Longtime educator and county leader David L. Rainer died Tuesday. He was 87.
Rainer served in the Camden County Schools system for 31 years, including almost two decades as superintendent of schools. After that, Rainer served three terms as a Camden County commissioner.
“He was superintendent for almost two decades, which speaks to his capability as superintendent to last that long,” former Camden County Schools Superintendent John Tucker said. “He was very rare.”
Rainer was leading the school district when Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base came online, which resulted in a population explosion in Camden County. The county’s population swelled from 13,000 residents in 1980 to more than 43,000 in 20 years.
“He built a new high school and several new elementary schools,” Tucker said. “His skill as superintendent to financially be able to accomplish that was just an outstanding achievement. He had a very high reputation as a superintendent here and throughout the state.”
Tucker said he’ll remember Rainer as a “approachable, friendly and just a fine gentleman.”
Charles Smith Jr. served as a representative in the Georgia House. His wife, Patricia Smith, served as chairwoman on the school board when Rainer was superintendent.
“He was a really decent guy,” Smith said. “He was very helpful to me personally when I was in the Legislature, and when we did education reform. I got ideas and opinions and input from him. He was a valuable source of information when he was superintendent, and I valued our friendship. He was a first-class guy.”
After 31 years as superintendent, Smith said Rainer’s continued service as a county commissioner spoke volumes about his desire to serve the community.
“Some want the glory and whatever that means,” Smith said. “I think there are many (elected officials) who want to do the right thing, and I think he was one of them.”
Steve Berry, a renowned fiction author, served on the Camden County Board of Commissioners with Rainer and was a school board member during part of Rainer’s tenure as superintendent.
“He was a very nice guy,” Berry said. “We didn’t always see eye to eye on things. We disagreed in a very respectful manner. We worked out differences and compromised with each other and got things done. He was easy to work with.”
Berry noted that when he was first elected to the school board, the school district only had four schools. He said when he left the school board, there were nine schools and more under construction.
“He was the right guy to have at that time,” Berry said. “He was there for all of the construction, and he was a good steward of public money.”
As a county commissioner, Berry said he and Rainer weathered the paper mill closure in 2001. The former Gilman Paper Co. mill was the largest non-government employer in the county, and that resulted in commissioners raising taxes to offset the property tax losses that ensued.
“We had a tough road,” Berry said. “We had to do something we never wanted to do, to raise the taxes 1 mill. Nobody wanted to do it.
“But over the next five or six years, we lowered the tax rate every year, and we got it down below when we took office. And he was good with that. He understood how to do that. Sometimes, we had some disagreements on how that was going to happen, but we got a plan together and got it done.”
As of press-time, funeral arrangements for Rainer had not been announced.