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The Troup County School Board swore in the new school board members during a special called meeting on Tuesday night. Dr. Dan McAlexander, Rev. Tripp Foster and Mark Thompson were all sworn in by Judge Debbie A. Wade. Ferrell Blair was also sworn in for a second term. 

The three new faces were elected in May after their predecessors chose not to seek reelection. McAlexander will represent District 5, succeeding Cathy Hunt, Foster will represent District 6, taking over for Joe Franklin and Thompson will serve as the District 3 representative, succeeding Brandon Brooks. 

After the swearing-in, the new board voted on a Chairman and Vice-Chairman. A chairman is chosen by a vote of the board at the first meeting of every year. Ferrell Blair was the sole nominee and was elected unanimously by his colleagues. Rev. Allen Simpson was appointed Vice-Chair, also by a unanimous vote. 

After the brief meeting, the freshly-minted board members discussed their priorities going into their first year in office. 

McAlexander said he wants to, “help the schools, help our students be successful in everything they do.” He added that he will follow the strategic plan the district has put in place.

Thompson hopes to focus on test scores.

“Bettering the test scores for the students of Troup County schools,” he said when asked about his priority. “We’ve got a great team to work with [and] we’ll be able to accomplish that. We’ve already got some awards from the state…it’s an uphill battle, but we’ll get through it.”

Foster echoed the sentiments of his fellow freshman board members saying, “My priority is the success of the children of this county that are all enrolled in our school system. That’s our number one goal… “The primary mission of this board is to make sure that these children receive a safe place to learn and a good public school.”