The Clarke County Board of Education voted unanimously at a brief called meeting Sept. 1 to hire Robbie Hooker as the new school superintendent.
The 8–0 vote (board member Linda Davis was absent) came with no discussion or comments from the board, and there was no opportunity for public comment. Hooker is scheduled to start work Oct. 10, when current superintendent Xernona Thomas retires.
Hooker’s appointment has been a foregone conclusion for nearly a month. The board named the Social Circle superintendent the sole finalist for the position in early August. A final vote was scheduled for Aug. 25, but was pushed back a week after the Clarke County NAACP complained about a lack of transparency. Hooker appeared at a meet-and-greet Aug. 27, where he called on the community to unite behind him in a push to make CCSD the best school district in the state.
Hooker was a teacher at Coile Middle School and principal at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School and Clarke Central High School before leaving CCSD in 2016 to become assistant superintendent in Henry County. He has led the Social Circle district since 2019.
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