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Hoover council to interview seven school board applicants today

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Photo by Jessa Pease.

The Hoover City Council today plans to interview the seven people who applied for a seat on the Hoover school board this year.

The interviews are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the William J. Billingsley Council Chambers at the Hoover Municipal Center and go until about 4 p.m. Each applicant will be given roughly 20 minutes.

The meetings are open to the public, but no public participation or comments will be allowed. The council usually appoints a new school board member each April, and the new board member’s term begins in June.

The Hoover school board has five members, each of whom serve five-year staggered terms. School board President Derrick Murphy's term expires at the end of May. The position is unpaid, except for reimbursement of expenses incurred.

Here is the schedule for today’s interviews:

Here’s a bit more about each of this year’s seven applicants, based on applications they filed with the city clerk’s office:

ROBIN SCHULTZ

Neighborhood: Bluff Park

Occupation: Owner of PC Medics of Alabama; systems engineer for Alabama Psychiatric Services.

Education: Microsoft systems engineer certification from New Horizons; numerous information technology certification courses.

Years lived in Hoover: 27.

Hoover school ties: Has grandchild at Riverchase Elementary.

Community involvement: Youth baseball umpire at Hoover Sports Park West 1997-2007; runs bluffparkal.org website for Bluff Park community; helped organize neighborhood watches with Hoover police; speaker at Hoover schools on topics ranging from Germany to computers; founded Learning To Be The Light organization, which refurbishes used computers and gives them to Hoover students from low-income families; regularly attends City Council and school board meetings; taught youth Sunday school classes at Green Valley Baptist Church.

Reason for applying: School system is one of the city’s most valuable and precious resources; challenges facing the system as population grows.

Critical issues: Financial accountability without sacrificing the outstanding school system the city has.

Strengths: Ability to see things as a parent who has had children in all areas of Hoover schools, including Crossroads alternative school, individualized education plans and honor societies; experience as guardian of low-income student; has seen all aspects of the sytem — the good, the bad and the ugly.

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GUY LOCKER

Neighborhood: Bluff Park.

Occupation: Has been in engineering and construction industry for 27 years. Now is assistant operations manager for SouthWest Water Co.; previously was project manager and senior engineer for Constantine Engineering.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Auburn University.

Years lived in Hoover: 17.

Hoover school ties: Son at Hoover High; daughter at Simmons Middle; wife taught for Hoover City Schools 1990-95; cousin is teacher at Greystone Elementary; applied for school board seat in 2014; volunteer with Hoover High band (incoming equipment manager for next two years).

Community involvement: Has served on Hoover Board of Zoning Adjustments since 2004 (chairman past six years); active member at Prince of Peace Catholic Church; co-chairman of planning committee for annual Auburn University Civil Engineering Scholarship Endowment Golf Tournament since 2007, raising more than $150,000 for scholarships.

Reason for applying: A strong school system is the key to, rather than the product of, a thriving community; his family has enjoyed living and learning in Hoover, and he would like to ensure the next generation of Hoover families enjoys the same excellent schools.

Critical issues: Budgeting; school system's reserve fund is nearly depleted; funding must be stabilized, or the level of services provided must be substantially reduced; the community at large, not just the schools, will be impacted by such cuts.

Strengths: Organized; logical thinker; detail-oriented; hard-working; years on Board of Zoning Adjustments show he can find common ground to reach sensible solutions to often difficult situations.

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DR. TIMOTHY BRUNNER

Neighborhood: Heatherwood.

Occupation: Owner/operator of Southlake Animal Hospital since 1996; previously worked as veterinarian at Apple Valley Veterinary Clinic in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Education: Doctorate in veterinary medicine and bachelor’s degree from Auburn University.

Years lived in Hoover: 13.

Hoover school ties: Daughter at Spain Park High School; wife is substitute teacher; founder and president of Spain Park Goal Club.

Community involvement: School advisory board at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School; scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 71 at Our Lady of the Valley; founder and scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 007 at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church; past treasurer for Heatherwood Homeowners Association; vice president for Mid-States Veterinary Medical Association; board member for Alabama Veterinary Medical Association; director of soccer operations for Birmingham Legends/Birmingham Happy Feet.

Reason for applying: Has been very involved at Spain Park High School and believes his skill set could be useful to the board.

Critical issues: Continuing to provide students with the highest quality education with dwindling resources.

Strengths: Has owned and operated small businesses and knows how to manage employees and resources efficiently.

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MAXINE RETZER

Neighborhood: Highlands Drive (near Southlake).

Occupation: Homemaker; previously worked 11 years in corporate marketing in the banking industry, including two years as vice president for corporate marketing for Regions Financial Corp.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in international business marketing from Auburn University.

Years lived in Hoover: 12.

