Franklin Perry admitted he didn’t know where Liberty County was when he was asked to be interim superintendent of its school system eight years ago.

Wednesday afternoon, he was hailed by school board members past and present for stepping in at a crucial time for the school system and helping to pull it back from the brink.

Perry’s tenure as superintendent is ending this month, as his contract expires.

“When you came, we were in a mess,” said board member Carol Guyett.

The school system was on the verge of losing its accreditation before Dr. Perry came.

“He led us,” said former board member Marcia Anderson. “And we came out on the other side.”

Former school board chair Lily Baker acknowledged the situation Perry inherited when he came on board. It was a phone call from former doctorate classmate Carolyn Carter that led to Perry coming to Liberty County.

Morale across the system was low, Baker said, and there was friction among the board members. During her tenure as chair, she had worked with five different superintendents.

“Being a superintendent is a hard job,” she said. “Being a superintendent is a full-time job. He was everywhere. You name it, he was there. I want to thank you for coming in and help the board come to a consensus and learn how to work together. You showed us how we can disagree and still function.”

Dr. Perry also guided the school system during the COVID-19 shutdown, and Baker said other systems were coming to Liberty County to learn how the school system was operating during the pandemic.

“Liberty County has been very blessed to have him,” Anderson said. “I don’t know when I have seen someone as concentrated on the children as he is. He is a blessing to the board, a blessing to the community and a blessing to the children.”

Perry said he doesn’t know what his future holds and he reflected on what the schools have done during his time in office.

“I’ve had a good eight years here,” he said.

Perry told gathered staff members Wednesday to look at what has been accomplished in the last eight years. Graduation rates are at 90%, the average age of school buses has been reduced from 19 years old to nine years old and the school’s millage rate has been cut from 16.5 to 14.4. The school system also was awarded more than $25 million in grants during his time.

The school system also has addressed discipline problems and has beefed up security at the schools, with cameras in each classroom and security vestibules installed at each school.

“We led the nation in banning cell phones,” Perry said. “And now everybody across the nation is talking about Georgia.”

Perry also relished in the system being designated a Military Flagship School District, just one of two in the state.

“When I came here, military people were telling their families ‘don’t put your kids in the Liberty County School System.’ That’s not true today,” he said.

Perry also pointed to the recent partnership with Mobis and how much of an impact poverty has on children’s ability to learn.

“We’ve got to get our students jobs,” he said. “If we’re going to eliminate poverty, we have to get them jobs.”

Still, he said there is much more that can be done.

“We should have accomplished more,” he said. “The most frustrating thing for me is I feel like we didn’t accomplish that goal. That bothers me. I believe every child has the right to live a good life.

“But don’t let anyone tell you this is not a good school system.”

Perry recalled a teacher who told him he would not amount to anything, and that drove his approach. He said other students received support from teachers and thankfully, he had a band director who motivated him.

“And they haven’t done anything,” he said of those other students. “I’ve gotten to do everything I wanted to do because of education. You need to give everybody a chance and that’s my passion. That’s why I push you.”

School board members have extended their search for a replacement and have named Debra Frazier, former principal at Liberty County High School, as interim superintendent.

As Perry’s time with Liberty County Schools ends, more board members recognized his presence at school events and community events.

“He works all the time,” current board Chair Verdell Jones said. “He’s everywhere.”

“Excellence is everything isn’t just your motto; it lives in you,” Genese Baker, the Liberty County Schools director of public relations, said. “It will continue on as your legacy, inspiring generations to come. Thank you for being a leader who has been visible, encouraging, compassionate and always puts students first.”

Former chair Lily Baker noted that she was once a track coach and used a relay race analogy to encapsulate his tenure.

“The baton is given to the first runner. You held that baton and you ran that race and you won that distance,” she said. “Thank you for carrying that baton with strength and courage.”