As the 2023-2024 school year came to a close, the Athens City Board of Education gathered on Thursday evening to acknowledge the athletic and academic achievements from their various schools throughout the year — and said goodbye to a longtime board member.

Beverly Malone, school board president, allowed Scott Henry, in his final time on the board, to open the meeting with the prayer and the pledge of allegiance.

Henry, who has served on the Athens City Board of Education for the past 10 years, spoke to The News Courier after his last meeting as a board member adjourned.

“There’s been a lot of change in our school system the past ten years, and it has been an honor to be able to be a part of that change,” Henry said. “Being able to see the work that our great teachers have done in the classroom to improve the education of our kids has been a privilege.”

From school board meetings to school plays and even PTO meetings, Henry expressed the abundant joy he got from seeing kids build bonds with their teachers and excel in their young academic careers.

“It’s just wonderful to see the kids excited about going to school, and loving their teachers,” Henry said. “We have a lot of students whose teachers are the first smiling face they see in a day. It’s rewarding to know that these kids look up to teachers like the superstars that they are in our school system.”

In its last meeting, May 20, the Athens City Council appointed Toby Harrison, Henry’s successor, to join the school board for their next meeting in June. Harrison was present at the school board meeting Thursday and spoke to The News Courier about his elevation to the board.

“I’m honored to be appointed to take on this role, I really love kids, and I think the Lord led me to serve this community,” Harrison said. “I believe the school system is the backbone of every community, because when you have a good school system you have a good community, so I’m going to do whatever I can to continue to improve our schools.”

The meeting itself kicked-off with the customary introductory remarks from Beth Patton, city superintendent, but the substantial crowd and the excitement in the air made it more than evident that this was no regular school board meeting.

Athens High School student athletes, from the track, golf and state championship softball team, were recognized prior to the regularly scheduled school board work.

Education professionals from FAME Academy at Brookhill Elementary, Spark Academy at Cowart Elementary and Athens High School offered presentations to the board about the academic improvements from the past year.

The school board meeting wrapped up with facility improvements from the various schools, and agenda approvals from the board that officially closed out the academic year — ringing in the summer for students, teachers and academic administrators.