Liberty County school board members and their search firm are going through the list of applicants for the school system’s top job.

Applications to be the next superintendent of Liberty County schools closed March 2, and board Chair Verdell Jones said the system received more than 30 applications. The Georgia School Boards Association is helping with the search.

“Board members are in the process of reviewing a great amount of applicants,” she said at Thursday’s town hall. “We are going to go through this process with diligence.”

Board members will choose a successor to Dr. Franklin Perry, whose contract ends June 30. He initially was named interim superintendent in May 2017. He was later the lone finalist for the position and became the full-time superintendent in 2018.

He was given a two-year contract extension in July 2022, taking his tenure to 2025. Jones thanked Dr. Perry for his work during his time as superintendent. Jones said there is no perfect candidate in mind but there are qualities the school board wants in its next superintendent.

“We want a superintendent whose main focus is making sure students get a quality education in a safe and supportive environment,” she said.

Jones said the board wants to hear from the community on its preferences in a next superintendent.

“We solicit your input,” she said, adding the school system sent out a survey and it can be found on the system’s online platforms. “If you see that, please give us your input. You can contact any of your board members and share your input.”

The school system now has more than 11,000 students and its general fund budget is $145 million. There are more than 1,400 employees in the school system.

Liberty County Schools’ human resources department has a recruitment and retention effort in place to attract and keep personnel. The school system lost 103 teachers from its 2023–24 ranks, with relocation and retirement the top two reasons. Thirty- three teachers relocated and 26 retired.

For the current school year, there have been 45 teachers to decline contracts for next year, as of March 30, with 10 retiring and eight each either relocating or moving because of military permanent change of station. That puts the system’s retention rate at 97.48%, with three schools — Liberty County High School, Liberty College and Career Academy and Waldo Pafford Elementary — with retention rates of at least 99%.

There are 1,516 fulltime positions within the school system and there are 80 openings, with 20 of them certified, such as those for teachers and administrators, and 60 of them classified.

Liberty County Schools have spent more than $3 million over the last two years to upgrade safety measures across its campuses and facilities. Schools also are required to take part in at least six scenario-based emergency drills each year, including fire drills, intruder drills, lockdowns, shelter in place, severe weather alerts and evacuations.

With breakfast and lunch provided to all children in the school system for free, the participation rate in school breakfasts is 61.9%, well above the state average of 36.4%. The participation in school lunch is 75.6%, which also surpasses the state mark of 67.1%.

The school system also plans to add boys and girls tennis to its middle school athletics for 2025–26, with flag football for girls in the following school year. Schools officials also are looking at the possibility of adding wrestling for 2026–27.