Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover Council Education Committee 11-2-17
Dennis Quirk, at left, one of 11 applicants for a vacancy on the Hoover school board, shakes hands with members of the Hoover City Council's Education Committee after his interview with the committee on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017.
The Hoover City Council is expected to appoint a new member to the Hoover school board tonight to replace Jill Ganus.
Ganus resigned from the school board in early October after being appointed to fill a Jefferson County District Court judgeship.
The City Council spent four hours Thursday interviewing the 11 people who applied to fill Ganus’ shoes. Read bios on each of the 11 applicants here.
“It’s going to be a difficult decision,” said Councilman Derrick Murphy, who is chairman of the council’s Education Committee.
Murphy said he was excited that 11 people applied in the two-week window that applications were open. “That shows the interest and how much people really care about the system and just care about the quality of education in the city of Hoover,” he said. I was very impressed. In our own back door, we have so many people engaged.”
There are a number of terrific applicants, and while the council can only choose one board member now, it will be taking applications to fill school board member Earl Cooper’s position on the board in just a few months, Murphy said. Cooper’s second five-year term on the school board ends in May.
Murphy encouraged applicants who are not selected tonight to reapply for Cooper’s spot.
The City Council’s Education Committee has scheduled a meeting for 5:30 p.m. tonight to discuss the 11 applicants. That meeting will be in the council conference room immediately behind the William J. Billingsley Council Chamber and is open to the public. The full council is expected to make an appointment to the school board at its 6 p.m. meeting in the council chambers.
Mayor Frank Brocato also is expected to appoint someone to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission tonight.
Other items on the council agenda tonight include:
- $1.7 million worth of tax abatements for IberiaBank to assist the company with the creation of a regional headquarters in the International Park office complex off Acton Road
- A public hearing regarding a request for the city to annex 259 acres owned by the Freshwater Land Trust between Ross Bridge Parkway and Shades Crest Road. This will be the first reading of an ordinance to annex that property. A vote has been set for Nov. 20.
