Coweta Board of Education Appoints Dr. Shanna Downs as Interim Superintendent

At a called meeting Wednesday, the Coweta County Board of Education appointed Dr. Shanna Downs as interim Superintendent of Coweta Schools, to follow the retirement of Dr. Evan Horton later this year.

Downs, a Senoia resident, is a long-time Georgia educational leader who currently serves as the Executive Director of the West Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA).  She is a 30-year educator in Georgia who previously served as the Superintendent of Gilmer County Schools, from 2015 through 2021, before assuming the leadership of West Georgia RESA.

 Downs will begin her duties in the Coweta County School System November 1, to allow her to serve concurrently with Superintendent Horton before his December 1st retirement.  The board’s action on Wednesday approves Downs’ service as Coweta’s interim Superintendent through June 30, 2027.

In a separate action, the board has also entered into an agreement with the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) to aid them in a Superintendent search process in the coming months.  That process – which is expected to extend through early 2027 – will allow the school board to select long-term leadership succession to Dr. Horton and Dr. Downs.

“Since Dr. Horton’s announcement last month, our board’s overall focus has been on securing a succession plan to ensure continued good leadership over our schools,” said Board Chairman Buzz Glover.  “As a part of that, we want to first turn to trusted, established leadership to serve in an interim capacity over the school system – someone who can work directly with our schools, Dr. Horton and our Board for a seamless transition.”

“Shanna Downs meets all of those criteria and more, and our board is fortunate to be able to turn to her for this role.  She is an excellent educational leader, with proven experience as a Superintendent.  She lives here, has family here, knows our community and our system very well, and our people know her.  We appreciate her willingness to serve,”  said Glover.

“Working with the Georgia School Board Association is the second, longer-term portion of that plan,” said Glover.  “Their partnership will provide us with a structured process to ensure continued strong leadership going forward.  And Dr. Downs’ stewardship this year as interim, following Dr. Horton’s retirement, provides our board the ability to make a measured, deliberative selection in that regard.”

“I am honored by the confidence the Board of Education has placed in me and grateful for the opportunity to serve Coweta County Schools during this important transition,” Downs said Wednesday night.

“Through my work with West Georgia RESA and as a resident of this community, I have developed tremendous respect for Coweta’s students, educators, leaders and families. I look forward to working alongside Dr. Horton during the transition, and then with the Board, staff and community to maintain the strong foundation that is already in place and keep our focus where it belongs—on serving students well,” she said.

Since 2021, Dr. Downs has served as Executive Director of West Georgia RESA, where she works directly with Coweta County Schools and six other area school systems to support district leadership, educators and students through professional learning, instructional support and regional educational services. Before becoming a superintendent, Downs served in district and school-level administrative roles, including Director of School Improvement and Director of State and Federal Programs for White County Schools. She began her career as a classroom teacher and also served as an instructional coach, assistant principal and adjunct university professor.      

Downs earned a Bachelor of Science Education in Middle Grades Science and Social Studies from the University of Georgia in 1996, and later earned her Masters of Science in Special Education in 1997 and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2007.

A native of Helen, Georgia, Downs and her husband, Jeff, live in Senoia. They have four children, including a son who attends East Coweta High School. Downs has also been active in civic organizations throughout her career, including Rotary and local chambers of commerce. 

Downs has also held numerous statewide educational leadership roles, including service on the Georgia School Superintendents Association Board of Directors, as co-chair of its Legislative Advisement Committee, as president of the Georgia RESA Network, and on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders.  In 2024, Downs received the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders’ Jim Puckett Outstanding Educator Award.