Photo Courtesy of Whit McGhee Starnes Media
Blair Inabinet is the new principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park.
Blair Inabinet is the new principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park, replacing Abbie Freeman who served as principal during the 2019-20 school year.
Inabinet comes to Vestavia Hills City Schools from Mountain Brook City Schools, where she was most recently an assistant principal at Cherokee Bend Elementary School, according to a news release from VHCS.
She has been an educator for more than 15 years with experience as a teacher, gifted coordinator, and administrator at schools in Alabama and Georgia, according to the release.
Inabinet was confirmed as principal during the June 29 Vestavia Hills Board of Education meeting.
She also has two children enrolled in Vestavia Hills City Schools.
“We chose to live in Vestavia Hills when we moved to the area, and it’s an honor to join the school system’s team professionally,” Inabinet said in the release. “I look forward to supporting the tradition of excellence that’s already there and forming relationships to lead us into continued growth in the future.”
Also at the meeting, the Board approved the bid and contract with Specialty Turf Supply to restore the football field at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge. The field, previously used by Jefferson County schools when they owned the school, will be converted and remodeled for “useable space” for the elementary school. The cost of the project is $182,800.
Whit McGhee, director of public relations for Vestavia Hills City Schools, said the work will allow the field to be used as a practice field by both the school system and the city, in keeping with the joint-use agreement between the two entities. McGhee said the work will involve bringing the field to grade, installing an irrigation system, and installing new sod, and lining it for various sports and activities; however, there are no plans to install lighting or fencing.
Students at Dolly Ridge will be able to use it for Ridge Fest, the school’s fall carnival, McGhee said.
The Board also heard the results of the evaluation of Superintendent Todd Freeman and the school’s Chief Financial Officer, Courtney Brown. Both received excellent evaluations, scoring at a mark of above average and excellent in evaluations conducted by the Board, their peers and by stakeholders in the school system.
Keith Price, director of technology for the school system, gave an update on recent technology changes within the system. He said the school last year replaced their wired and wireless network for the first time since 2012, and also has doubled their capacity for speed in their systems. The school has also partnered with NxtSoft and White Rhino Security to provide cybersecurity services to keep students and employees safe from inappropriate websites, hacking, loss of personal information and other issues, Price said.
In instructional technology, Price said the school system is prepared to go one-to-one, giving each student in the system a Google Chromebook for the 2020-21 school year. The school has also learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, using technology such as “A Week at a Glance,” Google Classroom, Google Meet and Clever, which allows students to only need one login for all of the different pieces of technology they use, Price said.
Price also said the school system will soon need to replace their MacBooks, mostly used by teachers, as well as PC’s throughout the school system.
Freeman told the Board there would be a July 8 work session to talk about the plan to return to school, with plans to provide guidance to parents the week of July 13.
The Board also approved the contract for Coach Buddy Anderson, who has retired from the school system, but will be under contract this year to serve one more year as football coach, his 43rd season, before retiring from that role. Anderson will also serve in a new role as dean of student services, where he will help mentor students.
Director of Student Services Jennifer Bailey gave the annual report on student incidents, which tracks certain infractions committed by students that has to be reported to the state. This past year, there were four elementary school incidents, 58 in middle schools and 44 at the high school.
In other business, the Board:
- Approved job descriptions.
- Approved the textbook list for the new year.
- Approved a contract with Coca-Cola for the athletic department.
- Heard a report on the FY19 audit, which found no issues of noncompliance.
