Gulf Shores school board offers Huntsville superintendent Matt Akin a new job

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The Gulf Shores school board extended an invitation to Huntsville school superintendent Matt Akin to become the first Gulf Shores City Schools superintendent.

Gulf Shores city officials said the board of education voted unanimously on Monday to give legal counsel the go-ahead for negotiating a contract with Akin to lead their school system.

The offer does not come as a surprise, Akin was the only person out of 27 candidates who was publicly interviewed for the job.

Kevin Corcoran, President of the Gulf Shores board of education said they were so pleased with Akin’s interview that they were suspending their search to try and reach an agreement with Akin.

“We like his passion. He has high achievement and he is highly approachable. That’s kind of a rare combination,” Corcoran told WHNT.

According to WHNT Akin released a statement Monday night saying; “It is an honor to be selected and I look forward to reviewing the terms of the contract. It is an incredibly unique opportunity to be able to work with the board to develop a new school system from the ground up. Everyone I’ve spoken to has been very supportive.”

“At the same time, I truly care about everyone in Huntsville, and I came to the district because I believe in the potential of the schools and the city. The foundation is in place to support greatness. With the help of the teachers, administrators and the community, I believe that Huntsville City Schools can be a model school system for the country. All of us on the Huntsville City Schools team have worked to develop strategies for personalized instruction, new resources to support literacy and math, and drafting our Indicators of Future Success.”

The school split talks began in January but hit several snags including who the superintendent for the school would be. The school board is still negotiating an actual start date for the school; with city and board of education members hoping for a 2018-2019 date.