Warren Craig Pouncey, the former Coastal Alabama Community College (CACC) president and Jefferson County superintendent, was arrested and booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Center on Tuesday on 15 counts of use of office for personal gain.
The Alabama Ethics Commission voted in April to refer allegations against Pouncey to Baldwin County law enforcement.
Pouncey served as president of CACC from 2019 until 2023. Before that, he served as the Jefferson County superintendent for four years.
According to a CACC statement, Pouncey spent nearly 10 years with the Alabama State Department of Education before joining Jefferson County Schools.
At the State Department, Pouncey served as chief of staff, deputy state superintendent, assistant state superintendent of administrative and financial services, and director of administration and finance. In his native Crenshaw County, Pouncey served as superintendent of Crenshaw County Schools in addition to his service as a sixth-grade teacher and later assistant principal at Highland Home School. Pouncey began his career as a fourth-grade teacher at Harrison Elementary School in Montgomery.
Pouncey was named 2018 Superintendent of the Year by the School Superintendents of Alabama.
Pouncey applied for the State Superintendent position twice, according to a story in Birmingham Watch. His first attempt was marred by controversy. Pouncey filed a defamation lawsuit in 2017, alleging that Mary Scott Hunter, then on the state school board and ALSDE associate general counsel James Ward and others circulated a letter among board members that accused Pouncey of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation at Samford University and of being the target of an investigation by the state's Ethics Commission for using state resources for personal gain. A judge dismissed all but Ward and Hunter early in the case.
In June 2019, the judge ruled in favor of Ward in a Summary Judgment saying, "the court find there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the Defendant James Ward is entitled to a judgement as a metter of law."
The lawsuit against Hunter was settled out of court in 2020, with Pouncey receiving $100,000, according to an AL.com report.
According to the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office, Pouncey was released after posting bond.
Pouncey is considered innocent until proven guilty.
Editors Note: This article has been updated to corrrect Ward's title and the outcome of the lawsuit against him.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected]
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
