PHENIX CITY, Ala. - The Russell County school board has adopted a plan to find its next superintendent, setting in motion a search that is expected to run into the new year. The board approved the plan Thursday, Nov. 5, at a special called meeting, according to WTVM. Current Superintendent Dr. Brenda Coley, who announced her retirement in September, has agreed to stay on until a replacement is chosen.

What the board approved

The board will use the Alabama Association of School Boards, known as AASB, to run the search, according to WTVM. Under the plan described in that report, the board gives the association its criteria for the job, and the association returns the top three candidates. The board may then hold a public hearing or other forum that lets residents take part, followed by its own interviews of those finalists.

AASB describes the service as its Superintendent Finder program, which handles advertising the position, processing applicant information, evaluating applicants and identifying finalists. Local boards still make the final hiring decision. The plan as reported does not give a hiring date, a salary range or a start date for the new superintendent.

The timeline

Alabama law requires at least 30 days for applications, according to the WTVM report. The board expects to begin the process this week, which would put the earliest close of applications in early December. Interviews are expected at the beginning of the new year.

Board member Tim Simpson, the at-large member, described the process as lengthy and legally strict, according to WTVM. That description fits the calendar: a minimum 30-day posting, a review of applicants, and interviews that would come only after the holidays. Neither the board nor WTVM has said whether Coley's last day will be tied to a specific date, only that she will remain until the board finds her successor.

What the board says it wants

Board member Keith Mitchell said the board is looking for a leader who can serve the district for the next six to eight years and take it past its current level, according to WTVM. Mitchell has served on the board for 44 years, according to the same report. His comments suggest the board is hoping for someone who will stay for a long stretch rather than a short-term appointment.

Who is leaving

Coley has worked in the Russell County district for 37 years and has been its superintendent for 11, according to WTVM. A profile published by Troy University says she is a native of Hurtsboro who graduated from the Russell County school system and later taught at Russell Elementary in Hurtsboro and at Ladonia Elementary. She spent four years as an assistant principal at Ladonia Elementary and nine years as principal of Oliver Elementary in Seale before being elected superintendent in 2015, according to that profile.

The same Troy profile, which was published in 2022, reports that the district's graduation rate rose from 87% to 94% and its College and Career Readiness rate climbed from 51% in 2015 to 74% in 2022. Those figures are several years old, and the district's current numbers may differ. The profile also notes that she was named the District 4 Superintendent of the Year in August 2022.

A district also planning for what comes next

The search comes days after voters in Russell County approved the renewal of a school tax that helps fund the system, according to WTVM. Mitchell said the district could benefit from the tax for the next 30 years. Over the next three to five years, he said, improvements will focus on school safety and security, and long-term plans may include another elementary school.

Voters in the Russell County and Phenix City school districts renewed their mill taxes in the Nov. 3 election after the renewals failed in May, according to local reports and WTVM. Those results are unofficial until they are certified. The new superintendent will therefore take over a district with its tax revenue renewed and a building and safety agenda already sketched out.

What residents can do

The Russell County school board meets in public, and the search process described by WTVM includes a possible public hearing that would let residents take part. The WTVM report did not give a date or place for that session. Residents who want to follow the search can watch for notices from the district and the board, and for the application posting that AASB will publish once the process begins.

Russell County Schools and the Phenix City school system are separate districts with separate boards. This search involves only the county system. Columbus Times will update this story when the board announces an application deadline or a date for public interviews.