Decatur’s school board swore in James Herndon Tuesday (Jan. 14) night, one of two new members to the five-person collective. Jana Johnson-Davis was actually sworn in last November since she’s filling the seat vacated by Annie Caiola with still two years remaining.
Both Herndon and Johnson-Davis (14 years at the middle school level) are former teachers, along with Superintendent David Dude who taught high school math for 11 years.
Herndon and Johnson-Davis, along with incumbent Tasha White ran unopposed in the Nov. 5 election. On Tuesday the board elected White vice chairman for the second consecutive year while Lewis Jones remained chairman for a third straight one-year term.
Herndon was born and raised in Macon. A football player in high school he went to Mercer University on debate scholarship, majoring in communications and graduating in 2002.
He spent 2004-08 as an English teacher and debate coach at Chattahoochee High School in Johns Creek, and then was the debate coach at Emory University from 2008 (when he moved to Decatur) until the end of 2019. He currently works as a financial advisor for Edward Jones.
“It just proved too much travel [as a debate coach],” Herndon said Tuesday. “I was gone 16 weekends a year, and I wanted to spend more time with my two girls who are 8 and 5.”
Herndon had long been interested in some type of a school leadership role, and was initially encouraged by former Glennwood Elementary (Decatur) Principal Dianna Watson to serve on that school’s School Leadership Team.
“When I worked at Chattahoochee High,” he said, “it was so much better than the high school I attended. The reason is that it had strong parental, community and school board support. That’s my reason for running [for school board], I want to be part of the support team for Decatur schools.”
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