Georgia’s top education official campaigns for reelection on conservative agenda 

State School Superintendent Richard Woods said his emphasis on student safety, teaching character, and the introduction of personal finance courses during his decade in office had served to improve student outcomes. 

“I ask you to continue to invest as I have delivered on every promise,” Woods told more than two dozen people at a Golden Isles Republican Women luncheon. 

Woods will face two other Republicans, Fred “Bubba” Longgrear, the superintendent of the Candler County School District, and Randel Trammel from Cartersville, in the GOP primary next May. No Democrat has declared their candidacy for next year’s general election. 

In his 30-minute remarks, the Pensacola, Florida-born Woods touted the reintroduction of phonics and cursive writing during his tenure as superintendent. 

He also boasted that the state had completely removed the so-called Common Core State Standards from school curricula. Introduced in 2009, the standards were designed to specify academic benchmarks in English language arts and math for the 46 states that adopted them. Critics say they are an illustration of federal overreach in the area of education.

Woods attended Kennesaw State University as an undergraduate and earned a master’s degree at Valdosta State University. Even so, he said that pushing all students into four-year universities was a mistake. He stressed the value of making vocational school a more viable option.

Woods denied that the administration’s orders to close the Department of Education have had an impact. He said that Title I and special education funds will not be affected by the closure. Georgia gets over $3 billion in federal funding for schools. 

Perhaps hinting at what he expects to be a hotly contested primary, Woods reproached his critics, political opponents and others with contrary “agendas,” though he did not identify them. 

In a clear pitch for votes from those Trump supporters in his party, Woods said he supported the downgrading, if not the dismantling, of the U.S. Department of Education.

“Now, for me, in the constitutional standard, and I think fair is fair, and I’ve always been fair, the federal government should not have anything to do with public education,” he said. 

Woods, who lives in Tifton, 130 miles west of Brunswick, also invoked a Republican talking point from last year’s election, which is likely to be a GOP campaign staple again next year. 

“LGBT is not a problem in our state, and I’m proud to say I have not allowed any boys to play girls’ sports,” he said.

During his remarks, the superintendent did not address what might have been the most controversial issue of his current term — his refusal to recommend adding advanced placement African American studies to the state’s course catalog.