Personnel Update: Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Christie Finley has announced her retirement
Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Christie Finley announced on Friday that she will retire at the end of the current school year. A successor has yet to be named. “I am announcing my retirement from Huntsville City Schools at the end of the school year,” Finley said. “As I reflect on my thirty years in education, 30 plus almost 32, I think about why. We are always asked why we do what we do. It’s because we love working with children, and we know that children are our future.” “Those who know me know I have been talking about retiring when my youngest son graduates,” Finley explained. “This team has had powerful successes,” Finley said. “My goal in this district has been to leave the district better than I found it.” “Our team has built a sustainable financial model and a long-term plan for our capital needs,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle thanked Finley for her service. “Christie Finley has been a dedicated public servant and an exemplary leader for Huntsville City Schools,” said Mayor Battle. “We thank her for her years of service to our teachers, students, parents, and community. We trust the Huntsville Board of Education will find an outstanding new superintendent to lead our education system.” Finley became a teacher at Bob Jones School in 1992. She later became a counselor before moving into administration, where she worked as a principal, director of secondary programs, and deputy superintendent. She has served as Huntsville City Schools Superintendent since 2018. She has a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, a master’s degree in school counseling from Alabama A&M University, and an educational leadership degree from the University of South Alabama. Finley’s tenure saw new capital projects, improved financial spreadsheets, higher teacher pay, and progress in the system’s decades-old desegregation lawsuit. There were some controversies, including the Common Core educational standards and a teacher who moonlighted as a drag queen. Huntsville is the largest city in the state of Alabama. The Huntsville City School System has 23,514 students. The system has earned a NICHE B+ rating and is ranked as the 35th-best system out of Alabama’s 138 school systems. It is the 9th most diverse system in the state and is 66th for high school athletes. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Huntsville schools ask state about renaming Lee High School
The public school system in Huntsville has agreed to ask Alabama’s attorney general whether it can rename a school honoring Gen. Robert E. Lee without violating a state law meant to protect Confederate memorials and monuments. News outlets reported that board members during a meeting Tuesday authorized their attorney to seek an opinion about whether such a move would conflict with the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, which carries a $25,000 fine. Passed in 2017 when rebel monuments were being challenged nationwide, the law prohibits the removal, alteration, or renaming of any monument that’s located on public property which has been in place at least 40 years. Board attorney Chris Pape said Lee High School moved into a new building in 2012, the law shouldn’t apply. But one baseball field remains from the school’s original 1957 location, so the system is asking Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office if “that one piece is enough to make the act apply,” Pape said. Superintendent Christie Finley announced a proposal to rename the school in June. Huntsville is in Madison County, which paid the $25,000 penalty to the state after removing a Confederate monument from outside the courthouse last year. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
