned the White House
The Ho"norable Thomas Nesbitt, Jr.
Of Cordele
Represents The Third District
Tom Nesbitt lives in Cordele and represents. the third Congressional district on the State Board of Education. He is a colonel of armor in the Retired Army Reserve.
Tom Nesbitt was born in Cordele, July 9, 1914. He grew up on a Crisp county farm four miles from Cordele, with dairying and row crop farming, and went to the Crisp county schools. He entered Mercer in 1931, rna j 0 red in economics and history, and got his A. B. degree in 1935, having go net 0 summer schools to finish. He had been a Phi Delta Theta there.
Then he went home to manage the Cordele Hardware from 1937 to 1940. Another war had started in Europe. Nesbitt in 1940 mobilized with the 121 s t Infantry as sergeant in the Georgia National Guard, at Fort Jackson, Sou th Carolina. He was for two years in the European theater of war, and was in such countries as Ireland, England, Fra~ce, Luxemburg, Holland, and eventually Germany. He finished World War II as a Lieutenant Colon e I on the Regimental Staff of the 121st Infantry Regiment, which was a part of the 8th Infantry Division.
He was the guestof Lord and Lady Brookeboro when he was on military duty in North Ireland. His lordship was then Prime Minister of Nor t h Ireland (Ulster). Among the treasures in the castle was a handsome portrait of Brookeboro's grandfather, who was in command of the Britishforces when they burned Washington, D. C. and the White House during the War of 18121
Mr. Nesbitt served in cam p a i g n s in Normandy, Northern France, Brittany, Ardennes, and Central Europe (Germany). He had numerous decorations. A mo n g the m were the European Theater ribbon with battle stars, the
11

Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantry Badge, four campaign. stars, and others. Since his special interest in college had been history, he visited many historic sites in Europe when he had time.
Then he came back to civilian life in December 1945. He joined the partnership of the Nesbitt Cotton Company and the Nesbitt Bonded Warehouse. He also acquired farming interests.
He and Mrs. Nesbitt (formerly Nell Allen of Ray City, Georgia) have five children. The Nesbitts live at 1310 Azalea Circle in Cordele. Mrs. Nesbitt's sister is Hazel Lewis, Columbus teacher who is a past president of the Georgia Education Association.
Mr. Nesbitt was a member of the Cordele Public School Board from 1950 to 1957, was treasurer of it for four years. Then he served as chairman of the Crisp County Public School Board when it began in 1957. He was appointed a member of the State Board of Education by Gov. Ern est Vandiver 0 n January 9, 1961.
He is a member of the First Methodist Church of Cordele. He is an Elk and a Moose. He is a past president of the Crisp County Farm Bureau.
Mr. Nesbitt is chairman of the State Board's Committee on Instruction. Secretary of this committee is Dr. Titus Singletary, Jr., formerly superintendent of the Crisp county schools, and now associate state superintendent of schools. These two had worked together in their local school systems.
12

a Georgia high school, a Texas college,
and California's powerful Stanford University

The Honorable Donald E. Payton Of Decatur Represents The Fourth District

In January 1965, Donald Elliott Payton

of Decatur became the newest member of the

Board representing the newest district. But he

was really not new to the Board nor to the State

Department of Education - and that for two

reasons. He had been the attorney assigned for

some years to the Board from the Attorney

General's office. Mr. Payton was an assistant

attorney general until he resigned to enter the

private practice of law. The second reason was

that he had played a leading part in the revision

of Georgia's Minimum Foundation Program of

Education in 1964.'

He grew up in Coweta county. He was

graduated from high school at Grantville. He has

a B. B. A. degree from Texas Western College at

El Paso, and a degree from California's Stanford

University Law School.

He served seven years in the army, four of

them overseas in Japan and Germany. He was

.

a captain when his service ended in 1953. He and Mrs. Payton have two sons,

Donald, Jr., and Thomas.

Mr. Payton's interest in good government started early. He was chosen

Student Speaker of the House of Representatives at the very first Georgia

,Youth Legislature, in 1946. When he graduated from college, he was awarded

a scholarship key.

