Savannah-Chatham District 8 school board member Tonia Howard-Hall to run for second term

Update: The story has been updated to include Tonia Howard-Hall's platform for the school board.

Current District 8 school board member Tonia Howard-Hall has announced that she will seek a second term for the role.

Howard was first elected in 2018 and is seeking re-election because she wants to continue advocating for all children in the community, a media release said.

Background

Howard-Hall is a lifelong resident of District 8 and graduated from Woodville-Tompkins High School.

She received a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree in education from Cambridge College. She also holds an educational doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Sarasota.

The retired educator has 32 years of educational experience which includes working in Effingham and Savannah-Chatham school districts in Georgia and the Leon County School District in Tallahassee. She has worked as a classroom teacher, a lead math teacher, a district parent liaison and a central office administrator.

She has served as vice president on the SCCPSS school board, as an academic excellence chair and a delegate for Chatham County on the Georgia School Board (GSBA) delegate for Chatham County from 2018-20.

Platform

• Wants early learning centers and universal Pre-K  because there are the most effective strategies for improving later school performance
• Educational Recovery from COVID-19 pandemic
• Extended Day and Summer Instruction
• Have oversight of ESPLOST projects

Opponents

Howard-Hall is running against Jasmine Polley for the seat on the May 24 ballot.

“Although I serve at the pleasure of the voters of the 8th District, I don’t see district lines when it comes to the education and wellbeing of every student in this community," she said.