Hoover school board picks McCay as chief school financial officer

The Hoover Board of Education this morning selected the school system’s accounting director and interim chief school financial officer, Michele McCay, to fill the top finance job on a full-time basis.

McCay has been serving as interim chief financial officer since early March, when Tina Hancock left Hoover to become the top finance official for the Huntsville school system. McCay also served several months as interim chief financial officer in 2016 before Hancock came to Hoover.

She has been Hoover’s accounting director since July 2013 but has been with the Hoover school system’s central office since 2003. She first spent about 1½ years as a secretary to Gary McBay, who was director of school services, then was an accounting administrative assistant for three years and accounting manager for 5½ years.

McCay has lived in Hoover since she was 7 years old. She graduated from Berry High School in 1985 and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama in 1989. She worked for the Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino accounting and technology firm for almost five years before becoming a stay-at-home mom for about 10 years.

McCay was one of 18 people who applied for Hoover’s chief school financial officer job. The Alabama Association of School Boards assisted with the search and narrowed the list of applicants down to three finalists.

Other than McCay, the other finalists were Melissa Johnson, internal audit director for the Jefferson County Board of Education, and Brian Stewart, chief school finance officer for Enterprise City Schools.

The school board interviewed the three finalists on Friday and today voted unanimously to hire McCay. Board President Craig Kelley said all three finalists have an extreme amount of talent, but he felt McCay was the right person because of the amount of dedication, honesty, passion and humility she has shown in her years of service to the district.

She understands financial laws and has an integral knowledge of the operations of the Hoover school district, which is extremely important, he said.

School board member Amy Mudano said McCay is very thorough, extremely organized, detail-oriented and well spoken.

“We’re very excited. I think she’s going to do a great job,” Mudano said.

Schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said she has enjoyed working with McCay as interim chief financial officer and looks forward to working together to move the school district forward and remain financially solvent and savvy with taxpayers’ money.

McCay said she’s honored to be given this opportunity and that the school board has faith in her.

As a longtime resident of Hoover, Berry High alumnae and parent of two Hoover High alumni, she has a vested interest in Hoover City Schools and a passion for education, she said.

The Hoover school district has leaders who are visionary and fiscally responsible and teachers who are innovative and creative, she said. She considers it her job to help put the tools in their hands so they can make every student successful.

She wants to see every student leave Hoover City Schools prepared for higher education or the workforce, and she wants college professors to be impressed, but not surprised, with the quality of students coming from Hoover.

McCay said one of the biggest financial challenges facing the Hoover school system is focusing resources on maintaining facilities that are getting older. It’s important to have new facilities when they’re needed, but it’s also important for the school district to get on a regular maintenance schedule for things like painting, carpet and roofing of existing facilities, she said.

McCay has been a certified school business official for many years and has served as a bookkeeper instructor for the Alabama Association of School Business Officials and guest lecturer for the UAB School of Education’s courses on school law and education finance.

She and her husband, Jim, live in Lake Crest and have two adult children. Matt has just finished his third year of medical school at UAB, and Jason is an assistant project manager for the Brasfield & Gorrie construction company.

Being a mother has been her most important accomplishment, she said. “I’m really, really proud of my boys.”

She and her husband became empty nesters in January, and “I really need a challenge and something to take up my time and my energy.”

When she’s not working, she enjoys reading historical fiction and thrillers and hiking in places such as the Moss Rock Preserve, Aldridge Gardens, Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park and Oak Mountain State Park.