Meet the newest member of the Hoover school board

The Hoover City Council in April appointed Amy Tosney to a five-year term on the Hoover Board of Education.

She is replacing Stephen Presley, whose five-year term ends May 31. Tosney will join the board June 1.

After graduating from Jacksonville State University, Tosney began her career as a history and English teacher at Erwin High School in the Jefferson County system from 1993 to 1997. She took a break to raise young children and later served as an interim librarian at Brookwood Forest Elementary in Mountain Brook, a kindergarten teacher at Hilldale Christian School in Center Point and a preschool and music teacher at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover.

She took another break after having a third child and, since 2008, has worked with her husband, Joe Tosney, in their overhead door company called Magic City Door. She is the vice president and office manager.

The Tosneys have lived in Hoover nine years and have three daughters: Layne (19, University of Alabama), Emma (16, Hoover High) and Lyla (11, Gwin Elementary).

The Hoover Sun recently had a chat with Tosney.

Q: Why did you decide to apply for the school board?

A: I always thought that I would go back to teaching, and that never happened. So this is a good fit for me to still be able to work in my business and still give as much as I can to my family but also do something in education. … I went to that city leadership breakfast, and I was super-impressed that all these people were recognizing children and recognizing things going on in the city, and I thought, “I’m ready to serve. I’m ready to be a part. I’m ready to meet new people and help where I can.”

Q: What do you feel are the biggest issues facing the school board right now?

A: Zoning. … I think we have room for lots of houses, which is lots of people, so I think zoning is always going to be an issue. And with that zoning comes capacity issues and whether to build on or whether to add different things to the school to meet the needs of 14,000 kids.

Q: What do you propose to do about the capacity issues?

A: I think I’d be conservative. I would try to do the best we could with just adding what we needed instead of a whole new school or a whole new multi-millions-of-dollars project. I think I would try to just meet the needs as they come as long as we can until we move into something like a whole new school.

Q: Specifically, would you rather expand Hoover High School again, or expand Spain Park High School and rezone students there, or build a third high school and split the city into three high school zones?

A: I don’t know how I feel about rezoning kids from Hoover to Spain Park or from Spain Park to Hoover because I think you’re uprooting people from where they moved for a specific reason. However, we’re in a city that’s growing, and we love that it’s a big city, and with all that, you’ve got to accommodate. I think I would rather build on until that’s just not economically, financially the best thing.

Q: How do you feel about the proposed rezoning plan that was presented to the federal court?

A: I think it was the best plan possible. I think we tried to meet all the criteria. I read over the thing that was submitted. We had to do it. I think it was done in the best way possible. I thought it was great how open the superintendent was to listening to each group of people and trying to do the best thing that she could for most of the people in the city. We’ve got to get out from under it [federal court supervision]. That’s just crazy to me that we’re going to submit every little thing we do to Washington. Whatever it takes, we’re going to have to do it.

Q: Do you feel like the school system needs more funding than it is getting now?

A: You’re asking me questions I’m not sure about ’til I see everything. I was super-impressed with last year and how we ended up in the plus, and I was super-impressed that the City Council took over [all funding for] the school resource officers and gave more money. … I don’t want to overstep because there are certain things I don’t know. I would say, as far as 2016 went, I think we’re fine because we ended up in the black for the system. Everybody would love more money, but for what we are, as long as we’re in the black, we’re OK.

Q: If you could change one thing about Hoover City Schools, what would it be?

A: I think it’s great. I think it’s always going to be difficult to meet the needs of 14,000 children, but I will say that I think that people in leadership care about each one and are doing their best for each one. … I’d love to change other people’s [outside of our school system] perception of us.

Q: What do you think is that perception?

A: That we’re too big; that we’re maybe too diverse. People just say, “Oh, I’d never go there. It’s too big. There’s not a place for each kid to fit.” And I don’t necessarily think that’s true. I love Hoover. … I don’t know that I know anything that I want to change at this point. Now you can ask me that in six more months when I start to visit each school and get to know people. I might have different thoughts by then.

Q: Are there any areas you already know you hope to bring about change or increase emphasis on something?

A: I’m a fine arts person. … I think athletics has its own life, but I’m interested to kind of get involved in the music and the band aspect and make sure their needs are being met, too — just because I’m an artsy person, I guess.

Q: What do you want parents, students and residents in Hoover to know about you?

A: I love people. I’m super-excited. I’m passionate about education. I’m passionate about young people, and they can rest assured that I will do the very best I can. … I certainly don’t want anyone to ever hate that I was appointed or regret the appointment. That won’t ever happen because I will do the very best I can to make sure that I take into account each person.

Q: How would you describe Superintendent Kathy Murphy based on what you know about her at this point?

A: Present. That’s my favorite thing about her. Every time I turn around, she’s there. … She’s just present. She is confident. She’s strong, and she’s passionate, and she desires to do well for these kids. This isn’t just a job for her. She lives this, and you can see it, and you kind of just want to jump on her coattails and just ride with her. I love that.

Q: Where do you hope to see Hoover City Schools in five years when your term ends?

A: No. 1 in the state.

Q: In what?

A: Everything. Testing. Graduation rates. Achievement. … I want us to be No. 1. I’m tired of us being behind some of these other schools. … We’re going to move up in the next five years.