Hall Co. native with long, varied career in education dies

GAINESVILLE - A Hall County native whose career in education stretched from Maysville to Brenau University to Russia and the state Capitol has died.

Dr. Edmund Clyde Martin, Sr., died Tuesday at the age of 89.

After a career as as school administrator in north Georgia, including a stint as Superintendent of Schools in Cartersville, Dr. Martin taught at Brenau, served as Executive Director of the Georgia Educational Improvment Council and spent time in Russia observing that country's educational system.

In 1965 his role in Georgia education expanded even more when he was named Executive Director of the Georgia Educational Improvement Council.

Dr. Martin served in that capacity during a time of major reforms in Georgia's educational system, until his retirement in 1978. One of the major accomplishments during his tenure on the Council was authorship of the Adequate Progress for Education in Georgia (APEG) bill in 1974. This bill (somewhat like a pre-No Child Left Behind bill) focused on the importance of educational opportunity for all, creating equal distribution of funding to public schools and setting minimum achievement standards for all students.

The funeral for Dr. Martin will be at 2:00 Friday at Memorial Park Funeral Home Chapel in Gainesville.

(A full obituary can be found on the AccessNorthGa.com Obituaries Page.)