The Oconee County Board of Education has called a special meeting for 4 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 18) at the Instructional Support Center in Watkinsville to approve a contract with Melissa Butler to serve as Superintendent of Oconee County Schools.
Board of Education Chair Michael Ransom announced at a special session at the Instructional Support Center on Sept. 2 that Butler is the sole finalist to be the next Superintendent of Oconee County Schools and that the Board would wait 14 days before voting to make the appointment.
Ransom did not say at that meeting that state law requires the Board to wait the 14 days after announcement of a sole finalist to give the public an opportunity to offer input, nor did he indicate how that input could be provided.
An announcement of the Board decision on the Oconee County Schools web site included application materials for Butler, including her professional resume.
Butler has served as Deputy/Assistant Superintendent at Catoosa County Public Schools since April of 2023, holds the required Tier 2 certification in Educational Leadership, and earned an Ed.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., in 2013.
Catoosa County Public Schools had 10,134 students enrolled in October of 2024 in 16 schools. Oconee County Schools enrolled 8,474 students in October of 2024 in 12 schools. Both systems are experiencing declining enrollments, though the decrease is much more dramatic at Catoosa.
The two systems are similar in terms of racial and ethnic make-up, but Catoosa enrolls many more students who are economically disadvantaged and more with disabilities.
Catoosa County Schools, with a smaller tax digest and slightly higher millage rate, relies less on property tax revenue and more on sales tax revenue than does Oconee County Schools, and has spent less of its monies on construction than Oconee in recent years.
Called Meeting
The agenda for the meeting on Thursday only says that “The board will vote to approve a contract with Dr. Melissa Butler to serve as Superintendent of Oconee County Schools.”
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| Butler From Oconee County Schools News Release |
Ransom in his announcement on Sept. 2 did not say when Butler will assume her responsibility as superintendent, but he said in early August that it is “very likely” the Board will have a new superintendent on the job by the end of September or early October.
The Board has put renewal of its Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) on the Nov. 4 ballot, and the superintendent traditionally has played a key role in promoting that referendum.
The agenda for the called meeting on Sept. 18 provides no details of the contract that will be approved for Butler.
According to the Open Georgia web site, Butler received $131,287 in salary and $4,039 in travel reimbursement in Fiscal Year 2024.
Jason Branch, who stepped down as superintendent of Oconee County Schools at the end of June, received $290,591 in salary and $5,194 in salary reimbursement in Fiscal Year 2024, according to Open Georgia.
Branch’s base salary in his final contract for Fiscal Year 2025 was $267,039, but that figure does not include extra compensation covered by the contract, and the current Fiscal Year Budget lists $299,388 for the superintendent.
Butler Resume
Butler earned her undergraduate degree in Secondary English Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2003 and began her career in August of 2003 as an English/Journalism teacher at Loganville High School in Walton County Public Schools.
She earned a master’s degree in Secondary English Education from Piedmont College in Demorest in 2005.
She moved to Catoosa County Public Schools in January of 2007, where she was sixth grade English Language Arts teacher at Heritage Middle School, a position she held until July of 2015.
Butler earned an Ed.S. degree in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University in Cooksville, Tenn., in 2008, and her Ed.D. degree in Curriculum Instruction from Liberty University in 2013.
In July of 2015, Butler became assistant principle of Heritage Middle School, and in June of 2019 she moved up to be principal of Heritage Middle School.
In February of 2019, Butler became Director of Secondary Education for Catoosa County Public Schools, a position she continues to hold.
In April of 2023, Butler added the responsibility of Deputy/Assistant Superintendent for Catoosa County Public Schools.
Among her responsibilities, according to her resume, is assisting in the development of the system’s General Fund Budget and assisting with planning and use of Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) monies. (Oconee County Schools refers to ESPLOST as ELOST.)
Support Letters
The packet of materials released by Oconee County Schools with Butler’s resume includes a letter from Charles Nix, current superintendent of Catoosa County Public Schools, who called her “a visionary leader who consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to our students, staff, and community.”