'

He is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honorary Scholastic Fraternity,

Delta Sigma Phi, professional business fraternity, and in Law School he was

a member and Secretary of Delta Theta Phi law fraternity.

He was a semi-finalist in Moot Court competition at S~anford Law School

and a member of the Stanford Moot Court Board.

'

Mr. Payton joined the Office of Attorney General of G e 0 r g i a up 0 n

graduation from Stanford Law School in 1959 and was thereafter appointed an

Assistant- Attorney General. While serving as an Assistant Attorney General

from 1959 until the Spring of 1963, Mr. Payton did, in addition to other duties,

draft some of the more important legislation enacted by the Legislature during

that period of time, including a part of the "open-schools" legislation enacted

during the Vandiver administration and legislation re-organizing the Department

of Public Welfare (Department of Family and Children's Services), creating and

establishing the Division for Children and Youth, and the education reform

measures, all of which were enacted during the Sanders administration.

13

Mr. Payton served as legal counsel for the Governor's Commission for Improvement of Education, and as special legal counsel for the Speaker of the House of Representatives during the Special Session of the General Assembly held during 1964 for the purpose of drafting a new State Constitution. He was associated with the law firm of Arnall, Golden and Gregory, Atlanta, Georgia, prior to coming to Decatur. He is a member of the Decatur Bar Association and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, and served as Chairman of the Education Committee of the DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce.
He recently formed a law partnership with James Mackay, DeKalb County lawyer and legislator who now represents the 4th Georgia District in Congress.
His hobbies range from bowling and golf to National and International political trends.

. . "The moment of truth has at last arrived," he said
The Hon-arable David Fleming Rice
Of Atlanta
Represents The Fifth District
David Rice, who represents the 5th Congressional District, is one of the few Georgians ever to have served on both the State Board of Regents and the State Board of Education. He was appointed to the Regents by former governor Herman Talmadge on January 1, 1954, and served on that board until 1961. He was then appointed by former governor Vandiver to the State Board of Education to fill the unexpired term of J. J. McDonough, who resigned because of the' pressure of other business. Mr. Rice was a lieutenant-colonel on Governor Vandiver's staff. He was re-appointed by Governor Vandiver in January 1962, for a full seven year term.
He was born in Hawkinsville, August 30, 1907, according to Marquis' "Who's Who in the South and Southwest." He studied civil engineering at Georgia Tech. Mr. and Mrs. Rice, who live at 1175 Conway Road, N. E., Atlanta, have two grown sons, David and Robert.
Mr. Rice was in the restaurant business for 17 years prior to 1954, and is a past president of the Atlanta Restaurant Association. He owned and operated the well-known Town House Res tau ran t and the E 11 e n Ric e Restaurant. He is now in the building business, as he a d of Davro, Inc., which develops and builds apartment houses in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
He once e d i ted the Rotarian wee, k 1Y new spa per. He is an Episcopalian and attends St. Phillips' Cathedral in Atlanta. (He was formerly a Baptist and a deacon in the Druid Hills Baptist Church). He is a member of Pi Delta Epsilon, Sigma Nu, the National Education Association, the GEA, and both the state and national vocational associations.
He has served as treasurer of Reid Laboratories, a wholesale drug firm, and has been a member of the Advisory Council of district Naval Affairs Committee.
Mr. Rice was one of a small group of Georgia leaders who went to
15

Mexico two years ago as guests of the Mexican consul. They were hospitably entertained by Mexican government officials, and Mr. Rice inspected some of the educational developments in Mexico.
Mr. ,Rice, asked about his hobbies, said that he enjoys reading, traveling, and gardening, but that lately the State Board is his chief hobby and he does not have time for the others.
Speaking to a group of Georgia superintendents who were pondering the effects of the Civil Rights Bill, Mr. Rice made an excellent statement that has been often quoted since:
"This meeting is probably the most important and far-reaching session that education has ever had in Georgia. It marks the end of a way of life and of customs that have endured for more than a hundred years. The moment of truth has at last arrived, and we must meet it with wisdom and with courage. Our schools must either integrate or stop receiving federal funds. The decision is yours. It is up to you and your local boards. It may be the most important decision you will ever make."
16

