Administrators and leaders from Athens City Schools, Limestone County Schools, Athens Bible School, Lindsay Lane Christian Academy, Limestone County Career Technical Center, Calhoun Community College and Athens State University gathered Tuesday morning, Oct. 29, to detail their accomplishments from the past year and share their vision for the future.

The annual State of Education Address, presented and moderated by the Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce, has given numerous members of the community the opportunity to hear from those that directly affect the growing education industry in the area.

“The more we can collaborate and talk about the state of our education, from K-12 to higher education, the better,” Catherine Wehlburg, president of Athens State University, told The News Courier following the two-hour event held at Carter Gymnasium in downtown Athens. “It’s good for the community to learn about all the initiatives that are happening, as well as the concerns that we all have.”

Wehlburg specifically highlighted the show of unity and support from several local elected officials who attended the event; such as District 6 Rep. Andy Whitt, Limestone County Commissioner Collin Daly, Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks and many others.

“It means so much to have the community behind us and supporting us every step of the way,” Wehlburg said. “They are fully engaged in what’s next for our education. They are essential in what we do, because we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the projects and scholarships without their contributions.”

Outside of Wehlburg, the panel of administrators included Career Tech Center Director Vince Green, ACS Superintendent Beth Patton, ABS President Robert Fudge, LLCA Head of School Stephen Murr, Calhoun President Jimmy Hodges and LCS Superintendent Randy Shearouse.

Each participant tackled questions about their student body growth, school safety, campus expansion, preparing for a future filled with new technology and their need for increased funding to adequately pay instructors.

“There’s a lot of great things going on in Limestone County,” Shearouse said. “That’s why we are really excited about school construction and renovations. It’s all about creating more opportunities for students, and fortunately we’ve been able to provide them with that.”

During the event, Shearouse emphasized some of those projects that have been finalized in the last year. These include the substantial renovations to Johnson Elementary School and the grand opening of the new Elkmont Elementary School for the 2024-2025 school year.

“I know this is a big event for all of us every year,” Sheaoruse said. “It says a lot about our community for how they always show up in large numbers to hear about education. We certainly feel supported to know people care about what we have going on in our school system.”

Patton echoed those sentiments from her fellow superintendent throughout the event, noting how she is focused on creating a “high quality and rigorous institution” that prepares students for life after graduation. She also reinforced the importance of continuing to have this event every year.

“It’s so nice to get to come together to share the positives that are going on in all of our schools with the community,” Patton said. “Without this event we wouldn’t have such a large platform to bring up improvements on things like school safety. These are things that are constantly on our minds, and it means everything to know that the whole community cares just as much about it as we do.”