The Bibb County Board of Educations Receives “A” Grade for Open Records Request Compliance

BOE also Receives an Excellent Transparency Grade

Emma Warren and Lenka Anuraj

April 28, 2026

Students in Mercer’s Civic & Community Journalism class reviewed agency websites and information to assess how transparent they are when it comes to making decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent. The students also reviewed each agency’s adherence to Georgia’s open record and open government laws.

The Bibb County Board of Education is the official local government agency that runs the public schools in Macon-Bibb County. The Board of Education was officially chartered in 1872 and is responsible for 35 schools throughout the district. There are 21 preschools, 23 elementary schools, eight middle schools, and seven high schools. Across these schools, there are 21,000 students.

The Bibb County Schools superintendent is Dr. Dan Sims, who has served in the role since 2022. The school district manages daily school operations, maintenance, curriculum, and transportation for students. Recently, the school district has focused on improving high school graduation rates and student retention rates throughout all elementary, middle, and high schools in the county.

To help students, the district offers various programs, including the PUSH for Success Summer Academy and the W.S. Hutchings College & Career Academy. Millage rates for the 2025-26 fiscal year stand at 14.674 mills, which raised property taxes by nearly 5% to combat a $17 million deficit. (Compiled from the Bibb County School District website. Link: https://www.bcsdk12.net/).

Open Records Compliance

Records that were requested: Suspension and expulsion data for the 2024-2025 school year.

When did you first hear back from the agency? The request was made on March 26, and confirmation that it was received was given the next day.

Did the agency request a fee? The agency did not request a fee for the information; however, they said that if more specific information than what was available was requested, there may be a fee.

Describe the response to the ORR request: The response contained the link to an online portal that had discipline data across the state of Georgia. However, within this portal, you could filter the data by district and school year.

Assign a grade for contact/process: The agency gets an “A” for this process. There was a page that clearly outlined the process for submitting an open records request, and meeting agendas and minutes were also on the site.

Assign a grade for a response: The agency gets a “B” for the overall responsiveness. They acknowledged the request within the three days; however, the records weren’t sent until April 6. The agency did state that the records would be provided a little bit later due to the district’s spring break.

Open Records Grading Scale

Grading scale for the ease of contacting agency staff and finding or filing for public records

A: Agency uses an online portal or has a clearly defined process or contact on its website for requesting public records. An “A” agency may also readily provide the most commonly requested records on its website, including agendas and meeting minutes, so an open records request is not required.

B: Agency has some public information online such as meeting agendas or meeting times, but additional information on how to request public information is not available. There is contact information available for staff.

C: Agency website has contact information for staff but nothing specific about how to request public information/open records.

D: Agency has limited contact information on its website but it is not clearly labeled and/or easily accessible.

F: Agency contact information or how to get public records is not available on the website.

Grade scale for agency’s overall responsiveness and compliance with open records law

A: Provided records within the three-day window or less OR responded and provided an explanation that the record did not exist.

B Acknowledged the request within the three-day requirement, but records were provided after three days.

C: Acknowledged the request but then put forth a long timetable for response or requested a high fee or retrieval price for what should be a digital record and/or PDF that could be emailed.

D: Acknowledged the request but no further information or follow-up or acknowledged and responded to the request outside of the three days.

F: No response or refused to provide a records that falls under the state’s open record law.

Agency’s Public Transparency

The web address is https://www.bcsdk12.net/.
The website lists key staff. The website lists all board members, including the president and vice president. The emails for each member are included. The president, Mr. Daryl J. Morton, can be contacted at [email protected]. The vice president, Dr. Sundra M. Woodford, can be reached at [email protected]. The superintendent, Dr. Dan A. Sims, can be reached at [email protected]. The treasurer, Mrs. Kristin C. Hanlon, can be reached at [email protected]. The following are the emails of the remaining board members: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].
The agency does have a communication officer. The Chief Communications Officer is Stephanie Hartley, and she can be reached at [email protected].
The website does have information on meeting announcements, dates, and times. The website’s calendar lists dates with meetings, including time and location. The website also lists the meeting’s agenda. All of this information is posted on their website.
The website does have the meeting agendas posted online.
The website has approved meeting minutes posted online. The last meeting with approved minutes uploaded online was on Feb. 26, 2026. The last meeting with an agenda was March 27, 2026.
The agency provides a way for the public to watch meetings virtually as they happen. They are available on their YouTube channel, @bibbschools.
The agency is active on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. For all four sites, their handle is @bibbschools.
The agency does provide online information on submitting an open records request. To submit one, they can be sent via email or mail. The website provides an email address and mailing address.
For any members of the public who would like to keep up with the agency’s business, a calendar is available that details board meetings, committee meetings, and budget meetings. The calendar can be found at this link: https://www.bcsdk12.net/calendar.

Transparency Grading:
Excellent: The agency had its meeting times and posted them to its website as required and provided access to the public.

Public Accessibility Grading:
Superior: The agency does provide contact information for leadership and video recordings of meetings. The agency is also active on its social media platforms.

Transparency & Assessibility Grading Scale

Transparency

This grade reflects how well the agency follows Georgia law requiring them to post meeting times and dates on its website.

Excellent: Agency had its meeting times and agendas posted on its website.

Satisfactory: Agency had its meeting times on its website as required by law but does not include agendas.

Unsatisfactory: Agency did not have its meeting times and/or agendas posted on its website.

Public Accessibility

This grade reflects how easy the agency makes it for members of the public to find information online about the agency's work for taxpayers.

Superior: Agency provided contact information for leadership, audio or video recordings of meetings and minutes from its meetings. Agency also used social media platforms to share out information of interest to the public.

Above average: Agency provided contact information leadership as well as information and documentation from its meetings.

Average: Agency provided contact information for leadership and was active on social media but did not have audio or video recordings of meetings and/or minutes from its meetings posted online.

Poor: Agency didn’t provide contact information for leadership and didn’t regularly post on social media. Agency also did not have audio or video recordings of meetings or minutes from its meetings available online.