Photo by Jon Anderson
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The Hoover Board of Education named Tera Simmons, the assistant superintendent for Hoover City Schools, as interim superintendent following the departure of Superintendent Kathy Murphy at the end of 2020.
The Hoover school board on Thursday night named Assistant Superintendent Tera Simmons as the school district’s interim superintendent following the departure of Kathy Murphy at the end of the year.
The board vote was 4-1, with only board member Kermit Kendrick voting no. Kendrick declined to say why he voted no and said he would be a team player and support the overall board’s decision.
Board member Craig Kelley said Simmons has served the district well as assistant superintendent and is very knowledgeable. He has a lot of confidence in her because it is well deserved and looks forward to her manning the ship until a new superintendent is in place permanently, he said.
Murphy wished Simmons well in the interim role and told the board “you could not have looked the world over and found a better human being, a kinder soul, a more genuine spirit than Dr. Simmons."
The school board authorized board President Deanna Bamman to negotiate a salary supplement for Simmons for agreeing to take on the additional responsibilities that come with being interim superintendent. The amount that was in the suggested contract Thursday night was $3,500 a month in addition to Simmons’ current salary.
The board also voted to hire the Alabama Association of School Board to assist with the search for a new superintendent. The search will be a regional one, Bamman said.
The job was to be posted today, will applications due by Jan. 22. The board hopes to be able to conduct interviews between Feb. 9 and Feb. 19 and have a superintendent named by early March and in place by April 5, Bamman said. That timeline may change, depending on progress with the search and the availability of whomever is selected to be the next superintendent, she said.
In other business Thursday night, the school board:
- Approved a $500 one-time bonus for all Hoover City Schools employees as of Nov. 30 as a thank you for going above and beyond the call of duty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The “exceptional pay” bonus should cost the district about $939,500, Murphy said.
- Agreed to pay Battle Miller Construction $1,012,800 to renovate the oldest part of the old Bluff Park School. The total budget for demolition of most of the former Bluff Park School and renovation of the oldest part was $2.1 million, and with this contract approval, the job is being done for $400,000 less than that, Murphy said.
- Agreed to accept $35,000 from the city of Hoover for right of way needed for the expansion of Valleydale Road at the entrance to Spain Park High School. The city needed .644 acres of the school district’s land for the project, plus another acre as a temporary construction easement, Murphy said.
