The Coweta County Board of Education has a new member. Business owner Beth Barnett was appointed Aug. 17 to fill the unexpired term of former District 3 board member Harry Mullins.
School system spokesman Dean Jackson said the board made the appointment on Aug. 17 after reviewing a number of candidates for the District 3 seat that came open when Mullins resigned from the board earlier in the year.
The seat is one of seven on the school board, representing portions of central and northern Coweta County, with a term extending through December 2018, said Jackson.
“I’m looking forward to serving Coweta County students in this role,” said Barnett, after Monday after the vote. “I hope I can offer my experience to the board as a parent and as a business owner.”
Barnett and her husband have two children, both of whom have attended Coweta schools.
“Our school experiences have been very positive,” said Barnett. “There is always room for improvement, too, so I want to see us maintain our good school system and strive to be even better.”
Barnett is the owner and operator of a Wishbone Fried Chicken restaurant in Newnan. She is married to Lee Barnett, and the couple has two sons, Clark (18), who attends Mercer University, and Jack (13), who attends Evans Middle School in Newnan. The Barnetts are long-time members of First Baptist Church, where she serves on the church’s Finance Committee.
Barnett is a graduate of Newnan High School, and earned a B.S. in secondary education from Auburn University. She is a member of the Newnan Parks Commission, and the Coweta County School System’s Title I Parent Advisory Board. She has also served on the school councils of Elm Street Elementary School and Newnan High School, and served as an officer for Elm Street Elementary School’s PTO board. At the state level, Barnett has served on the Georgia Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council, and on the Georgia Department of Education’s Committee of Practitioners, among other posts.
Jackson said the school board held formal nominations and an initial vote at their regular monthly meeting on Aug. 11 and subsequently narrowed the selection to two candidates. Monday’s 5-0 vote appointed Barnett from those two candidates.
The Coweta County Board of Education holds the Georgia School Board Association’s Distinguished Board certification. Its members serve without compensation.
