Emily Featherston
While schools were closed due to the threat of winter weather, the Vestavia Hills Board of Education still held a specially-called meeting Tuesday to take care of time-sensitive business.
The first item was the continuation of the search for Vestavia’s new superintendent.
BOE President Nancy Corona began the discussion by walking the board and audience through the steps the body has taken over the last month since the Alabama Association of School Boards announced the four finalists. Last week, the board wrapped up four days worth of public interviews of each candidate, along with day-long tours and meetings throughout the district.
At Tuesday’s meeting, board members made motions to look further into two final candidates: Patrick Martin of Gardendale City Schools and Michael Todd Freeman of Sylacauga City Schools.
Corona noted that just because the candidates were nominated or discussed in a certain order doesn’t mean that the board favors one candidate over the other at this point.
Board member Steve Bendall made the motion that Martin move along in the process, and fellow board member David Powell moved for a closer look at Freeman.
Powell said that to him, Martin’s focus on collaborative vision and a personal and professional learning environment stood out, along with his commitment to transparency, engagement and student-focused decision making.
“Which I think are all things we’d like in a superintendent,” he said.
With regard to Freeman, Powell said he was impressed with how Freeman took his interactions with students and faculty during his informal interviews and applied them to the questions for the board.
“It’s clear that he had listened all day long,” Powell said.
Powell added that he also liked Freeman’s appreciation for extracurricular activities.
The board also authorized Corona and Interim Superintendent Charles Mason to move into further due diligence of the final two candidates, including additional records and background checks, interviews and visits to the candidates’ current and former school districts.
Other BOE Business Included:
- Determining that the Dec. 8 snow day does not need to be made up, as the district has more than enough instructional hours to meet the state minimum.
- Approving an agreement with Jefferson County and the City of Vestavia Hills for improvements to the baseball field at Gresham Elementary School. Mason emphasized that Jefferson County still owns the property, and no assumptions are being made, but that this will allow Vestavia to move toward having adequate field space for the ninth grade baseball team and the city for parks and recreation needs in a timely manner.
- Approving an owner-architect agreement with Lathan Associates Architects for design and engineering work for the improvements to Gresham. Hoar Program Management project manager Brennan Bell said the design process from beginning to end should take about 60 days.
