Last week, Montgomery Public Schools superintendent Ann Roy Moore announced students and faculty in her system would go to remote working and learning. According to Moore, the system would resume normal operations when those working within the school system could receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The decision was met with mixed reaction, but it called into question whether or not a single individual, in this case, the MPS school superintendent, should have such broad sweeping powers that go beyond administrative decisions.
On Monday’s broadcast of Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” State Rep. Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville) discussed his effort to rein in that power and limit the amount of time a school superintendent could call off school functions before having to seek approval from a school board.
Kiel told APTV’s Don Dailey the amount of time should be limited to one week.
“With COVID came the Emergency Act, and we saw a lot of power in places we didn’t necessarily know it would be, centralized,” he said. “And one of those places is with our school superintendents. They have the unilateral ability to close schools for any amount of time. They do not have to seek board approval for that. And I just think it is one of those situations where we have centralized too much power into one person without more community input. And I think our boards of education are that community input that is needed in that process. The bill I am sponsoring would not take away the superintendent’s ability to close schools if there is a natural disaster or some type of short-term need. And so, if there’s a tornado or hurricane, or some other type of natural disaster where they need to close for a week, then they, by all means, can do that without board approval. They can call school off just like they can now.”
“But when we get past that week, then we start to enter into a policy decision rather than an administrative decision,” Kiel continued. “With the policy decisions, the board really should have input. That’s what I’m recommending. I’ve talked with superintendents. I’ve talked to the school board association. I’ve talked with others that were trying to work out an agreement on exactly how that is going to look. But in the end, the community needs input on when the schools are open, and that decision, for long-term closures, should not rest with one person.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
