COVINGTON, Ga. - By unanimous vote, the Newton County Board of Education appointed Shakila Henderson-Baker as chair and Abigail Coggin as vice-chair for 2019. They will serve in that capacity through the school board’s January 2020 meetings. Outgoing chair, Almond Turner, presented  Henderson-Baker with the chair’s gavel at the end of the school board’s Jan. 22 meeting. 

Henderson-Baker was recently elected to her third term on the Newton County Board of Education, having originally been elected in 2010 and then reelected in 2014. She is the District 3 representative on the school board. A Newton County native, she is a graduate of Newton County High School. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Fort Valley State University and holds a Master of Science degree in psychology and counseling from Troy University. 

Coggin served as vice-chair in 2018 and was re-elected to continue in that position in 2019. Like Henderson-Baker, Mrs. Coggin was recently elected to her third term in office as the District 5 representative on the Newton County Board of Education. She was originally elected to serve on the school board in November 2010 and then re-elected in 2014. A life-long resident of Newton County, Mrs. Coggin is a 1992 graduate of Newton County High School. She continued her education by graduating from Oxford College and Emory University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Mrs. Coggin is an employee of the Arts Association in Newton County. 

“Both Mrs. Henderson-Baker and Mrs. Coggin are excellent leaders and I look forward to working with both of them in their capacity as board chair and vice-chair,” Samantha Fuhrey, NCSS superintendent, said. “We are fortunate in Newton County that each and every one of our school board members makes decisions for our school system based on what is best for our students.”