Hoover school ties: One child at Berry Middle School; currently PTO president at Berry; was PTO president at Rocky Ridge Elementary 2010-12; was chairwoman of spring fling committee and silent auction committee at Rocky Ridge; served on Hoover City Schools science and textbook committees and academic calendar committee

Community involvement: Served as secretary for Alabama Parent Education Center board of directors and on Red Mountain Theatre Co. Dress Circle Society board of directors; worked with Alzheimer’s Association of America; worked with Addiction Prevention Coalition to host informational breakfast.

Reason for applying: Has seen the positive impact of Hoover schools on children and wants to give back so that other families and children can have the same positive experiences.

Critical issues: Including substance abuse prevention in curriculum; finding increased financial support for schools; maintaining universal breakfast programs; continue dialogue with home builders to deal with growth and overcrowding.

Strengths: Has earned trust and respect of school officials and community leaders through past involvement with schools.

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DEANNA BAMMAN

Neighborhood: Trace Crossings.

Occupation: Property manager for Park Trace Swim & Tennis Club; formerly was sales manager for McRae’s department store at Riverchase Galleria; also managed retail stores in Gainesville, Florida and Houston, Texas and was payroll administrator in Gainesville, Florida.

Education: Attended Samford University on vocal scholarship and was business/marketing major at University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Years lived in Hoover: 12.

Hoover school ties: Has a senior and freshman at Hoover High and a 2013 Hoover High graduate; scheduled to serve on 2016-17 Hoover City Schools Strategic Planning Committee; has served on school system committees for accreditation; federal programs, calendar, teacher of the year selection and principal search committees for Bumpus and Brock’s Gap Intermediate; served two years as president of Hoover Parent Teacher Council; led establishment of Brock’s Gap Intermediate PTO; has served on PTO executive boards at Trace Crossings Elementary; Bumpus Middle and Hoover High, including two years as president of Bumpus PTO.

Community involvement: Served four years on executive board of Helena Elementary PTO, including one year as president; led school efforts for Shelby County 9-mill property tax increase; served on Discovery Days Preschool advisory board and was treasurer of Helena Baptist Preschool Board.

Reason for applying: Firm believer in public education; has invested more than 15 years volunteering in public school systems, including 12 years in Hoover schools; passion for continued growth and success of Hoover schools.

Critical issues: Devising a path to balanced budget that enables program enhancement while ensuring high-quality education; meeting needs of growing and increasingly diverse population; developing strategies to increase revenue and reduce non-essential expenditures.

Strengths: PTO leadership experience; impartial; open-minded; leads with integrity while valuing all points of view; understands interdependence of school board, superintendent, administrators and parents; has productive working relationships with influential city leaders; school administrators and central office staff.

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RUTH COLE

Neighborhood: Greystone

Occupation: Currently unemployed; has worked as an accountant and as an accounting consultant for a Fortune 500 company

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Southern Mississippi.

Years lived in Hoover: 11.

Hoover school ties: Has fourth-grader at Greystone Elementary and seventh-grader at Berry Middle; served as president of Greystone PTA and two years as vice president for fundraising at Berry.

Community involvement: Sunday school teacher; troop coordinator for American Heritage Girls Troop AL1720; 20 years volunteering with Delta Delta Delta sorority (currently on national volunteer innovation team); First Priority Kids volunteer

Reason for applying: Has children in Hoover schools and will remain in community; grew up with educators as parents and feels led to serve.

Critical issues: Working toward a balanced budget; continuing to provide top-ranked education; attracting talented faculty and staff; planning for future growth.

Strengths: Communication skills; honesty; discernment; accounting knowledge; ability to have difficult conversations with respect; perspective of two children in the system.

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CALVIN BRIGGS

Neighborhood: Kestwick Drive (off Patton Chapel Road).

Occupation: Director of the science, technology, engineering and math/mathematics department at Lawson State Community College; previously was mathematics teacher for Birmingham City Schools for five years.

Education: Doctorate in education (leadership, policy and law) and master’s degree in education, mathematics from Alabama State University; bachelor’s degrees in art, engineering from Clark Atlanta University; associate’s degree in art from Brookdale Community College.

Years lived in Hoover: 6.5.

Hoover school ties: Child at Hoover High.

Community involvement: Works with several educational outreach and mentoring programs, such as a high school minority male leadership program, W.J. Christian AdvancEd Community Outreach Committee, George Washington Carver High School Academy of Engineering Advisory Board and Go-to-High-School-Go-to-College director for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; guest lecturer on education equity at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; president of the Birmingham chapter of the Clark Atlanta University Alumni Association.

Reason for applying: Wants to help enhance workforce development efforts for the city and state, enhance funding for science, technology, engineering and math initiatives, and enhance parental evolvement and awareness and student mentoring and leadership.

Critical issues: School rezoning; system must be certain to lay a solid foundation for next 15-25 years; growth and development of the city will be dramatically impacted.

Strengths: Experience in leadership, instruction, administration, curriculum and budgets.

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Note: This article was updated at 9:50 a.m. to include three answers for applicant Guy Locker that were inadvertently missed in reading his application.

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