The Baldwin County Democratic Committee hosted the state of schools and city addresses March 20 in the Arts & Science Building auditorium at Georgia College & State University.
The committee has hosted prior town hall addresses offering local officials a chance to speak directly to the public about how the year went for Milledgeville, Baldwin County, and the school district.
This year’s event featured Superintendent Dr. Noris Price and Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan.
“About 10 years ago we did our first non-partisan community event,” said Quentin T. Howell, chair of the committee. “This year we chose to highlight a jewel in our community, which I happen to be a product of. That is our public school system.”
Prior to each address, Price was invited to the stage to receive various awards as appreciation for her 10 years of service as superintendent. Price became the Baldwin County School District superintendent July 1, 2014, and has worked in education for 40 years in various positions. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation and Plaque of Appreciation from the 100 Black Men of Milledgeville Oconee, a certificate of recognition from the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners and a key to the city from Mayor Parham-Copelan and council member Denese Shinholster.
Parham-Copelan also read a proclamation naming March 20, 2025 as Dr. Noris Price Day.
“I encourage all citizens to join us in congratulating Dr. Noris Price and expressing our deepest gratitude for her service and leadership in our school district and the profound impact felt in the lives she has touched,” said Parham-Copelan.
Price took the stage to present a detailed overview of the school district, from a breakdown of its demographics, to its programs, its achievements, and its struggles.
The district currently has 4,600 students from pre-k through 12th grade, 702 employees, and a $58.3 million budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The district’s focus areas are student achievement, school and community partnerships, and recruitment and retention of highperforming staff.
Price and her staff have worked to remove barriers and close the opportunity gap for students by offering access to counselors and behavior specialists, mental health and healthcare services at the Bee Well Clinic, the Parent Laundry Learning Center, meal programs, Parent University, evening school through Foothills, the STEAM initiative, and dual enrollment and advanced placement opportunities.
The district currently offers students 17 pathways in the College and Career Academy, including two new pathways, Early Childhood Education and Teaching as a Profession, partnered through Central Georgia Technical College.
There are currently 25 students interested in teaching and three of those students passed the paraprofessional exam and work at the Early Learning Center through work-based learning.
“We are able to offer the programs, resources, and opportunities we do because of collaborations and partnerships,” said Price. “We need you (the community) to educate our students.”
Price also briefly went over the district’s test scores, remarking that the district is “making progress and headed in the right direction.”
To improve scores, the district is offering tutoring, Saturday school, and literary school.
Following Price, Parham- Copelan presented 2025 highlights for the city of Milledgeville. Some of these highlights included:
• Playgroundequipment and fencing replaced at Central City Park
• Replacementoftheroof on Allen’s Market
• BlandyRoadtraffic improvements for the school district
• Beginningcitywide stormwater improvements
• Beganmorethan two miles of road improvements
• Purchasedabuildingat Central State Hospital to create Milledgeville Fire Rescue Station 3
• Foundationrepairfor the police headquarters
• Increasedoverallstaff salaries more than $2 million over the last two budget cycles
• Decreasingtheproperty tax millage rate from 12.12 to 11.37 The full presentations are available to watch on the Baldwin County Democratic Party; Milledgeville, Ga Facebook page. The event was livestreamed and, as of March 24, has been shared to multiple state pages and gathered over 8,000 views.
“These events reach more than our local community. They share the great things our county, schools, and city are doing to the state and the country,” said Howell.