State school board names Hoover schools chief as 1 of 4 finalists for state superintendent
The state school board today named Hoover Schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy as one of four finalists for the state school superintendent’s job.
The other finalists are:
- Eric Mackey, executive director for the School Superintendents of Alabama and previously superintendent for Jacksonville City Schools
- Craig Pouncey, superintendent for Jefferson County Schools and formerly chief of staff, deputy state superintendent, assistant state superintendent and director of finance for the Alabama Department of Education
- Robert Scott, former education commissioner for Texas now working with the Texas Star Alliance, a private public affairs lobbying firm
State school board members spent the morning looking over the resumes and other information of seven semifinalists, provided by the Ray and Associates search firm, and then rating each of the semifinalists on a scoresheet. The search firm tabulated the results and announced the candidates with the top scores.
Pouncey received the highest rating of the seven semifinalists, followed by Mackey and Murphy — the only three in-state candidates. Gary Ray, president of the Ray and Associates search firm, recommended the board also invite the fourth highest scorer — Scott from Texas.
The school board is inviting those four finalists for interviews in Montgomery at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 20 – just one week from today. The school board is expected to make its choice for state superintendent that same day.
Jeffrey Moss, the superintendent for Beaufort County Schools in South Carolina for almost five years, was named an alternate for interviews in case one of the final four remove their name from consideration.
The other two semifinalists who did not make the cut were:
- Kimber Halliburton, superintendent of Washington County Schools in Tennessee for the past two years and previously area superintendent for the Metro Nashville school district, which has 87,000 students
- Maria Pitre-Martin, deputy state superintendent in North Carolina for the past two years, formerly superintendent for Thomasville City Schools for three years and director of state curriculum for North Carolina for four years
Murphy said she is thrilled to be named a finalist and can’t wait to meet with the state school board next week. See more from her in this video: