Gulf Shores school system to begin separation in 2019
The Gulf Shores School Board finally received a decision from Alabama State Superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson on its separation from the Baldwin County School System on Friday. Unfortunately for the Gulf Shores School Board, the decision was not one they had hoped for. In January, tensions rose as the Gulf Shores School Board and Baldwin County School Board met to discuss the school split. With Gulf Shores fighting for the school split to be completed by fall of 2018, and Baldwin County Schools believing fall 2019 a more realistic start date. In February, Baldwin County school officials announced they would no longer negotiate with Gulf Shores, and asked the state superintendent to intervene. Richardson made the decision for the schools to begin separation in 2019, seventy days after both boards made the request for Richardson to step in. Gulf Shores School Board president Kevin Corcoran says the board continued to make moves towards a 2018 start date while they waited over two months for the the state superintendents decision. To prove their commitment the board offered Huntsville school superintendent Matt Akin the superintendent’s position for their schools on Thursday but did not include and official start date. “Seventy days after requesting that Dr. Richardson intervene regarding the start date for Gulf Shores City Schools, we have received his ruling. Gulf Shores City Schools will be open for the 2019-20 school year. There was never a question of ‘if’ this transition would happen, but rather ‘when,’” said Corcoran in a statement. “We were and are fully prepared to become operational in 2018. It is our hope to finalize contract negotiations with Dr. Matt Akin next week. Regardless of the timeline, there is much work to be done.” Baldwin County school system Superintendent Eddie Tyler said the school system has always been focused on what was in the best interest of the students, teachers and families in regards to the split. He said they were pleased with Richardson’s decision. “With only one year to go, we will begin work towards the 2019 separation where we will wish Gulf Shores the best in their new system while also celebrating the opening of Baldwin County’s new state of the art facility for grades 7-12 in Orange Beach. We are confident that everyone will be well served by this decision from Dr. Richardson,” said Tyler in a statement.
Gulf Shores school board offers Huntsville superintendent Matt Akin a new job
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.
