John White seeks Dist. 5 school board appointment

One candidate has come forward to seek appointment to the Grady County Board of Education.
With a Friday deadline looming, John White, 49, submitted his application to school system officials on Monday.
This is not the first time White has shown interest in serving on the board of education.
He was among eight candidates who put their names in the hat for an appointment in 2013.
White is hopeful the board will appoint him to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Dave Dumas from the District 5 school board seat.
Dumas resigned earlier this month after accepting a position with the city of Cairo Police Department.
To fill the vacancy, the school board will appoint someone to the post until a special election can be held in November 2016 in conjunction with the general election. The winner of that special election will fill Dumas’ unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2018.
White is the first and only candidate to make application for the position as of the end of business Tuesday.
Applications are being accepted until 4 p.m. Friday, June 26 at the school system’s central office located at 122 North Broad St.
White, a resident of Grady County since 1992, is an Office of Family Independence administrator with the business operation unit of the Department of Family and Children Services. He is based out of the Cairo office and has worked for the state for the past 26.5 years.
“My main objective in seeking this appointment is to make sure the Grady County Schools are the very best they can be and preparing our students for whatever direction they choose to go upon graduating from high school,” White said.
“I look forward to working with the members of the school board and superintendent if I am appointed,” White added.
White and his wife, the former Tia Rawlins, will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in August, and they are the parents of Emily, a rising junior at Cairo High School. The Whites are active members of Cairo First Baptist Church.
Mrs. White is the daughter of former school superintendent Larry Rawlins and Judy Rawlins.
School board members are planning to review applications at a budget workshop scheduled for July 7 and plan to vote on an appointment at the board’s July 14 meeting.
Superintendent-elect Dr. Kermit Gilliard said Tuesday that other District 5 residents have shown interest in possibly making application to be considered for an appointment, but as of presstime only White had put his interest in writing.