The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce hosted its latest Executive Luncheon at Savannah Rapids Pavilion on Wednesday, in which the theme was education.
Several local business, government and school district officials were in attendance, including Grovetown Council Member Deborah Fisher, Columbia County School Board members David Alalof, Kristi Baker and Lee Ann Meyer, county manager Scott Johnson and district attorney Bobby Christine.
Representatives from local private schools Community Christian Academy and SOAR Academy were also present.
“We’ve got a solid talent pipeline within this school district, and we want to make sure that they stay here,” said Chamber President Russell Lahodny. “So for the business community and school district, it’s imperative that we partnered together so that you know we can all retire and have a big future workforce to take our place.”
The keynote speaker for the event was Columbia County School Superintendent Dr. Steven Flynt, who presented to the guests and chamber members an update on district affairs.
The superintendent noted the district’s projected student enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year — more than 29,000 students — some 3,900 of which are eligible for the gifted program, over 3,000 for special education services and 421 for the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program.
He then highlighted projects developed through ESPLOST-generated funds, such as new school buses, classroom additions to eight schools in the district and the purchase and renovation of the Student Support Complex on River Watch Parkway in Evans.
Flynt also made mention of the 30,000 square foot Junior Achievement Discovery Center of the CSRA, developed in partnership with the Richmond County School District.
“We heard loud and clear from the entire county when we went and asked the question, ‘What do you want in your school district?’” said Flynt. “Very clearly was we know we’re doing pretty well in the state, but we need to take it to the next level… not just the state, not just the region. We’re going to go out and benchmark against districts nationwide that are getting it done and doing it at extremely high level.”
At the end of the program, Lahodny invited Chad and Jen Harply of local IT service Premier Networx to the podium, where they announced their donation of four Chromebooks to Columbia County Community Connections, and indicated a future gift for the nonprofit to be announced.
Community Connections offers several programs to aid families in need, such as tutoring, after-school care and food drives.
“We are your SPLOST dollars at work,” said Community Connections Director Teka Downer. “Of course we are small and our funds are few… but it is the heart of our community that makes this work worthwhile.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