a tale of Robert Toombs lightened a solemn moment.
The Honorable Henry A. Stewart, Sr. Of Cedar-town Represents The Seventh District
Henry Stewart, like President Johnson, has a real appreciation of education because he had to work his way through school and college. Mr. Stewart is now general counsel for the mill at which he swept floors at night when he was nine years old, for $4.61 a week, after an accident disabled his father.
He was born in Aragon on September 19, 1910, but later moved to Cedartown. He missed the 5th, 6th, and 7th grades because he was helping support his parents and brothers and sister. He entered the 8th grade, studied hard, delivered papers, worked in a local store after school, and finished high school in 3 years, with honors.
He started for the University of Georgia on his birthday, September 19, 1929, with $12.75 in his pocket and a scholarship. He finished seven years work in five years, and worked at so many jobs that the dean complained! Collecting laundry, serving tables, washing dishes, helping in the library, and being night
17

clerk in a hotel struck the dean as slightly too much for one student. But

Henry Stewart was not only working his way through 'School, ~,e was sending

money home. When the dean said nobody could stay ~n school and hold that

many. jobs,Stewart's schoolmate, Herman Talmadge, asked for advice from

his father, Gov. Eugene Talmadge. Both boys went to the Governor's Mansion

for a good supper, a night's. rest, and a talk with the Governor. Stewart:Kot

to stay in school, and emerged with three degrees: B. S. C., LL B. and

M. A., and a college debt, which he finished paying off after his marriage.

He couldn't make up his mind whether to be a minister or a lawyer. He settled

for the law, and teaching Sunday School. He has taught the Men's Bible Class

at First Baptist Church for 16 years.

.

He taught government for three years at the University. He has been

president of the Exchange Clubs of Georgia, vice-president of the National

School Boards Association, and former vice-chairman of the State Board

of Education: (He presides when legal appeals are up for Board hearings.)

He has been general counsel and director of the Commercial National Bank

for 24 years, and of the Cedartown Loan and Finance Company for 22 years.

He is counsel for Coca Cola, Guaranty Title Insurance Company, Seaboard

Airlines, and Continental Crescent Lines. He has bee n on the Board

of Governors of the Georgia Bar Association (now the State Bar of G e 0 r g i a)

since 1952.

AI, the 16... year... old son of Henry and Rebecca Stewart, got a very nice

letter on his 13th birthday. It was from Gov. Ernest Vandiver, and it said

that the governor was reappointing AI's dad to the State Board of Education

for another seven years. AI's hobby is

music, and he is organist on Sunday

nights at the First Methodist Church. He

is a member of the Beta Club at the

high school, and assistant yearbook

editor.

Mrs. Stewart says her hobbies

are bridge and flowers, but that

her main interests are looking

after these two busy men in

in her family. Her real

ambition: to write her husband's

biography, like Boswell for

Johnson. .

Mr. Stewart made the

announcement for the Board

about theIr decision

to sign the com-

pliance agreement with

the Civii Rights Act.

His'statement was

lucid, and lit with

a delightful anecdote

about Robert Toombs,

colorful Georgian

who once had to cope

with governmental

forces that were

overwhelming, 18

little did they dream, when classmates in a Georgia school.

The Honorable Lonnie E. Sweat

Of Blackshear
Represents The Eighth District
_....-----------~~ .....

Lonnie Ernest Sweat, of Blackshear, who

has farming interests in Pierce county, has

been a member of the State Boardof Education

from the 8th District since he was appointed,

by Governor Herman Talmadge in January,

1949. He and his. former college classmate,

Chairman James S. Peters, came on the Board

the same month and have served together on

it ever since. He was appointed to serve an

unexpired term, re-appointed by Talmadge for

a full seven year term in 1953, and re-appointed

for another seven year term by Go v ern 0 r

Ernest Vandiver in 1960.

.

Mr. S we a t was born in the Cutting , community in Clinch county. He at ten d e d

schools in Willacoochee, at Sparks Collegiate

Institute, at the Presbyterian Institute in'

Blackshear, and the University of Georgia. He

had resigned a job as R. F. D. Carrier to

enter the University. He won the Demosthenian

honor medal for debating at the University.

