GUYTON — Chelsey McNicoll, a South Effingham Elementary School parent and public school volunteer, recently announced her candidacy for the Effingham County Board of Education’s District 2 seat.

The seat is currently held by Troy Alford, who is seeking re-election. 

McNicoll is a four-year member of the Rotary Club of Effingham County, Garden Club member, former Girl Scout, Boy Scout leader and active member of her church in Springfield.

McNicoll graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2008 with a degree in Business Administration in Marketing.

McNicoll has a fourth grader and kindergartener at South Effingham Elementary School. She has served on the School Council for South Effingham Elementary School for wo years.

“I am a mom with a heart for the students of students and parents in District 2,” McNicoll said in a news release. “I strongly value education and the key role it plays in facilitating the future success of our citizens. This is an exciting time for Effingham County public schools and our community.”

She promised to be an “honest and progressive” member of the school board who advocates for all students, parents and staff.

McNicoll is not originally from Effingham County but she and her husband decided to make it home in 2014.

She issued a list of goals for the school system:

1. Improve traffic around schools.

a. Roundabouts, traffic lights and lobby for DOT/ county support for our district.

— i. Each end of Kolic Helmey

— ii. Midland Road

— iii. McCall and Blue Jay

— iv. Goshen and Hodgeville

b. Have more traffic signals added in District 2 because of the growth.

c. Work with Gulfstream and Effingham County to build an annex within our county limits to reduce traffic to Savannah as 70 percent of our residents in this district travel into Savannah for employment.

2. Sustain high-quality education in Effingham County.

a. Work with educators on how they can do their job better.

b. Make parents’ lives easier by reducing homework and offering more after-school programs and free tutoring to students.

c. Develop a five-year plan to accommodate growth in the south area of Effingham County.

d. Reduce class sizes.

3. Fair representation for students, teachers and educators.

a. Keep parents informed by posting updates on social media.

b. Bring in parents and teachers concerns before the school board.

c. Communication!

4. Work with the nutrition department to bring in local sourced produce for our students and teachers.

5. Address child safety.

a. Address policies for social media bullying and other venues of exclusion.

b. Survey middle and high schools regularly about whether they feel safe, respected and cared about.

c. Shadow children to better understand what a day in the life of our students look like.

d. Market telemedicine and expand telemedicine to address mental health needs by offering counseling for Board of Education staff, parents and students.

e. Work toward installing more cameras on buses in Effingham County.

6. Work with Effingham County to make sure that they understand that we need good growth and smart growth.

a. Lobby for high-wage jobs in the county to remain a tier 4 community.

b. Limit mass developments.

c. Ensure that we have proper planning for substantial predicted growth in Effingham County.

7. Achieve all of these things without raising taxes for the residents of Effingham County.

a. Lobby for more state funds.

b. Review property tax distribution to municipalities to ensure that tax dollars are used wisely and where the needs are the greatest.

— i. While schools in district 2 are at maximum capacity, she wants to make sure that taxpayers’ money is being invested in their best interest and the needs of the citizens.