Photo courtesy of Hoover City Schools
Melynda Buck will be the Hoover school system's next chief school finance officer, starting July 1, 2025.
The Hoover school board on Tuesday night named a new chief school finance officer to replace Michele McCay, who has decided to retire in June.
The school board chose Melynda Buck, who has served as the school district’s accounting director since 2020. Buck has 20 years of experience in school finance and 16 years in the banking industry.
Before coming to Hoover, she held financial leadership roles in Chilton and Elmore counties, managing multimillion-dollar budgets and ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations.
As chief school finance officer, her job will be to oversee the Hoover school district’s financial operations, ensure compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and governmental accounting standards. She will prepare and post the school system’s annual budget and financial reports, manage payroll, oversee the financial operations of the child nutrition program and special programs in alignment with state and federal requirements and supervise all business and financial personnel.
She obtained a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in business administration from Faulkner University. She also is a certified administrator of school finance and operations, a certification given by the Association of School Business Officials International.
Buck said she is deeply honored and humbled to be selected as the chief school finance officer for Hoover City Schools, which has a $258 million budget for fiscal 2025.
She thanked her family for their unwavering support and love and thanked McCay for being a mentor and someone who has set a high standard of excellence. She also thanked the school board and Superintendent Kevin Maddox for entrusting her with this role and opportunity to serve the district.
“I am proud and grateful to step into this role, and I look forward to the journey ahead,” Buck said. “We are in this together. Let’s move forward with purpose, collaboration and a shared commitment to the success of every student here in Hoover City Schools.”
Mark Boardman, an attorney for the school board who handled the search for a new chief school finance officer, said Buck shined much brighter than the other applicants for the position, and McCay said Buck is an excellent choice for the job.
McCay, who has served as chief school finance officer for six years and has a total of 23 years of service to the district, said she has enjoyed her role but is ready to spend time with new grandchildren and start doing more volunteer work.
The school system’s auditors at Carr, Riggs & Ingram on Tuesday night gave their audit report on the school system’s fiscal 2024 finances a submitted a “clean opinion” to the school board.
That audit found that the Hoover school board’s property tax revenues increased 11.5% in fiscal 2024 to $106 million, while other general fund revenues increased 24% from $12.1 million to more than $15 million, with the bulk of that being in interest income.
The Hoover school board spent more than $33 million on capital projects in fiscal 2024, up from less than $7 million the year before, the auditors said. However, due to increased revenues, the district actually ended the fiscal year with $17 million more in its general fund than it had at the beginning of the fiscal year, auditors said.
The school board on Tuesday also approved money for several more capital projects for this fiscal year, including:
- $1.89 million for a new roof at Riverchase Elementary
- $1.29 million to upgrade the school system’s electronic network
- $628,320 to add lights to the athletic fields at Bumpus Middle School
- $599,226 to expand the parking lot at the Riverchase Career Connection Center
- $278,749 to expand the parking lot at Green Valley Elementary School
- $72,745 for new food service equipment at various schools
- $49,250 for consulting work for restroom renovations at Hoover High School and locker room renovations at Spain Park High School