It was at the college at Sparks that Board member Sweat and Peters were

college friends. Like two other Georgians, Alexander Stephens and Crawford W.

Long, who roomed together at the University of Georgia, little dreaming that

they would later be the two chosen to represent Georgia in Statuary Hall in the

nation's capitol, these two college mates little dreamed that they would some day

serve together on the state's highest public education board.

He is a Methodist, a Mason, and a member of the Elks, the Lions, and the

Chamber of Commerce.

He served for 17 years as postmaster at Blackshear, for 12 years as -tax

collector in Pierce county, and was secretary-treasurer of the National Farm

Loan Association for five years.

Mr. Sweat married one of the students he taught in his history class at

Pierce Collegiate Institute. She was Agnes Taylor of Pierce county. They have

two sons. They named one for Confederate General Nathaniel B. Forrest, who

once saved Rome, Georgia, from capture by the federals and was said by Lee to

have been the best of his fighting generals. Forrest Sweat is supervisor of

business management in the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors and lives

in Jacksonville, Florida. He has three daughters and a son. The other one is

Lonnie E. Sweat, Jr., of Greenville, South Carolina, who is sales representative

for Atlantic Steel. He has three children, including twins, named Sam and Sally.

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Mr. Sweat goes to Atlanta at least once a month to the regular meetings or committee meetings of the board in the State Department of Education. He also attends various educational conventions to keep informed about educational progress in the nation. He recently returned from Washington, D. C., where he attended a conference on educational television. Mr. Sweat made the original motion that launched Georgia's present plans for a ten-station ETV network.
Returning from Washington, he said, "I was amazed and gratified to learn that Georgia is in the forefront of progress in educational television. The Board voted some years ago to take advantage of this remarkable modern means of educating children, and the State Department of Education has done sound work in planning and launching the program. Other state delegations in Washington were amazed that we have been able to do so much with educational television so quickly. We are, of course, indebted to the governors and the legislatures that have supported us by providing the money. Besides the courses in science, foreign languages, music, history, that we have for the children, we also have television courses for teachers. For instance, more than 15,000 Georgia teachers are now taking a course by television in the teaching of reading. The possibilities for education by television are tremendous, and I am happy that Georgia is taking advantage of them."
Mr. Sweat raises Brahma cattle on his farms in Pierce county.This, says he, is one of his hobbies. The other is fishing.
Besides his family and his farms, his chief interest is in the public schools of Georgia. He is a member of the instruction committee of the Board. He thinks that Georgia has no more vital concern just now than the education of its people. To this end, he has devoted much time and thought during the nearly 17 years that he has represented the 8th District on the State Board of Education.
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he left coaching for banking
The Honorable Cliff C. Kimsey, Jr.
Of Cornelia
Represents The Ninth District
Cliff C. Kimsey, Jr., of Cornelia, is a former coach who is now so busy with banking that Jhe does not have time for his hobbies. He is executive vicepresident of the Bank of Cornelia. Cornelia is the mountain town that has the gigantic statue of the red apple, but this is no longer apple country. Industry has come in here, and chickens and other things have replaced apples as sources of money.
Kimsey is a 1942 graduate of the University of Georgia. From 1942 to 1945, he served with the 7th Infantry Division on the Pacific War Theater~ He taught and coached at Cedartown High School. At Greenville, South Carolina, he was athletic director and football coach in the famous Parker District School. Then he went to join the coaching staff at the University of Kansas. He and his family liked Kansas but there came a time when they wanted to come back to Georgia.
One day Cliff Kimsey'S mother happened to mention in a letter that his father, Cliff C. Kimsey, Sr., urgently needed help in the bank and was looking around for somebody. "The Coach" who had grown up going in and out of the bank and had majored in business administration, decided to apply for the job. But he specified that the directors con sid e r him as jus t' another applicant and not as the son of the man who was already running the bank. They were happy to find that he was interested. Back he came to Georgia and the bank in the mountains, and the r e he has bee never since. He has served his community and state in many ways. He is deacon and treasurer of the First Baptist Church of Cornelia. He is past president of the Kiwanis Club and of the Chamber of Commerce. He has servedon the executive council of the Georgia Bankers Association, and the Board of Commissioners of the Georgia Board of Industry and Trade. He was also chosen president of the Georgia Lettermen's Association, an association offormer football players at the University of Georgia.
