Some of the Beaufort County School District's top teachers are forming a leadership group that will focus on local education needs, says Rebecca Sturgis, the district's Teacher of the Year.

At a luncheon at Berkeley Hall on Tuesday, Teachers of the Year from 25 of the district's schools, their principals, district administrators, and Stuart Wilbourne of Wachovia Bank, which funded the event, gathered to celebrate and to learn about the forum.

Sturgis said the leadership group should meet at least quarterly and focus on improving student and teacher relationships, instruction and the school environment.

Some actions it might take include organizing an instructional fair where teachers exchange ideas about classroom exercises that students benefited from and some type of opposition to state legislation that would give tax credits to parents who send their children to private schools or home-school them.

The legislation could harm public schools by diverting needed money away from them, she said.

The proposal, called "Put Parents in Charge," is supported by Gov. Mark Sanford. It didn't pass in last year's state legislative session, but proponents say it will come before the General Assembly in the next session, which begins in January.

Cyndi Pride, a supervisor for district teacher evaluations, also made a presentation on how the statewide Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement organizes teacher forums. Thirty-five of the state's 85 school districts have such forums.

The group recommends that the district's current and former Teachers of the Year lead the forum, the current year's finalists be its steering committee, and the Teachers of the Year from each school form the rest of the group.

Sturgis said she will try to schedule a steering committee meeting in December and the first forum meeting in January. Although most teachers "are real, real busy," she encouraged attendees at the luncheon to participate.

"You are the teacher leaders," she said. "You are the voice for your school."