Andy Craig

Andy Craig (born 1965 in Nashville, Tennessee) was the superintendent of Hoover City Schools. He became the system's interim superintendent in 2006 and accepted the job on a permanent basis in February 2007. He served for 8½ years before resigning to become the Alabama Department of Education's deputy superintendent for administrative and financial services.

Biography

Craig was born and raised in Nashville. He played football in high school and accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Cincinnati, where he met his future wife, Ginber. After a season on the bench, he moved with Ginger to Decatur and transferred to the University of Alabama at Huntsville. While there he worked as a bartender to pay for school and earned a degree in accounting.

Craig's first accounting job was auditing for Arthur Andersen. He next worked for an accounting firm in Decatur for six years, eventually making partner. After having done audits for Decatur City Schools as a consultant, the system decided to hire him as director of finance, a position he held from 1998 to 2001. Among his tasks was helping to migrate the system from a mainframe-based computing system to one based on desktop PCs.

In October 2001, Craig was hired as chief financial officer by Hoover's school superintendent Jack Farr. The position was quickly changed to a Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business. While there, he earned his Class A educational administration certificate.

Upon the firing of Connie Williams as superintendent in 2006, he was named interim superintendent, a position he filled while continuing his duties as superintendent for finance. Craig decided to apply for the superintendent position permanently and, on February 5, 2007, was announced as one of the three finalists being considered for the position. The school board subsequently narrowed it down to two, Craig and another candidate, but the other took a job elsewhere. Craig was named as superintendent by unanimous vote of the board on February 22, 2007.

Craig's tenure saw some notable events, including a widely-reported investigation that led to the resignation of Hoover High School football coach Rush Propst. In 2013, Craig recommended eliminating most of the system's school buses. Parents protested and the U.S. Department of Justice did an inquiry, leading the system to reverse course, instead charging fees to students that ride the bus. In 2014, Craig proposed redrawing the elementary school zones, again causing parents to speak out and the Justice Department to investigate. Craig's tenure also saw the system get tablets or laptops for every student in grades 3-12.

In November 2014, it was announced Craig was recruited to become the state's deputy superintendent for administrative and financial services. Craig officially tendered his resignation, effective December 31, 2014, on December 8, which the Hoover school board accepted and immediately began searching for an interim superintendent. They unanimously chose former Enterprise schools Superintendent Jim Reese for the position on December 19.

Craig and his wife, Ginger, have two children, Graham and Casey, who were both students in the system.

Preceded by: Connie Williams

Hoover Superintendent 2006–2014

Succeeded by: Jim Reese (interim)

References

• Stock, Erin. (August 9, 2006). "Interim superintendent keeping ears, mind open." The Birmingham News.
• Stock, Erin and Liz Ellaby. (February 6, 2007). "Who will lead Hoover schools?" The Birmingham News.
• Stock, Erin. (February 23, 2007). "Interim schools chief lands permanent post." The Birmingham News.
• Stock, Erin. (February 25, 2007). "Superintendent planning to learn and to delegate." The Birmingham News.
• Anderson, Jon. (November 11, 2014). "Hoover Superintendent Andy Craig, Elmore County Superintendent Jeff Langham take new jobs with state education department." The Birmingham News.
• Anderson, Jon. (December 8, 2014). "Hoover school board accepts Superintendent Andy Craig's resignation, begins search for interim leader." The Birmingham News.
• Anderson, Jon. (December 19, 2014). "Hoover school board chooses former Enterprise superintendent as interim leader for Hoover." The Birmingham News.