Andy Craig's final board meeting
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Photos by Jessa Pease.
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Photos by Jessa Pease.
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Photos by Jessa Pease.
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Photos by Jessa Pease.
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Photos by Jessa Pease.
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Photos by Jessa Pease.
The Dec. 8 Hoover Board of Education meeting marked the last regular meeting for Superintendent Andy Craig.
Although most people in attendance were employees of Hoover City Schools present to support Craig’s final meeting, Santa Claus also made a surprise visit to gift candy canes to all the board and audience members.
Shortly after, board member Derrick Murphy read Craig’s letter of resignation in place of president Donna Frazier. In the letter, Craig stated that he will begin his job with the state Jan. 1, and that his resignation will be effective Dec. 31 at midnight.
“I do so [resign] with profound gratitude to the board of education, staff, community…” Murphy read Craig’s words aloud. “[Your] dedication has meant so much to me and, more importantly, the students that are served by Hoover schools.”
Until Craig released his official letter of resignation, the board was unable to start searching for an interim superintendent. Now the board is tasked with selecting an acting leader by Jan. 1.
An interim superintendent can serve a maximum of 180 days, and Frazier said her goal is to have a permanent superintendent by the end of the school year. She also stressed that while the board needs to find an interim superintendent that the real focus is on finding a permanent one.
Each of the board members starting with Frazier shared a list of five expectations they had for the interim position. The board president said the interim must make decisions in the best interest of all Hoover City School students, be respectful of all city school employees, be ready to start the position Jan. 1, not be interested in the permanent position and have served in a superintendent’s role.
Craig Kelley continued to say that the position should be filled by someone who is familiar with a school system the size and diversity of Hoover, who understands the communication required to work with the board and, possibly, who is from outside the district. He doesn’t want to disrupt anyone currently working in Hoover.
Members Murphy, Earl Cooper and Stephen Presley all added similar qualifications. Frazier took notes on each of the members’ comments and put board member Cooper in charge of finding candidates for discussion.
Frazier then scheduled a called board meeting to discuss the interim candidates Dec. 19 at 5:30 p.m. If possible, Frazier said she would like to vote on the matter at that time also.
Also at the meeting, Donald Sweeney and Craig gave an update on the system's proposed rezoning plan.
As of Nov. 4, Sweeney said that all the documents and information requested by the department of justice were sent in, and that information is still under review. On Nov. 12, a judge with the Department of Justice held a status conference to check into the unitary status of both Hoover and Jefferson County.
Unitary status states that a school district must establish that it no longer operates a segregated school district and that it has eliminated the vestiges of past. Although the Hoover system never operated segregated schools, it is subject to a review by the federal court. This is not an investigation of Hoover City Schools but a review-based responsibility.
There are seven aspects of the review, and the judge has request multiple documents for each aspect. Those documents will be carefully analyzed with a proposed status conference in February. Sweeney said they are in the last stages of gathering all the data necessary for unitary status.
The board also:
- Presented a certificate of appreciation to Crossroads School for decorating the lobby of the Board of Education building. Each ornament they placed on the Christmas tree said “Peace on Earth” in different languages.
- Approved the monthly financial statement for October.
- Approved the November payroll of $7,973,632.85.
- Approved the cash disbursements of $5,427,529.42.
- Approved the obsolete items and the textbook committee.
The next regular board of education meeting will be Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the Farr Administrative Building.
