The Bulloch County Board of Education will meet today and, for the first time in eight years, it will be without two men who were serving as the group’s longest-tenured members.
    David Ball (District 1) and Edwin Hill (District 3) will no longer sit on the administrative board, more than eight years after being first elected by their respective voters — the members announced last year that they would not seek another term.
    Ball and Hill were honored by colleagues for their service in December, and today will hand over reins to their successors, Cheri Wagner (District 1) and LeVon Wilson (District 3).
    Bulloch County Schools Superintendent Charles Wilson thanked the long-time board members last month for their civic participation.
    “I thank you very much for your time, your effort and all the heart and soul you’ve put into this community,” Wilson said. “I appreciate y’all’s service.”
    Ball, 57, has formulated a plan for spending the extra hours on his 2013 schedule.
    “I think I’m going to go fishing,” he said. “I think that is probably what I need to do.”
    The director of Outreach Center Inc. in Bulloch County, Ball served as chairman of the school board for five of his eight years in office.
    “We had a great time. It was very enjoyable,” Ball said. “There were ups and downs with all kinds of things while we were there, but all in all, it was a great experience.”
    Hill, 60, said he will focus on his work as a certified public accountant.
    “With the recent tax legislation to avert the ‘fiscal cliff,’ I will be focused on providing our firm’s clients with tax and financial planning ideas,” he said. “I will continue to monitor regulatory changes at the state and national level.”
    Ball and Hill presided during a time that saw the passing of three Education Special Local Option Sales tax referendums, which funded more than $150 million in new school and athletic facility constructions and technology improvements, said Hayley Greene, the school district’s public relations and marketing specialist.
    “They also helped work with administrators to guide the school system through challenging financial times due to state and local funding reductions of more than $8 million,” she said.
    Both board members said they are proud of the group’s accomplishments.
    “The building of the schools is probably the best thing we did,” Ball said. “It is probably one of the main reasons I got on the board eight years ago. Hopefully, we’ll be set for another 40 or 60 years with these buildings.”
    “As a board, we worked with the administration and staff to assure good stewardship of the taxpayers’ financial investment in the system,” Hill said. “As a board, we supported the system in a manner that provided a safe and excellent learning environment to all students.”
    While not every goal was achieved — Ball said he hoped the board would have resolved issues with redistricting (Hill also cited this wish), as well as block schedules for high school students — both men are optimistic about the future of the district.
    “The board can always be improved, but we have an outstanding group of individuals willing to commit their time and energy to make our school system the best,” Hill said. “From the teachers, paraprofessionals, custodial staff, administrative staff, and superintendent, we are fortunate in Bulloch County to have the best.”
    Neither Hill nor Ball said he currently has plans to run for local office again.
        Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.