David Moeller, Chair of the Board of Education for Catoosa County Public Schools, said Butler “is one of the most talented and insightful educational leaders I have encountered.”
Chris Lusk, Director of Operations and Facilities of Catoosa County Public Schools, said “I have never come across an educator more professional, team oriented, and committed to all students reaching their full potential than Dr. Melissa Butler.”
Gary Hobbs, Principal at Loganville High School, wrote in October of 2006 that “her ability as an English teacher is nothing short of phenomenal” and “Her loss to our school will be devastating.”
Enrollments
Catoosa County, on the Tennessee border just south of Chattanooga, ranks 152 out of Georgia’s 159 counties in size, at 162 square miles. Oconee County has 184 square miles and ranks 144 in size.
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| Ransom 8/8/2025 |
The 2024 population in Catoosa County was 68,940, up from 67,872 in 2020.
The 2024 population in Oconee County was 44,751, up from $41,799 in 2020.
Catoosa County Public Schools has had a steady drop in enrollments in the last four years, going from 10,613 students in October of 2021 to 10,134 in October of 2024.
The system lost 187 students from 2021 to 2022, 250 students from 2022 to 2023, and 41 students from 2023 to 2024, for a total decrease of 479.
That loss of 479 students compares with a loss of 61 students at Oconee County Schools from October 2023 to October of 2024.
Oconee County Schools added 108 students from 2021 to 2022, and added four students from 2022 to 2023.
The loss of 61 students from 2023 to 2024 was the first decrease in enrollments at the county’s schools since at least 1995.
Student Characteristics
Based on Georgia Department of Education data, 81.7 percent of the students in Catoosa County Public Schools in 2024 were White, compared with 78.1 percent in Oconee County.
A smaller percentage (2.1) of the Catoosa County Public Schools students were classified as Asian Pacific Islander than of the Oconee County Schools students (6.6 percent).
In Catoosa County Schools, 57.7 percent of the students were classified as Economically Disadvantaged.
That figure was 22.6 percent in Oconee County Schools.
In Catoosa County Public Schools, 17.7 percent of the students were listed as with disabilities. That figure was 13.0 in Oconee County Schools.
Catoosa County Public Schools scored 78.8 on the 2024 College and Career Ready Performance Index by the Georgia Department of Education.
Oconee County Schools scored 95.3 on that index.
Finances
The Georgia Department of Education reports total expenditures by Catoosa County Public Schools in 2024 at $187.0 million.
For Oconee County, that figure was $144.0 million.
Of that $187.0 million spent in 2024 in Catoosa County Public Schools, 5.1 percent was for debt service, and 10.8 percent was for acquisition and construction services.
In Oconee County in 2024, 2.3 percent was for debt services, and 17.4 percent was for acquisition and construction services.
The 2024 Net Tax Digest in Catoosa County was $3.2 billion.
In Oconee County, that figure was $3.8 billion.
In 2024, Catoosa County Public Schools received $33.9 million in property taxes, $16.5 million in ESPLOST funds, and $4.3 million from Title Tax.
In Oconee County, those figure were $48.1 million from property taxes, $12.3 million from ELOST, and $3.9 million from Title Tax.
The 2025 millage rate for Catoosa County Public Schools is 14.347.
In Oconee County, the millage rate for Oconee County Schools is 13.962.
Public Comment
Catoosa County Public Schools allows the public to comment at its meetings for from three to five minutes.
It allows residents of the School District, representatives of businesses or organizations located in the District, parents or guardians of students attending the schools of the District or school system employees to address the Board during the public comment section of the meeting.
The Oconee County Board of Education limits speakers to three minutes and allows only residents of Oconee County to speak.
The Board has repeatedly denied the co-publishers of The Oconee Enterprise, the county’s legal organ, the opportunity to address the Board because they do not live in the county.
Video And Comment
The video embedded below of the Sept. 2 meeting of the Board of Education is on the system’s YouTube Channel.
Note: I appreciate the comments of readers of this blog who inquired when I did not post for the last month.
I usually am able to post when traveling, and I thought I would be able to do so this time.
That proved not to be the case.
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