South Hall businessman and Republican Mark Pettitt announced Wednesday he plans to seek the Post 2 seat on the Hall County Board of Education, currently held by Brian Sloan.

“I’m a lifelong resident of Hall County, and I’ve always been really active in the community,” Pettitt said.

“I see the direction our school system is headed in now, and I feel like it’s time to get off the bench and offer my thoughts and my talents for the children of Hall County. I’m trying to create a better opportunity for them and trying to restore some trust and accountability with our school system.”

The Johnson High School graduate and former substitute teacher said the county’s financial situation has spurred him into making this first bid for public office.

“We’ve got a lot of good things going for us,” he said about the school system. “We’ve got safe schools, and we’ve got really good charter academies. I fully support that, and I want to keep expanding our charter system.

“But our finances are just not in order. We have the second-highest administrative budget of any school system our size in the state, and we also have one of the highest tax rates for all of Georgia. We’re within a point of the state constitutional limit for school taxes. If we don’t make adjustments now, we’re going to be lobbying the legislature, just like Clayton County and DeKalb County, to raise our millage rate.”

Another big talking point of his is to increase transparency, with plans to have school board meetings aired online and on TV18, the local government television channel.

Pettitt, 21, is the owner of Chestnut Mountain Strategies, a marketing and consulting firm. He’s also a member of the Hall County Library Board and the Georgia Republican Party State Committee.

He has been on the Hall County Environmental and Solid Waste Advisory Board and on the executive committees of the county, district and state Republican Party.

Pettitt plans to graduate from the University of North Georgia this year with a political science degree. More about his campaign can be found on his website, electpettitt.com.