Strother to resign Dougherty School Board seat

Departure comes with early voting underway and her name the only one on the November ballot for the seat.

ALBANY — Melissa Strother, who has represented District 4 on the Dougherty County Board of Education since winning the seat in 2014, is stepping down after her family moved outside the district, she announced Monday.

The timing complicates the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting is already underway, and Strother is the only candidate on the District 4 ballot after narrowly winning the May 19 Democratic primary over challenger Adam Inyang, 713 votes to 700. She faced no Republican opponent.

“I am especially regretful that these circumstances have arisen during an active election cycle, with early voting already underway and my name appearing as the sole candidate on the November ballot,” Strother said in a written statement. “I recognize the uncertainty this creates for the voters who have entrusted me with their representation, and I sincerely apologize for the unfortunate timing.”

Strother said an unexpected change in her family’s residential plans led to the move. Her statement did not say where the family relocated, when her resignation takes effect or whether she has formally withdrawn from the November race.

Under Georgia law, a nominee who withdraws from a general election files a notarized affidavit with the county election superintendent. Votes cast for a withdrawn candidate are void and are not counted, and unless ballots are reprinted, notices saying so must be posted at affected polling places.

The law bars filling a party nomination left open by a withdrawal fewer than 60 days (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-134) before an election. It separately calls for a special primary and special election when a withdrawal would leave no candidate on the ballot for an office.

Strother first ran for the seat in 2014, when board Chair Carol Tharin did not seek re-election and endorsed her. Strother defeated Darton State College economics professor Aaron Johnson in the Democratic primary, 978 votes to 453.

A sixth-generation Albany resident with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family services from Auburn University, she campaigned that year on literacy, smaller class sizes in pre-K through third grade, reducing nepotism and closer attention to district spending.

She is serving her third four-year term. She was the board’s vice chairwoman when she qualified for re-election in 2022 and previously served on its Finance Committee.

In an April interview with The Albany Herald, Strother called the district’s expanded pre-K program one of the most important developments of her tenure. She said the system was on stronger financial footing than when she joined the board, when furlough days were still being discussed.

“When I came on the board, the pre-K program was not what it is now,” she said then. “We are playing a long game.”

Her statement Monday credited the board and district with expanding pre-K, strengthening literacy instruction, raising academic performance and graduation rates, and widening access to school-based health care and family support services.

The statement also said the board has been named a Georgia School Boards Association Exemplary Board five consecutive years and that the district has reduced its millage rate seven consecutive years.

Strother said work remains to accelerate academic gains and address the barriers poverty creates for students.

“Melissa Strother has served our school system with integrity, thoughtful leadership and a sincere commitment to student success,” Superintendent Ken Dyer said in the statement.

Board Chair Velvet Poole said Strother “brought a thoughtful perspective to our board and a consistent focus on the needs of students and families.”

“I have always believed that public service is not about promises, but about progress,” Strother said. “Although my service on the Board of Education is coming to an end, my commitment to the children and families of Dougherty County remains unchanged.”