She’s a familiar face in Columbus schools. Chattahoochee County hires her as principal

Two weeks after the school year started, Chattahoochee County High School has a new principal — and she’s a familiar name in the Columbus area.

During a called meeting Thursday, the Chattahoochee County Board of Education unanimously approved superintendent Kristie Brooks’ recommendation to hire Nila Burt as the high school’s next principal.

Burt, an educator for 35 years, has been an assistant principal at Northside High School in Muscogee County full time since 2016 and was shared with Hardaway from December 2009 to December 2010. She was an assistant principal at Hardaway from 2009-14 and at Midland Middle School from 2014-16.

She began working in MCSD in 2001 as a math teacher at Shaw High School. She also has taught in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Morgan County, Georgia, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Jeff Kemp had been the CCHS principal since January 2020. He resigned in June “to pursue an extraordinary opportunity in the business sector . . . , a regional lead for a national risk management company,” Brooks told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email.

Allison Rodriguez, CEO of ChattCo’s College and Career Academy, has served as interim principal.

Burt’s first day as CCHS principal will be Monday. No successor has been appointed yet to fill her position at Northside.

“I have had the honor of working with so many excellent high-school principals, including Dr. Jim Arnold, Matt Bell, James Wilson, and Marty Richburg,” Burt told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “I believe the experiences I have gained through their leadership have given me a variety of perspectives and working knowledge.

Burt called CCHS “a well-performing school with so many opportunities for the students in Cusseta and Ft. Moore. I hope I will be able to continue to foster those growth opportunities.”

Northside principal Marty Richburg described Burt as an invaluable part of the school’s leadership team.

“She wears many hats as she has handled all aspects of the school building,” Richburg told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “She not only is a great leader but also a great friend that has worked to place herself in a position to take on an assignment such as this.

“We know she will be successful and take with her the experience to lead Chattahoochee County High School. We sincerely thank her for her leadership and will miss her at Northside High School.”

Brooks selected Burt out of 19 candidates, including five invited for an interview.

“Dr. Burt has a wealth of diverse experiences that allowed her to position herself as the top candidate for our high school,” Brooks said. “As a school that balances the needs of students pursuing a rigorous college preparatory program to include Dual Enrollment as well as a school that has an equal number of students pursuing skilled trades, Dr. Burt was able to share specifics on the importance for all students to be equally involved in personal goal setting and planning for their future.”

Brooks also is impressed by Burt’s demonstrated ability to build relationships and understand scheduling needs.

“Our interview teams and community interview team appreciated that Dr. Burt was personable and easy to speak with while also maintaining high expectations with processes that supported strong communication and transparency,” Brooks said.

Brooks praised Kemp for his service to CCHS.

“He has built countless positive relationships and helped create a culture that truly is focused on our OneHeartBeat philosophy,” she said. “His relational impact has led us to having the opportunity to hire teachers who are graduates of the school. This has allowed our school to come full circle in its growth and impact on students and the community.”

After growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she graduated from Hall High School, Burt earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Arkansas in 1988, a master’s degree in education administration from Georgia College in 1993, a specialist’s degree in mathematics from Columbus State University in 2003 and a doctorate in education leadership from Valdosta State in 2022.