Vol. 23, No. 19     
December 8, 2011

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Board Grants Dr. Tommy Bice a 3-year Contract
as State Education Leader

It’s official. The state Board of Education in a 6-1-1 vote today approved a 3-year contract with Dr. Tommy Bice, who begins serving as state superintendent of education Jan. 1. His salary will be $198,000 per year, only $37 more than earned by his predecessor Dr. Joe Morton.

Bice told reporters he does not take the board’s wrangling over a 2-year versus 3-year contract personally. He said he had initially sought a 4-year contract to encompass the time it takes to develop a plan and gain momentum, a concept Dr. Charles Elliott expressed to his fellow board members. Nevertheless, Bice said he is looking forward to the opportunity to serve as state education leader. He also assured reporters he’ll work hard to continue leading Alabama’s K-12 education system well beyond his first contract period, which ends Dec. 31, 2014.

Bice has already begun meeting with legislators and said he is thinking through a return-on-investment approach to the service Alabama’s education department provides. His first orders of business, he said, are development of a strategic plan to guide the state department through the next few years and “making sure local school systems are supported at the best level possible.”

The other terms of Bice’s contract were developed by a subcommittee of the board and include provisions that he must provide a 60-day notice should he determine to resign and the state board must notify him 60 days prior to deciding to terminate his contract without cause. The notice of nonrenewal would have to be issued by Nov. 1.  

The state superintendent’s annual performance evaluation will be on Jan. 1, though the state board is likely to discuss possible changes to the evaluation process. Vice President Randy McKinney said improvements could be made to make the evaluation fairer.

Stephanie Bell voted against Bice’s contract after acknowledging she wanted to adhere to the contract committee’s initial suggestion of a 2-year agreement, and Betty Peters abstained.

The board unanimously passed a resolution calling for more parity in the distribution of Education Trust Fund dollars to K-12, postsecondary and higher education. The proposed budget for the 2013 fiscal year outlined in the resolution requests more than $4.3 billion for K-12 schools. In addition, the state board encourages the Legislature to pass a $30 million bond issue to support a statewide career technical education initiative and to appropriate about $623,000 for the Board of Adjustment. A reported $5.4 billion is expected to be appropriated by the Legislature in 2013 and shared by K-12, postsecondary and higher education. Budget talks are likely to be highlights of the 2012 Legislative Session that starts Feb. 7.

      The 2013 budget resolution also:

• Asks for flexibility of expenditures among line items to allow local school systems and the state education department to adjust for financial shortfalls and innovate to meet specific local needs.  
• States support for employee benefits and retirement options at shared and sustainable rates and as incentives to attract the best, highly skilled personnel.
• Notes the proposed budget attempts to protect instructional innovations that have moved students closer to being college- and career-ready.

The state board paused today to pay tribute to the late Dr. Ethel Hall, who was the board’s first African-American vice president and presided from July 12, 1994, to July 13, 2004. She represented state board District IV for more than 24 years. The board members expressed their sadness and described her as a mentor and model board member. Hall died Nov. 12 after a brief illness.

The state board also adopted perfunctory rules pertaining to the annual apportionment of the Foundation Program funds and the Public School Fund to align with the Alabama Legislature’s appropriations for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

The state board celebrated Alabama’s high-poverty, high-performing Torchbearer Schools. The 2011-2012 honorees are: Wilkerson Middle School, Birmingham; Morris Slingluff Elementary School, Dothan; Phillips Elementary School, Marion County; Highland Avenue Elementary School, Montgomery County; and Anna F. Booth Elementary School, Calcedeaver Elementary School, George Hall Elementary School, William Henry Brazier Elementary School, Indian Springs Elementary School, Dr. Robert W. Gilliard Elementary School, Spencer Elementary School, WD Robbins Elementary School and Orchard Elementary School, all in Mobile County. State board member Ella Bell said the schools are “templates of excellence” that should be replicated.

The state board took a procedural step when it voted to receive the recommendations of the state committee that reviewed mathematics textbooks for potential use in classrooms. Cullman Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris chaired the committee and presented a summary of its work to the state board during today’s K-12 work session. A vote on whether to adopt the committee’s recommendations is expected at the Jan. 12 meeting.

The state board’s next K-12 work session will be Jan. 26.

THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIAITON WILL HOST THE 2012 NSBA SOUTHERN REGION CONFERENCE, JULY 23-26, 2012. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS.

AASB thanks its Premier Partners
SchoolCast by High Ground Solutions www.highgroundsolutions.com
eBOARDsolutions, www.eBOARDsolutions.com
Furtal (the fund raising portal) www.furtal.com

— info@AlabamaSchoolBoards.org