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Longtime CCSD Board Member to Step Down Effective Immediately

Clarke County School District

At the January 10, 2019 meeting of the Clarke County School District Board of Education, President Jared Bybee announced that Mr. Vernon Payne has formally submitted his letter of resignation from the board.

In his resignation letter, Mr. Payne stated: “It is with great sadness that I submit my resignation from the Clarke County Board of Education, effective immediately. I have come to realization that it is in the best interest of our precious youth’s education that I step down due to health reasons. While I may be stepping down, I shall continue to be concerned with the education of our youth and therefore I will do whatever I can to continue in the support of education.”

Mr. Payne has served on the CCSD Board of Education for more than 40 years. Additionally, he has been a significant leader with the Georgia School Board Association, serving in various leadership roles for the state association for many years.

“Mr. Vernon Payne has served the children of Clarke County well during his tenure on the Board of Education,” said Dr. Demond Means, CCSD Superintendent of Schools. “We are all better for having worked alongside him on behalf of the students in the Clarke County School District. His service and commitment to the school district and state of Georgia is a testament to the great care and concern he has for every student in our community. While he will be missed on the board, his legacy will live on for generations.”

Also in his resignation letter, Mr. Payne addressed Dr. Means and Governor Nathan Deal, stating: “The students that we allow to fall through the cracks or permit to be placed in an atmosphere that is not conducive to learning and reaching their full potential could be the very students that could save innumerable lives, change the world through innovation, develop numerous medical cures and countless other life changing advancements. However, if we fail our youth, then we also have in turn failed ourselves as we have unknowingly stifled the many God given talents that have been bestowed upon our youth.”

The district will work with Mr. Payne and his family to explore the potential of a formal celebration of his years of service to the CCSD Board of Education in the near future.