The Oconee County Board of Education received 18 applications in response to its announcement of its intention to hire a new superintendent, not the 19 that Board Chair Michael Ransom had stated.
Those 18 applications included six females, including Melissa Butler, whom the Board ultimately hired and who was sworn in as superintendent on Monday night. She will assume her duties on Oct. 14.
Butler is only the second female superintendent among the 12 who have served in that capacity going back to 1948, when schools in the county were consolidated.
The other female superintendent is Debra Harden, who served as superintendent from 1993 to 1999 and has been serving as interim superintendent since July 1. At the meeting on Monday, Harden was named interim associate superintendent.
The 18 applicants for the superintendent of Oconee County Schools included one Black female and one female whose race is not specified. All of the 12 males were White.
These are the only characteristics of the 18 applicants that the Board has released to the public.
By naming Butler as the sole finalist, the Board was legally able to refuse to release the application materials of any of the unsuccessful candidates, though the law does not prohibit the Board from making the applications public.
Ransom Comments
At the June 23 Republican Party meeting, former State Rep. Chuck Williams asked Board of Education Chair Michael Ransom what opportunity the public would have to be involved with the selection of a new superintendent.
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| Probate Court Judge Mike Hunsinger Swearing In Butler 10/6/2025 |
“If it is right for us to have two or three candidates to meet the people, meet the public, and have a meet and greet session, maybe we can facilitate that,” Ransom said.
Ransom told the Republicans at that June 23 meeting that there is a 14-day period “once you name the sole finalist before you can hire that person. That is a comment period for anybody who wants to make a comment about that superintendent. That’s by law in Georgia.”
Ransom also appeared at the Sept. 22 meeting of Oconee County Republicans, where he defended his decision not to release the names of three finalists.
“We never had three finalists,” Ransom responded. “We went through the first and second round interview process, and through that we decided that Dr. Butler was the one that fit--the qualified fit that was best for Oconee County. She was our sole finalist.”
Initial Open Records Request
I filed an open records request via email with Steven Colquitt, open records officer for both the Board of Education and Oconee County Schools, on Sept. 19, the day after the Board officially named Butler as the new school superintendent.
I asked for “electronic copies of the application letters filed by the 18 unsuccessful applicants, or whatever number that is.”
Ransom had told me on July 7 that the Board had received 19 applications for the superintendent position.
On Sept. 24 Colquitt wrote that “The District is not in possession of any responsive records. Moreover, if the District did have responsive records, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(11) provides an exception for responding.”
“Specifically, the provision states that a school district would be required to provide, ‘…all documents concerning as many as three persons under consideration whom the agency has determined to be the best qualified for the position…’,” Colquitt wrote.
“It goes on to state,” he wrote, “‘The agency shall not be required to release such records of other applicants or persons under consideration, except at the request of any such person.’”
Second Open Records Request
Colquitt did not quote the full text of the law.
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| Colquitt 10/6/2025 |
“Upon request, the hiring agency shall furnish the number of applicants and the composition of the list by such factors as race and sex,” the law states.
“The agency shall not be allowed to avoid the provisions of this paragraph by the employment of a private person or agency to assist with the search or application process.”
On Sept. 29 I filed another open records request asking for “the number of applicants for Superintendent of Oconee County Schools in the just completed search process as well as the composition of the list by race and sex as well by any other ‘factors’ used in classifying the candidates.”
On Oct. 2, Colquitt wrote: “The District is not in possession of any responsive documents; however we have obtained the following information from Dr. Allen McCannon, Georgia Leadership Associates, LLC:”
• 18 applicants • 12 white males • 4 white females • 1 black female • 1 female unknown
The Board had hired Georgia Leadership Associates to assist with the search.
I wrote back that evening asking: “Does that 18 include Dr. Butler, or are the(y) the unsuccessful applicants?”
On Oct. 3 Colquitt responded: “This information includes Dr. Butler. Dr. McCannon had informed the Board Chair he believed there would be 19 applicants as someone had contacted him and expressed interest in the position, but they ultimately did not apply.”
List of Superintendents
The hallway of the Instruction Support Center outside the Board Room contains pictures of the past superintendents and the dates of their service.
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| First Superintendent Hogan |
Prior to consolidation, Bogart and Bishop had their own school systems. A separate system operated for Black students prior to the late 1960s.
The superintendents pictured on the wall of the Instructional Support Center are:
*B.C. Hogan, September 1948 to December 1956.
*Jeff Cain, January 1957 to December 1964.
*Sammy Sanders, January 1965 to December 1992.
*Debra Harden, January 1993 to August 1999.
*Tommy Warren (Interim), September 1999 to May 2000.
*Shannon Adams, June 2000 to July 2004.
*Franklin Shumake (Interim), July 2004 to February 2005.
*Doug Eza (Interim), February 2005 to May 2005.
*Tom E. Dohrmann, May 2005 to June 2008.
*John A. Jackson, July 2008 to May 2012.
*Jason Branch, June 2012 to June 2025.
Harden isn’t pictured a second time, but I counted her as the 12th superintendent.
Harden’s Terms
Oconee County voters elected Harden in 1992 to serve a four-year term as superintendent, starting in January, but voters statewide that same year also approved a Constitutional Amendment mandating that school boards be elected and that superintendents be appointed by those boards.
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| Harden 10/6/2025 |
The Constitutional Amendment also stipulated that elected superintendents could fill out their terms.
The Board appointed Harden as superintendent when her elected term expired at the end of 1996, and she remained in that capacity until August of 1999.
Oconee County Board of Education Chair Ransom, after the Board returned from executive session on Monday, said the Board in that closed meeting had appointed Harden to serve as interim associate superintendent.
Ransom said Harden would remain in that role for “most likely a month, depending on how all of the transition goes...between four and six weeks probably.”
Superintendent’s Report
In her superintendent’s report at the Board’s work session on Monday, Harden said “It’s truly been an honor to serve as Oconee County’s interim superintendent. I have appreciated your confidence.”
“And I want to welcome Dr. Butler,” she said. Harden also extended her welcome to Butler’s family.
“Dr. Butler,” Harden continued, “you are stepping into a school system filled with extraordinary educators, principals, and staff who are deeply committed to supporting your vision and the Board of Education.”
“As a former superintendent of this school system, it brings me great joy to see someone of your reputation and stature take the helm,” she continued.
“I look forward to assisting you in any way I can during the transition,” Harden added.
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