Hoover schools chief Kathy Murphy applies for state superintendent job

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy tonight confirmed that she has applied for the state school superintendent’s job.

Murphy is one of 41 people who applied for the job to lead the Alabama Department of Education, which oversees all K-12 public schools in the state, according to the search firm hired to assist the state school board with its search.

That search firm plans to announce on Friday the seven semifinalists that it selected for the board to review based on their administrative experience, commitment to public education, ability to run a large organization and academic background.

Those seven semifinalists come from Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Whether Murphy is among those seven semifinalists has not been announced.

The state school board is then expected to narrow down the list to three finalists who will be invited for interviews on April 20.

Murphy said tonight her decision to apply for the state school superintendent job has nothing to do with anything in Hoover's schools.

Hoover is a tremendous place to be, with a great school board, teachers and administrators, and she loves the students in Hoover, she said.

She applied for the state job because she sees it as an opportunity to make a difference in public education in Alabama on a bigger stage and in a larger setting, she said. Murphy has 34 years in education, 26 of that in public education, and has a lot of experience dealing with a lot of different issues, she said.

She has heard it said before that that you can be a person who talks about what should be done or you can be a person who raises your hand and says you are willing to do it, Murphy said. She has the experience and the heart to lead at the state level, she said.

Murphy has been superintendent for Hoover City Schools since June 2015.  Before that, she was superintendent in Monroe County for four years and an administrative assistant to the Butler County superintendent for two years. She spent seven years as a high school principal (Charles Henderson and Greenville high schools) and nine years as principal at Greenville Middle School.

She also taught eight years as a college professor at Judson College and West Georgia College and served as athletic director and a department chairwoman at one of those colleges.

The Alabama Department of Education has been without a permanent superintendent since former Superintendent Michael Sentance resigned in September, avoiding an expected vote on whether to fire him after he was in the position just over a year.

The board hired former state Superintendent Ed Richardson to serve as interim superintendent.