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He and Mrs. Kimsey (the former L u c i 11 e Stivers of Rome) have five children, four boys (Bucky, Johnny, Ricky, Jimmy) and a daughter, Lucy. The children range in age from 15 to 2. They go to school in Cornelia, where their father finished high school in 1938, before he went down to Athens to enter the University.
Mr. Kimsey not only f 0 11 0 wed his father into the banking business, but they have both served state education organizations. Mr. Kimsey, Sr., is t rea sur e r of the Georgia School Boards Association. Mr. Kimsey, Jr., was appointed by Governor Carl Sanders to represent the Ninth Congressional District on the State Board of Education. He says he had a great deal to learn. But he has also made some profound observations, especially to groups to which he has been asked to speak. In a speech to a group at the Governor's Conference on Education, He said, "The educational program is the foundation on which Georgia will progress, and education is at the same time the Number One Problem and the Number One Solution to all the other problems.
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he served under the colorful General George Patton
The Honorable William Lee Preston
Of Monroe
Represents The Tenth District
Appointed by Governor Carl Sanders to the State Board from the 10th District, in 1964, William Lee Preston is a Monroe attorney. His father, John Troy Preston, Sr., is a former member of the Georgia General Assembly, having served in both the House and the Senate.
Bill Preston was educated in the Monroe public schools. He entered Mercer in 1939, emerged with an A. B. degree with a major in economics, in 1943. In 1948, he received another degree, an LLB from the University of Georgia Law School. He was a Phi Delta Theta, member of Blue Key Honor Society, and Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.
Four sons and a daughter give him and his wife Gloria (graduate of the Crawford W. Long School of Nursing) very special and personal reasons for their interest in education. Two of the boys, Tom and Pat, twins, started to school the same year their father became a member of the State Board of Education.
Mr. Preston fought under the colorful General George Patton, commander of the Third Army, in the 260th Combat Infantry, as rifleman, through two hard campaigns in Germany. He was later in the U. S. Army Reserve, Judge Advocate Section.
He has been a member of the Wal ton County Democratic E x e cut i v e Com mit tee, was a delegate to the 1964 national convention, and was chairman of the Walton County Sanders for Governor Committee during t~ governor's successful campaign for the office of state Chief Executive.
He is a deacon and teacher of The Young Married Couples Sunday School class at the First Baptist Church in Monroe.
He has p rae tic e d law in Monroe since 1948, when he was admitted to the Georgia Bar. The name of his law firm is Preston and Benton, at 110 - 12 Court Street, Monroe. His partner is Terrell W. Benton, Jr. Mr. Preston is a member of the Georgia and the American Bal" Ass 0 cia t ion, and has served as president of the Western Circuit Bar Association in 1954 - 55.
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He is a Kiwanian, member of the American Leg ion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is a past president of the MonroeWait 0 nCo u n t y C ham b e r of Commerce, a director ofthe Monroe Golf and Country Club, and a director of the General Charitable Foundation of Monroe, Georgia, Inc.
He is director and attorney for the National Bank of Monroe, attorney for the City of Monroe, the Building and Loan Association, the First Federal Savings- and Loan Association of Winder, of the Walton County Board of Education, and the Southern Poultry Company, Inc. His residence is at 304 Crestview Drive in Monroe.
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Where Does The Board's Power Come From?
The Georgia State Board of Education was createdby the Act of February 10, 1937, as amended, Code Section 32 - 4, Annotated Code of Georgia.
The Board as it now exists was recognized by the 1945 Constitution, Section 2, Article V I I I :
The Board exercises exclusive jurisdiction over all public schools, including the Academy for the Blind at Macon and the School for the Deaf at Cave Spring. It may, in its discretion, define and regulate the curricula therein. It classifies and certifies for employment all teachers in the public school system. It approves the budget prepared by the State Department of Education and recommends these to the BUdget Bureau, and through them to the General Assembly for appropriations to the public schools. Through the Department it administers all funds appropriated for the maintenance and operation of the public schools, including transportation. These funds are administered equitably according to formula. The Board prescribes teacher preparation programs in public and private colleges in the State. Before a Superior Court judge grants a charter for a new private college, applicants must first have the approval and recommendation of the State Board of Education. All phases of vocational education and training are within its jurisdiction. For carrying out these responsibilities, it has authority to make and enforce its rules and regulations and to employ personnel to do this.
