Rabun BOE announces long-time board member’s resignation

At the regularly scheduled Rabun County Board of Education meeting held Thursday night at the District office, Superintendent Melissa Williams announced that long-time board member and former teacher Betsy Smith will be retiring.

According to Williams, Smith conducted her final business as a board member Thursday night.

“Tonight is Betsy’s last night on the board with us. Betsy graduated from Rabun County School. Then she came back to teach, and after a long career of almost 31 years as a school teacher, she retired. Which then, she came back as a substitute,” Williams said. “After that, she decided that she wanted t to retire from being a substitute but she still wanted something to do with the school system so she got involved with the school board. Her first board meeting was in January 1999 so this will finish up nearly 20 years as a  board member.”

Williams said Betsy has dedicated more than 50 years to the Rabun County School System and her service is invaluable and will be missed dearly.

“Altogether, Betsy has given us 50 something years of her life to our school system and that experience in its self is invaluable,” Williams said. “In the five years that I’ve been here, it’s been a pleasure working with Betsy. We [board] have enjoyed her personality and her wisdom. She keeps us grounded but she also keeps us on our toes. We thank her for those years of service and we are certainly going to miss her.”