Tim Riley announces campaign for Houston County School Board

HOUSTON COUNTY—Houston County resident Dr. Tim Riley has announced he is running for Post 1 on the Houston County School Board. 

Riley grew up in Houston County and received his education through the school district. He attended Parkwood Elementary and Northside Middle School and graduated from Northside High School. 

He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Mercer University, his Master’s Degree from Georgia State and his Doctorate at Clark Atlanta University. After Riley retired, he moved to Hawaii for a decade and served as Vice Mayor for the city of Waianae. He then moved back to Houston County when the pandemic hit. 

Riley has a wealth of experience working in the school system. In addition to his local education, Riley was a substitute teacher for the district. 

“Throughout my political career, my big thing was education,” he said. “I have been a proponent of significant care in education for 50 years.” 

Riley’s main inspiration for running comes from advocacy of taking care of teachers. 

“Our teachers are getting overworked and underpaid,” he said. “We’ve got to work diligently to make sure that they are taken care of.” 

Safety in the school is also of primary importance to Riley. 

“We should have already had resource officers in every school and on every bus,” he said. “Society is not the way it was years ago; we do not need to be splitting resource officers between different schools, and there is so much that has to be done.” 

Riley is concerned that he sees the Houston County school system as a “training ground.” He says that the teachers here are getting paid training before they move on to get better pay and benefits elsewhere.

“We have got to become the place where people are trying to get to,” he said. “We want this to be the job that everybody wants by working in the Houston County school system.” 

According to Riley, his campaign has been going really well so far. 

“I have had a lot of good reception,” he said. “People have worked their butts off and are doing everything they possibly can to help me.” 

Riley is also very involved in his community. He has been getting people to donate canned foods as a part of his campaign.  

“No matter if we win or lose, I would still help out my community,” he said.

Riley is also the active president of the Genesis Joy House in Warner Robins, the only homeless shelter that serves exclusively female veterans. 

“All I’ve done is serve for my entire professional life,” he said.

Riley is a licensed therapist by trade and also has served in the hospital system working with children and in the prison system working with inmates. 

“I have worked the jobs that nobody else wanted to work, and I have been a diligent servant to the public,” he said. “Now, I am trying to help repay Houston County for the love they’ve shown me by giving me a stellar education.” 

Along with helping out the teachers, Riley mentioned that Houston County is a fast-growing county. He preaches proactivity rather than reactivity and advocates for planning ahead for eventualities. 

“We’ve got to begin to scout out and plan long in advance for the new schools that are going to be required,” he said. “I want to be proactive enough where we can say, ‘This area is growing so rapidly, we are going to have to find the proper safe land and proper environmental studies and get everything done way in advance.’” 

Leadership is essential to Riley as he views being an elected official as a “hired servant.” 

“If I’m elected, you are my boss, and I need to make sure you are heard,” he said. “What’s important is that I’m elected to go to that Board of Education to make sure that your voice as my constituent is heard.” 

If elected, Riley wants an open door for constituents to come talk to him. 

“I have always allowed people to contact me and let me know what they feel, need and want,” he said. “This is something that I will absolutely do from day one.” 

Riley believes that he has done a very good job in his elected roles and would be an asset to the leadership currently on the Houston County School Board. 

“I don’t think that I’m going to be something who is problematic,” he said. “ I have always been able to adapt into whatever situations I have been placed in politically.”

According to Riley, he wants to supplement and augment what has been done while also making sure the people of District 1 have what they want done clearly presented to the School Board. 

“If they want the schools painted red, then that’s what I’ll fight for,” he said. “I’m coming in to be the voice for the people of District 1.” 

Riley says that his experience in the political field and his tenacity getting things done are just a few reasons why he thinks people should vote for him. 

“I am very experienced and will be able to hit the ground running from day one,” he said. “I’m a very strong advocate for my constituency, and I can assure you that my District is going to get what they need and that’s why they should vote for me.”