Photo by Jon Anderson
State Rep. Mike Shaw on Monday, July 27, 2026, delivers a $54,500 check to the Vestavia Hills Board of Education from his discretionary funds provided by the Legislature.
State Rep. Mike Shaw this week delivered a check for $54,500 to Vestavia Hills City Schools on behalf of the state Legislature, allocating some of his discretionary funds to fine arts, the debate team and the RISE student group that raises money for cancer research.
Most of the money — $44,500 — was allocated for the fine arts programs in Vestavia Hills schools, while $5,000 will go to the Vestavia Hills High School debate team and $5,000 will go to the Rebels Impact through Service and Engagement student group that raises money for the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Research Program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Shaw, who represents Alabama House District 47 (which covers parts of Hoover and Vestavia Hills), told the school board he certainly has an appreciation for the arts, having been a member of the choir and band at Vestavia Hills High School when he attended there.
And he appreciates the work of the debate team and the RISE program, he said.
Faith Lenhart, the fine arts director for Vestavia Hills City Schools, said money that Shaw supplied from the Legislature last year helped buy new instruments for Vestavia’s middle and high school bands and helped fund the band’s trip to Washington, D.C.
