Richmond Hill resident Toriano Gilbert announced Friday he’s running for the District 5 seat on the Bryan County Board of Education.

Gilbert is director of federal programs for Liberty County School System. He announced his candidacy for the seat, held since 2011 by David Schwarz, in an emailed message with a link to his campaign page.

“As an educator, former coach, community volunteer, mentor, and a parent, I know that education is the foundation from which we build strong, solid communities.  As a current educator, I see the direct impact of policy decisions on students.  As a mentor, I work with teachers, families and the community to support the learning occurring every day in our classrooms,” Gilbert said. “I have experience to protect our valuable taxpayer dollars to ensure every dollar is spent where it is needed most, in the classroom.  I know the values of talented teachers and I believe that we need to make decisions that support strong teaching and ensure that teachers and schools have the resources necessary to educate our children to compete in our global economy.  I also believe that families know their children best and it is critical that we listen to the voice of the community if we are going to build the solid foundation necessary to raise student achievement for all students.”

Here’s the link to Gilbert’s campaign page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Toriano-Gilbert-for-Bryan-Board-of-Education-109272314118096/

There are four school board seats up for grabs in the 2022 election – including that of the chair and districts 1, 4 and 5. Qualifying is March 7-11.

 Read more on this in an upcoming issue of the News.