Dist. 5 returns McCalman to BOE

Published 7:30 am Saturday, August 26, 2023

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Voters in Andalusia’s District 5 returned Dr. David McCalman to a fourth term on the Andalusia City Board of Education on Tuesday.

McCalman defeated challenger Shawn Geohagan, 144 to 6.

The District 5 race was the only one on the ballot, as Sammy Glover was unopposed in his bid for re-election in District 1.

In District 3, incumbent David Bryant chose not to seek reelection. John Wells was the only candidate who qualified for the office.

McCalman said he appreciates the support he received from thos in his district and looks forward to continuing to serve the students of Andalusia.

“I appreciate everybody who turned out and voted,” McCalman said. “It is humbling. Serving our schools is something that is very important to me. I appreciate the turn out and those who took time to help me. It is a different type of election where we only have a month’s notice. It’s a one-election race, which you don’t see very often, but I sincerely appreciate those who took the time to go and vote.”

He added that he looks forward to continuing the board’s work on current and future projects that benefit both students and the community.

“I do believe that we have some exciting and positive things going on within our school system. I’m happy that I will be able to continue working on those projects. As a system we have areas where we need to improve and we also want to continue improving on those things we are doing well,” McCalman said.

McCalman is especially excited to work with other board members and school administrators to add more STEM curriculum.

“It’s an exciting time with improved test scores and the introduction of a new STEM lab in the near future. We hired a fantastic STEM instructor and we are going to continue working to improve in that area. It is important to our students, but it is also important to our community as it will go a long way in allowing our kids to be job-ready upon graduating,” he said.

McCalman, along with Glover and Bryant, will be sworn into office in November.

School board members run in staggered years. Incumbents in District 2 and 4 will be up for election in two years.