Dr. Perry Lee has been a fixture in Greene County, seeing many county residents at Lake Oconee Eye Care, a practice he runs with his wife, Dr. Susan Lee. He is also the current chairman of the Greene County Board of Education (BOE) and will run in a contested race to keep his seat running against Dr. Otho Tucker, former CEO at Lake Oconee Academy.
Whatever the outcome, most expect the BOE to change its makeup with current board member Maggie Kjer being challenged by Maggie Combs, a Lake Oconee Academy parent with two children at the school.
Lee met with many in attendance at a home in Reynolds last week to discuss his reelection bid and share his thoughts for the school district.
Lee was appointed in his position when Mike Lynch, former chairman, resigned due to illness.
Lee has worked behind the scenes for more than eight years, helping both Mike Lynch and Steve Kilgore, the current vice chair. He has served as the District 4 representative on the board since 2021 and worked diligently with LOA on its charter renewal. The charter awaits state approval and will be heard this week in Atlanta.
Among the goals Lee hopes to accomplish is having Greene County become the No. 1 school system in the state.
“It will happen; it is only a matter of time,” he said.
In recent years, Lee said the school system has observed a downward trend in education.
“We are happy to see the momentum shift in a positive direction,” he said. “We have done this by focusing on the classroom environment, student mental health, the College and Career Academy, and collaborative relationships with our community partners. I am happy to see progress.”
Lee explained that the BOE needs to have the right teachers and principals in the school system, along with support staff to help with special education in the school as well as those who speak English as a second language.
“This is not the time to change leadership,” he said. “We are moving ahead, making progress, and have put in place a strategic plan that will guide us based on community input and needs.”
Lee commented on the rumors that he felt were unfounded regarding merging LOA with the Greene County schools.
He acknowledged that misinformation fueled the discourse with LOA and helped create a chain of misinformation that went out to parents and the community at large.
“There was never talk about a merger,” he said. “Unfortunately, LOA sends out talking points to parents that help spread misinformation and dissent.
Most often, these are not factual and become the subject of much discussion online. The rumors floating around are not true. We are entrusted with all the kids, both at LOA and at the BOE schools.”
As for the future, Lee spoke to the need to better educate the students of Greene County, all 2,400 students with 1,100 at LOA and 1,300 in the county schools.
“The demographics of the two schools are completely different,” he said. “LOA’s population of economically disadvantaged is 25 points below the state average, while Greene County’s schools are 15 points above the state average. This means there is a 40 percent point difference.”
While the statistics are true, Lee admitted that the No. 1 step is to get student test results up to the state average in year-end testing.