The New Minimum Foundation Law (Act No. 523, Senate Bill 180) as passed by the 1964 General Assembly, in Section 3, gives the Board the powers to put the Minimum Foundation Program of Education into effect:
Section 3. Powers and Duties of the State Board of Education. -The State Board of Education shall adopt and prescribe all rules, regulations and policies required by provisions of this Act, and shall adopt and prescribe such other rules, regulations and policies as may be reasonably necessary or advisable for proper implementation, enforcement and carrying out of provisions of this Act and other public school laws, or for assuring a more economical and efficient operation of the public schools of this State, or any phase of public education in the public
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schools of this State. The State Board shall establish and enforce minimum standards for operation of all phases of public school education in Georgia and for operation of all public elementary and secondary schools and local units of school administration in Georgia so as to assure, to the greatest extent possible, equal and adequate educational programs, curricula, offerings, opportunities and facilities for all Georgia's children and youth, and economy and efficiency in administration and operation of public schools and public school systems throughout the State. The State Board shall have the power to perform all duties and to exercise all responsibilities vested in it by provisions of law for the improvement of public education in public elementary and secondary schools in Georgia. All rules, regulations, policies and standards adopted or prescribed by the State Board in carrying out the provisions of this Act and other school laws shall, if not in conflict therewith, have the full force and effect of law.
The State Superintendent of Schools has a dual responsibility. The 1964 Minimum Foundation Program of Education clearly defines the two-fold responsibility of Georgia's State Superintendent of Schools, who s e r v e s as chief administrator of a school system responsible for the education of more than a million children, and is also the executive officer of the State Board of Education:
Section 4. Powers and Duties of the State Superintendent of Schools. -- The State Superintendent of Schools shall be the executive 0 ff ice r of the State Board of Education, the administrative officer of the State Department of Education, and shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of all provisions of such laws and rules, regulations, policies and standards adopted or prescribed by the State Board of Education for the implementation, administration or enforcement of such laws.
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How Appeals Reach The State Board Of Education
Any citizen who is dissatisfied with a decision of the local school board can file an appeal with the State Board of Education.
An appeal to the State Board must be filed in duplicate with the local superintendent. This appeal must include a statement of the question in dispute, the decision of the local school board, a transcript of the testimony and the grounds for objection to the decision. This must be filed within 15 days after the local. school board made its decision on the question. The transcript must be paid for by the appellant.
The superintendent will transmit this information to the State Superintendent of Schools with a statement that the information is correct.
The State Superintendent places the appeal on the docket of the State Board. This must be done not less than 10 days in advance of a State Board meeting so that all parties interested in the case may be informed of its scheduling.
At the State Board meeting the appellant may appear in per son or represented by an attorney. New evidence will not be received. Argument shall be limited to 30 minutes to the side. Only the issues stated in the written appeal received by the State Superintendent can be considered.
The State Board may make and announce its decision immediately or after consideration at a later date.
The regulations of the State Board of Education governing appeals is to be found in Georgia School Laws, pages 160 - 162.
Appeals Committee:
Henry A. Stewart, Sr., Chairman Donald E. Payton William Preston James S. Peters (ex - officio)
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Standing Committees Of The State Board Of Education
Finance Committee
Robert B. Wright, Jr., Chairman J. Brantley Johnson David F. Rice Cliff C. Kimsey, Jr. James S. Peters (ex - officio) Dr. Allen Smith, Associate State Superintendent of Schools
serves on this committee as secretary representing the Education Department.
Instruction Committee
Thomas Nesbitt, Jr., Chairman Lonnie E. Sweat William Preston Donald E. Payton Henry A. Stewart, Sr. James S. Peters (ex - officio) Dr. Titus Singletary, Associate State Superintendent of Schools
serves on this committee as secretary representing the Education Department.
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