LILLIAN CANTRELL
- info126640
- Jan 24
- 4 min read
Updated: May 15
Few people epitomize PAGE like Lillian Cantrell. Not only was Lillian one of the organization's founding members, but she also served as its first elected president in 1975. She then stepped up two more times to complete the terms of the people who followed her in 1976 and 1977.
Lillian was an educator for 47 years. As principal of Henderson Mill Elementary School in DeKalb County Schools at the time of PAGE’s founding, Lillian’s enthusiasm for the organization spread to many of her staff members who also got involved in supporting recruitment to grow the organization.
Lillian was born in Dalton, Georgia, attended West Georgia College, and graduated from the University of Georgia with a Specialist Degree in Education. She enjoyed traveling and was part of a group of American educators making one of the first bus trips into the Soviet Union in 1960. During that trip, the bus was stopped at night on the Czechoslovakian border by heavily armed Russian soldiers who searched the passengers' belongings before allowing them to continue their journey. The experience instilled in her a deep commitment to the principles of freedom and independence.
That same year, Lillian was offered a contract to teach in Dalton Public Schools with the stipulation that she join the local chapter of an educator association and its national organization. To the superintendent’s surprise, she would not sign the contract under those conditions. He relented on the stipulation and Lillian signed the contract.
By the end the 1960's the country was rocked by labor practices that altered the educational landscape. Lillian had moved to Atlanta and was working in DeKalb County Schools as principal and was a member of a national association for its liability insurance. She was alarmed when she heard that the national association was pushing to create a unified dues structure for Georgia teachers. This change meant that members were required to pay dues to the local unit, the state association, and the national association to maintain membership. Member educators were given no options. Lillian turned to DeKalb County Schools Personnel Director Paul Copeland, who had hired her, for support.
By 1974, the issue of unified dues was headed for a vote. The two DeKalb administrators went to DeKalb Superintendent Jim Hinson with their concerns that something had to be done. They recognized the difficulty that teachers would face if the dominant national organization required unified dues. He knew teachers needed the liability insurance, but they would not want to be forced to strike or take part in collective bargaining against their will.
Paul had been a very active member of the state affiliate since 1957. He and Lillian saw that the organization’s focus was moving away from children to a mindset consistent with organized labor. Promises were being made to secure better pay for teachers, but it would be through walkouts, threats, sick-outs, confrontation, and ultimatums.
Paul and Lillian, along with a few other educators, joined forces to find a way forward. Paul was determined to personally do everything he could to organize another education association that would allow educators the freedom to choose.
The DeKalb local affiliate conducted a vote on unified dues in 1974. The measure was defeated 114 to 68 so it pulled out of the state affiliate which left DeKalb educators without a parent organization. Paul saw a need for educators to have the freedom to choose one’s professional organization and so he envisioned an alternative. His vision was to “establish an association of Georgia educators that would promote professionalism and oppose interruption of the education of children in Georgia schools. “
Lillian was “all-in” with Paul's plan. She saw the benefit of establishing an organization that would provide teachers with liability insurance coverage much like school administrators received through the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL).
Following a robust telephone campaign to educators throughout Georgia, school superintendents and other educators were invited to attend a special gathering during the DEA’s annual banquet in April 1975 featuring a guest speaker from the National Association of Professional Educators.
Those in attendance agreed to form a new state organization and elected Paul to serve as interim president and chairman to get it going, with Lillian on the first board of directors. Over the next several months, Paul, Lillian, and the rest of the board worked tirelessly to put the pieces in place to form the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE).
On May 17, 1975, PAGE was legally incorporated. The next week, the group met at Henderson Mill Elementary School, where Lillian was principal, and committees were formed and a schedule of meetings arranged. The group then began addressing the task of recruiting members.
Later in the year, Lillian became the first elected president of the organization. She recalled those next years as a time of immense toil and struggle. She assumed the responsibility for articulating the PAGE philosophy. Working with Atlanta educator Fred Rheney, they articulated the basic PAGE principles:
Teachers should have the freedom to join any organization
Teachers should be able to contact their board of education without restrictions
Students should be free from the threat of educator strikes that would disrupt their learning.
Meetings continued to be held at Henderson Mill Elementary School until office space was found. Lillian’s Henderson Mill teachers faithfully volunteered to help with administrative work and mailings after hours.
The presidents that followed Lillian had to resign early due to personal reasons, and Lillian stepped in for the next two years to carry the organization forward. In 1977, Alan Gravitt was the third PAGE president.
By 1979, Lillian, along with Paul, had spent much time, energy, and money to build the association. Membership had climbed to 1,000 and Lillian was ready to turn the reins over to others.
She remained on the PAGE Board of Directors for some time. Lillian served as principal of Henderson Mill for 22 years, and the name of the road in front of the school was changed to Lillian Cantrell Lane in her honor. She retired from education in 1995 after 47 years in the profession. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 85.