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Matt Brannon
As part of its coverage of the 2022 elections, the Franklin County Citizen Leader submitted the same list of questions to each candidate running for a seat on the Franklin County Board of Education.
The questions were:
1. Please provide information about your background, education, past service in government or with community organizations, church and family.
2. What qualities and/or qualifications do you feel will serve you best in the position you seek?
3. What are your plans if you are elected to the position?
4. What role should the board of education have in economic development, if any?
5. If you had a chance to speak one-on-one with each registered voter in Franklin County, what would say to secure his or her vote?
The answers submitted by the candidates were used to write the story below.
By Samantha Sinclair
Staff Writer
Matt Brannon is the type of person who tries to find the most efficient and effective way to reach a goal.
He thinks that’s just one of the qualities he has that will help him if elected to the Franklin County Board of Education’s Post 5 seat.
He also has learned several skills through his work as an estimator, including reviewing contracts, pre-construction planning, being financially sound and being responsible to provide an initial budget for each project and paying close attention to every detail.
If elected, he plans to support the superintendent and improve the school system, keeping academics the main focus, so kids can be successful.
“At the high school and middle school level, my plan is to see the athletic department grow from a coaching and mentorship perspective in all sports as well as continue the success for the agriculture department, all while being financially sound,” Brannon said. “At the elementary school level, I would love to find the balance between getting focused more on social development and interacting with peers outside of an academic setting like through physical activity such as physical education and recess as well as continue the upward trend in testing scores and grades.”
He would like to continue the core Christian values of the county strong as the county faces anticipated growth.
He thinks the board of education should be “heavily involved” in economic development plans as the county commission’s decisions will directly affect the school system and taxpayers.
“We should be in the discussion in regards to the moratoriums that are imposed so we can help the board of education stay on budget and continue to provide our students with as many opportunities as possible without reducing what we currently have,” Brannon said. “The amount of people potentially coming into our town will change this community heavily and it will change the opportunities our children have going forward if this is not done properly.”
Brannon was born in Alabama, but raised in Brunswick. He graduated from Glynn Academy High School and attended college at the College of Coastal Georgia.
He relocated to Franklin County in 2014 for his job.
He is an estimator for Troy Construction, a general contractor for natural gas pipeline and station construction.
His family has been in the industry for three generations.
He lived in the Sandy Cross area for six years before moving to Franklin Springs with his family.
He and his wife Jessica have three children — Hartley, Hayden and Harrison — who all attend different schools in Franklin County.
Jessica is a paraprofessional at Carnesville Elementary, where their youngest child goes to school.
Brannon coaches several sports throughout the year, as his children participate in sports through the Franklin County Recreation Department and the school system.
“I have learned a great deal from coaching kids through the recreational department,” Brannon said. “In knowing that every single kid is different and has to be pushed a certain way to maximize their potential and not pushed to a standard.”
He wants voters to know that he will be an advocate for all children, no matter what avenue they wish to pursue.
“I will fight to keep the current Christian values of this community intact as they will be challenged with the anticipated growth as you see all over the nation,” Brannon said. “I will do these things like I do everything else — with passion, efficiency and effectiveness.”