A bill set for a House committee hearing Wednesday would add four nonvoting members to the Alabama State Board of Education, and give the state superintendent new powers over elected board members.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur would add four nonvoting members to the State Board of Education – the current and most recent state teacher of the year and delegates to Boys and Girls State -- and put the board under a previous law governing local school boards, creating new training requirements.
It would also give the board and the superintendent the ability to disqualify voting members of the state school board from future election or appointment for failure to get that training or for “serious duty, misconduct, or breach of duty.”
The bill comes after turmoil on the board, in particular how members handled the appointment of former state schools superintendent Michael Sentance, followed by controversy over how Sentance oversaw an intervention into Montgomery Public Schools. Sentance resigned last September.
“Several years ago, we passed the school board governance act,” Collins said. “At this point we thought it would be good to put them under that.”
The bill met with a mixed reception from two state school members. Republican Mary Scott Hunter, who represents northeast Alabama, said training would be valuable and that she had experience as a nonvoting member of the board of trustees of the state’s community college system and felt it brought viewpoints that otherwise might not arise.
“It’s nonvoting, so the value is ultimately limited,” she said. “But there’s a perspective there that’s valuable.”
Democrat Ella Bell, whose district includes Montgomery, was not enthusiastic, and alluded to the Education Trust Fund, which pays for education in the state, still falling short of its all-time peak in 2008.
“It is the Alabama Legislature since 2008 who have robbed our children,” she said. “They’re just getting to the point where they’re bringing us to 2008 level.”
Republican Stephanie Bell, whose district includes parts of Montgomery, also raised concerns about taking teachers and students from the classroom, as well as the effect on the board's oversight role.
"The state school superintendent is hired by the state board of education," Bell said in a statement. "Why would you pass a law to allow an employee to reprimand the employer?"
The bill would require members of the state board to under training and continuing education programs developed by the state superintendent of education. The bill would also authorize the board to reprimand and, in some cases, disqualify members from future elections. The accused board member would be able to draft a response or a “negotiated resolution” of the issue. All sanctions would need the approval of a majority of the board or of the Governor.
“There’s still very much due process included,” Collins said.
In a statement, the Alabama Association of School Boards said it would not be opposing the bill, though it raised some issues over it.
"While the goals of educator and student input is admirable, school boards do not believe legislation is necessary to accomplish these goals," the statement said. "We also believe there are procedural issues with the bill that would need to be addressed should the bill progress through the legislative process."
The bill should be in the House Education Policy Committee, which Collins chairs, on Wednesday afternoon.
