Birmingham Board of Education
The Birmingham Board of Education is an elected body which oversees the operation of Birmingham City Schools. Each board member represents a district that coincides with the Birmingham City Council districts. The board meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month in the auditorium of the Birmingham Board of Education Building at 2015 Park Place North.
History
The first Board of School Trustees was appointed by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen in 1873 in preparation for the opening of the first school the following spring. The first trustees were J. T. Terry, George Thomas and J. J. Jolly. The board was reorganized as a Board of Education on July 16, 1884, shortly after the appointment of John Herbert Phillips as superintendent of schools.
In 2002 the board became an elected body, with one member representing each of the city's nine City Council districts.
In April 2012, shortly after a contentious meeting at which the extension and/or termination of Superintendent Craig Witherspoon was discussed and numerous motions made out of order, the Alabama State Board of Education launched an investigation. The state had previously offered to provide conflict resolution and board governance training to the body, but the offer was never accepted. During the investigation, the board was instructed to vote only on routine matters and "not to initiate or approve any adverse personnel action at the senior executive level."
Presidents of the Board
- A. O. Lane, 1884–1888
- James Webb, 1889–1890
- A. O. Lane, 1891–1892
- Samuel Ullman, 1893–1900
- A. O. Lane, 1901–1904
- William Drennen, 1905–1906
- B. A. Thompson, 1907–1908
- J. L. Parker, 1909–1914
- Ben Jacobs, 1915
- George Ward, 1916–1917
- Nathaniel Barrett, 1918–1920
- William J. Rushton, 1921–1922
- Erskine Ramsay, 1922–1941
- F. D. McArthur, 1941–
- Robert Arthur, 1963; 1968–1969
- April Williams, –2009
- Willie Maye, Jr, 2009–2010
- Phyllis Wyne, 2010–2011
- Edward Maddox, 2011–
1884–1888
- William Rushton, G. L. Thomas, D. D. Smith, Samuel Ullman, A. S. Elliott, J. L. Ware, H. U. McKinney
1941
- F. D. McArthur (president), Donald Comer (vice president), Mrs J. A. Drupy, Lawrence Stevens, C. B. Glenn (superintendent)
2005–2009
- District 1: Martha Wixon
- District 2: Virginia Volker
- District 3: Howard Bayless
- District 4: Carolyn Cobb
- District 5: Dannetta K. Thornton Owens
- District 6: Willie Maye, Jr
- District 7: Odessa Ashley, vice-president
- District 8: April Williams, president
- District 9: Phyllis Wyne
2009–2013
- District 1: Tyrone Belcher
- District 2: Virginia Volker
- District 3: Brian Giattina
- District 4: Edward Maddox, president (2011–12)
- District 5: Emanuel Ford
- District 6: Willie Maye, Jr, president (2009–10)
- District 7: Alana Edwards
- District 8: April Williams
- District 9: Phyllis Wyne, president (2010–11)
References
- Birmingham Public Schools (1931) Report of Progress, Birmingham Public Schools: September 1, 1921 to August 31, 1931 - accessed via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Hansen, Jeff (April 16, 2008) "Birmingham Board of Education wrestles with superintendent search, curbing legal costs, and developing a sense of vision." Birmingham News
- Dean, Chuck & Marie Leech (April 8, 2012) "Can Birmingham city schools escape an old cycle of dysfunction?." Birmingham News
- Leech, Marie (April 13, 2012) "Alabama education department seizes control of Birmingham school board." Birmingham News
External links
- Board of Education at Birmingham City Schools' web site.