BURKE COUNTY, Ga () – Parents, staff, and local residents of Burke County Schools recently came together for a town hall meeting to discuss potential improvements they wish to see in the school district.

This was the first town hall meeting aimed at building a better Burke County Public School System discussing safety, academics and responsibilities.

I spoke with a parent who has two children in the Buke County School System who had a few concerns.

One major concern among community members, according to Sara Singletary, is the effectiveness of communication, specifically how parents can address and resolve their concerns.

Singletary tells me she feels good about being able to talk about this with the board.

“The trust I didn’t have yesterday, that I didn’t have when I came in this morning, has really strengthened. I now have a lot of trust and respect for our board members and our superintendent. I feel more comfortable having direct conversations with them, without relying on social media as a platform,” Singletary expressed.

She tells me when she voiced her opinion and concerns, she felt heard by the board.

“For a whole year, I’ve been hoping for transparency to return to our school system. Today’s meeting felt like a significant step in that direction. It was reassuring to see genuine concerns being shared and addressed by both the board and superintendent. This meeting was exactly what our school system needed,” Singletary added.

Jackie Payton, the Chair of the Burke County School Board, initiated this meeting and was pleased to witness parents, educators, and community stakeholders openly sharing their opinions.

The board’s next steps will be to review everything that was mentioned and make plans as to where to go from here.

“Our goal is collaboration and satisfaction for everyone. The happier people are, the better they perform, and this reflects positively on our students. As a teacher with 35 years of experience, the discussions we had were both challenging and inspiring, showing that there’s still work ahead,” Payton stated.

They do plan on having more meetings in the future.