Dr. Marvin Thomas qualified Monday for the May primaries in the District 6 seat of the Decatur County School Board. The retired educator and administrator announced his campaign for the school board Monday with the Post-Searchlight and said he is running to continue his work as a community servant.
“I’m running because I want to continue to be a servant for the constituents of District 6,” Thomas said. “I want to offer all of the help I can to the kids of Decatur County and the parents of Decatur County.”
Thomas served as principal at Hutto Middle School, and until his retirement in 2013, served as principal of Bainbridge Middle School.
While Thomas qualified for the election Monday, his teaching certificate is under suspension until July 29, 2015, due to a consent order by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission after an ethics complaint was filed. The complaint accused Thomas of altering attendance data for students, which allowed the school to make Adequate Yearly Progress in the attendance category.
“That has nothing to do with me being a school board member. I am a resident of Decatur County, I pay my taxes, I am not a convicted felon and I have never been convicted of a crime,” Thomas said of the consent.
The consent order states that until July of 2015, Thomas cannot serve as a volunteer or be employed as an educator, paraprofessional, aide, substitute teacher or hold positions in public schools in the state. Thomas can, however, hold a position on the school board and any elected governing body.
There is currently a complaint filed against Thomas for the misuse of public funds. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission is hearing the complaint that is currently in the appeals process.
Thomas said having a teaching certificate is not a requirement to serve on the school board and there are members of board currently that are not certified to teach.
While serving as an administrator, Thomas was named one of seven “High Performance Principals” by former Gov. Sonny Perdue and former State School Superintendent Kathy Cox in 2006 for his work at Hutto Middle School.
A graduate of Miller County High School, Thomas went on to get a degree in education, a Master’s degree in educational leadership from Albany State University and a Doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
He is married to Terrie Thomas and they have two children, Marva Neal and Marcus Thomas and four grandchildren currently in the Decatur County School System.
He is a deacon, Sunday school teacher and member of the Bainbridge Rotary Club.