Local mother Courtney Driver enters race for Houston County School Board, post two

HOUSTON COUNTY — Courtney Driver hopes to use her insights from motherhood and volunteering to be a familiar voice for the Houston County School Board, post two. 

Post Two includes the areas below Russell Parkway, between Highway 41 and Moody Road. Feagin Mill Middle School is one of the schools in the district.

Driver has lived in Houston County for 10 years and has a daughter in the fourth grade who attends a school in the district. She spends a lot of time volunteering at her school and working with the Parent-Teacher Organization. In her professional life, she works in an estate planning firm. 

She shared that her job requires her to listen and understand family needs and long-term impacts. This is the mindset she aims to bring to the school board. 

“I believe that combination gives me a grounded, practical approach to leading in schools. I decided to run because I care deeply about our schools,” she said. “I’ve already been showing up, volunteering, supporting PTOs, staff and teachers. I want that same relationship to exist at the district level.”

Driver also said she believes in improving communication and trust between families outside of school board meetings. She shared that she is a mother first and wants every decision she makes to feel like it was made for students rather than for policies on paper. 

Driver has been on the ground in schools through volunteering and working with teachers and students. This has given her the opportunity to see what is working, what is not working and, overall, have those conversations. She believes this has given her insight into what schools need. 

She shared that her campaign has been going well, and she has had numerous conversations with both parents and teachers. Driver said she has been trying to spread the word and it has been exciting to put up her signs in supporters’ yards. She looks forward to upcoming events and continuing her conversations with constituents. 

If elected, her priorities include focusing on keeping students and schools safe. She believes there is a widespread issue with bullying and it needs to be taken seriously. Driver shared that she has heard from multiple parents that bullying is their main concern. 

“I really think addressing is going to take both prevention and accountability. We need to have clear policies that are consistently enforced, but also encouraged; a culture where respect is taught and reinforced every day with our students and our staff,” she said. 

Another of Driver’s priorities is ensuring policies are clear and strengthening communication between schools and families. She said this is to guarantee parents’ concerns are addressed quickly and appropriately. 

She believes District Two has been doing a good job, but there is always room for improvement. Driver said she is interested in building stronger relationships and improving schools with parents. 

She shared that while speaking with residents, she noticed there wasn’t a relationship between residents and board members, and many did not know who the board members were. Driver hopes that, if elected, parents will know not just her name but also have an open relationship with her. 

“I don’t want them to just see me at a board meeting. I want to have consistent dialogue with families, teachers, administrators and I want to be a familiar, accessible presence in the schools and not just a distant voice making decisions at the district level. I think that’s really important to me and I’ve heard parents are looking forward to it as well,” she said. 

Driver believes her leadership style starts with listening. She said this is the most important thing a leader can do and that it eventually leads to the best decision. By listening to constituents, the decision will be made based on what people need. 

Driver aims to continue building and working with everyone on the school board. She said she is excited to bring a fresh perspective since she is a parent and has volunteered in schools. 

“I’m happy to work with anyone who has the same mindset of putting our students first,” she said. 

Driver hopes people will vote for her because they see her as someone they can relate to: a concerned parent who puts children first. 

“I’m always a mother first and I always put my kid first. I promise that I would do the same thing for each and every kid here in Houston County,” she said. 

To learn more about Driver, visit her website. 

To see if you are in district two, visit the Houston County Board of Education website. 

Driver will be running against incumbent Lori Johnson. The General Primary Election is May 19.