A recent addition to the Montgomery County Board of Education (MCBOE) race is running a write-in campaign after the recent drama with the school system ignited public outcry for a change in leadership.
The upcoming MCBOE race has drawn massive attention recently after Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) Superintendent Melvin Brown resigned, a move many feel was compelled by the board.
Last month, MCBOE voted by a 4-3 margin to accept Brown's resignation, effective November 1.
What followed were accusations of disarray within the MCBOE, which led to Brown's resignation. The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce pleaded with the MCBOE to reverse its decision and reinstate Brown.
The chamber also passed a resolution calling on Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education "to place MPS under state control and intervention until such time the local board demonstrates that a majority of leadership will make the needed changes to move Montgomery forward in a true spirit of partnership."
In response, a "coalition of concerned citizens in Montgomery" formed the Kids Come First PAC, calling on residents to write in Ebony Evans to replace MCBOE District 7 member Arica Watkins-Smith, who motioned to accept Brown's resignation. The PAC placed Brown's "seemingly forced" resignation at Watkins-Smith's feet.
On a Monday appearance on Talk 93.1, "News and Views with Joey Clark," Evans discussed the recent drama and the call for her to replace the incumbent in District 7 in the recent write-in campaign.
"It all came to a head on September 23 when the superintendent resigned, and the board accepted his resignation," Evans said. "Now, you have the number-one superintendent in the country, and you get rid of it. I mean, where do you go from there? So that showed a lot of instability with the board, and so a group of concerned community leaders got together and ended up making a call to me. So, I don't know how many people were before me or how many people were after me, but they made a call to me.
"And it did touch on my heartstrings because the kids actually suffer at the end of the day because of all the instability, the micromanaging, the personal agendas that get in the way, kids lose at the end of the day. And so, when I got the call, I said 'definitely.' I was first volunteering to knock on doors, but when they said, 'You know, we think you'd be a great write-in candidate,' I said, 'Well, I'm willing. I'm willing to serve.'"
Evans believes her experience with Health Services Inc. in Montgomery, which operates school-based health centers with MPS, familiarizes her with the MOS system. She also sits on the board as the strategic plan chair of Montgomery Christian Schools. According to Evans, her existing board experience will help her redefine the proper roles between a school board and the superintendent.
"That's what I want to redefine with MPS: board roles, board governance," Evans continued. "So, it's not the day-to-day operations; that's what the superintendent is for, and you don't want to blur those lines because that's when it gets dangerous, and you see the situation that we're in now. So, you want to focus back on passing a budget, strategic plan, all policies that need to be together; that's the overseeing part of it. And so, you want to step back and then let the superintendent handle their job in the day-to-day operations with the teachers, with the principals, students, and parents. Now, I'm not saying you don't get involved. We're community leaders. We're going to be talking out in the community and saying, 'What do you need? What do you want? What can we do to better your child's experience?' But you don't bring the negativity into the day-to-day school."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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