Photo by Jon Anderson.
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education listens to Superintendent Todd Freeman, fourth from left, discuss the fiscal 2025 budget in September 2024. From left, board members Jonathan Handey, Jay Stewart and Scott Brown and Kyle Whittington.
Jay Stewart has spent four years on the Vestavia Hills Board of Education and said he’s excited to move into the role of president for the coming year.
Stewart, a partner in the Heninger, Garrison, Davis law firm, said he’s proud to serve with what he feels like is the best board of education in the state and Superintendent Todd Freeman, who was just named Alabama Superintendent of the Year by the School Superintendents of Alabama.
Stewart said that, for him, the priority of the school board is to not accept the status quo and continue to look for ways to improve.
That starts with recruiting and retaining the best teachers in the state and giving them the tools they need to do what they do, he said.
“That's inspiring kids to reach beyond their dreams and light a flame in them that they will go and just achieve more than they can imagine,” Stewart said.
He loves going to Awards Day each year and listening to all the accomplishments of Vestavia Hills students, the scholarships they have received and the colleges and jobs to which they are going. “They’re just so gifted,” he said.
Whether those students are going to college, the military or a civilian job, he wants to make sure the Vestavia Hills school system is providing them the foundation they need to go share those gifts with others and impact the world, he said.
“It’s very exciting, and I’m just glad to be a part of it,” he said.
During Stewart’s tenure, the school board in May 2023 tried to get voters to approve a 9.8-mill property tax increase, which would have generated an estimated $8.42 million in additional money to fund improvements in both facilities and educational programs. The tax increase would have boosted Vestavia Hills’ total property taxes from 92.6 mills to 102.4 mills, but voters rejected that tax increase.
Stewart said the needs that were identified by school officials at that time were real, but because voters didn’t want to increase taxes to achieve those goals, school officials have been trying to find alternative ways to get those programs and facility improvements funded.
“We couldn't do them in one big swoop like we wanted to,” he said. But “we're still striving to do those things … and obviously a lot slower process. All those things we put out there, wanting to do — they're still on the list, and we hope to knock them out one by one.”
Stewart said he has some huge shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of other school board presidents such as Scott Brown.
“They’ve all done a fantastic job, and I'm just hoping that I can continue the leadership,” Stewart said. “I think the key to them all is they’ve all been excellent listeners.”
He wants to continue that trait, listening to what the community and educators are saying and trying to apply that and keep Vestavia Hills the best school system in the state, he said.
Read more about what Stewart, other board members, Freeman and city officials had to say about Brown at hooversun.com.
