For more information, contact:
                                                                                                  Denise L. Berkhalter
                                                                                  dberkhalter@alabamaschoolboards.org

School Attorneys Group Elects President, Officers

DESTIN, FL – (August 15, 2006) – Gadsden attorney R. Kent Henslee of the Henslee, Robertson, Strawn and Sullivan law firm has been elected president of the Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys. He was elected during ACSBA’s annual meeting last month in Destin, Fla.

The group also elected Birmingham attorney Whit Colvin, a partner with the firm of Bishop, Colvin, Johnson & Kent, as its vice president.

In 2005-06, Henslee was vice president of ACSBA, which provides professional development opportunities for over 100 attorneys who represent Alabama’s local school boards.

ACSBA is a component of the Alabama Association of School Boards.  Members meet annually to discuss current education and legal issues and to share their knowledge of court rulings that impact local school boards.  Topics at this year’s conference included a review of recent education law decisions, a legislative update, and discussions on arbitration, contract principals and chief school financial officers.  ACSBA membership automatically qualifies attorneys for membership in the National Council of School Attorneys, a component of the National School Boards Association.

Henslee is senior partner at his firm, a member of the Alabama Law Institute Board and past president of the Etowah County Bar Association. He is the attorney for Gadsden Board of Education and Gadsden State Community College.

Henslee’s impressive work experience includes more than 40 years of trying arbitration cases and practice before the National Labor Relations Board. The University of Alabama alumnus is also a former assistant district attorney and board chair for Regions Bank in Gadsden.

Colvin, an honors graduate of Birmingham-Southern College and the University of Alabama School of Law, has previously served as a member of the Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys Board of Directors.  He represents the Jefferson County Board of Education, the Alabama Department of Education, Alabama Risk Management for Schools and the cities of Trussville and Mountain Brook.  Colvin maintains practice concentrations in education, municipal, and land use law and is a frequent lecturer on federal compliance issues.

Elected to the ACSBA Board of Directors for the coming year were: Richard F. Calhoun of Troy, Darnell Coley of Montgomery, Pete Hamilton of Greenville, Dave Ryan of Tuscaloosa and Woody Sanderson of Huntsville. AASB Executive Director Dr. Sandra Sims-deGraffenried serves as ACSBA secretary/treasurer.

In addition to providing staff assistance to ACSBA, AASB represents all of the state’s local public school boards. Headquartered in Montgomery, AASB provides a wide array of services designed to enhance local lay management of public schools.

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