EBOE hosts superintendent interviews

The Enterprise City Schools Board of Education hosted four finalists for the open superintendent position in the school system at a special meeting on May 25.

Those finalists included former Troy City Schools Superintendent Dr. Lee Hicks, Cullman County Schools Assistant Superintendent April Tucker and current Enterprise City Schools Assistant Superintendents Dr. Zel Thomas and Dr. Patrick Cain.

Each candidate sat before the board and answered the same 15 questions for between 45 minutes and an hour. During each candidate’s interview the other three were waiting in a room with no phone or internet access and candidates were not given questions in advance.

Tucker is a Wicksburg native that graduated from Wicksburg High School before attending Enterprise State Community College before earning her bachelor’s degree in special education from Jacksonville State University. She also received two master’s degrees in both collaborative teaching and educational leadership from JSU. Tucker also added an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from JSU in 2009.

She started her career as a special education teacher at Good Hope Elementary in Cullman in 1996. She also coached varsity cheerleading during this time. In 2001, she became a special education teacher at Good Hope Middle School and also taught math to special education students in preparation for the graduation exam at Good Hope High School.

In 2006, Tucker became assistant principal at Good Hope Middle School and then was named principal in 2009. Tucker was named Director of Federal Programs for Cullman County Schools in 2016 and became Assistant Superintendent in 2017, a position she currently holds.

After so long in Cullman County, Tucker said it was time for her to return to the Wiregrass.

“It’s time for me to be back home,” Tucker said to the board. “My family is here on a 100-acre farm in Houston County, and ladies you know in the mornings when you get up and try five different outfits, you always go back to your first. I’m ready to come back home and that’s why I’m interested in this position.”

Tucker said that as assistant superintendent at Cullman County Schools she is responsible for overseeing 18 K-8 schools in the massive school system that encompasses more than 25 schools. That experience is what she says sets her apart from the other candidates.

“I have more experience when it comes to handling a larger school district,” Tucker said. “I’m over 17 principals – 18 schools fall under my umbrella – and I deal with over $30 million of ESSER III (CARES Act) money alone. Also, my applications for ESSER I and II were one of three out of the entire state that was approved before anyone else.”

Hicks – a Geneva native – graduated from Ariton High School and then graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in science before receiving his master’s degree in education at Troy University and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Nebraska.

Hicks began his teaching career as a teacher at Muscogee County Schools in Columbus, Ga. from 1996 until 1998 before becoming a teacher at Montgomery County High School in Mt. Vernon, Ga. until 1999. Hicks was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Troy University from 1999 until 2001 before becoming a teacher at Prattville in 2001.

In 2002, Hicks was hired as the assistant principal at Prattville High School, where he remained until 2005. Hicks became the principal at Prattville until 2011 when he accepted the position as superintendent at Troy City Schools. He remained in that position until the two sides parted ways in March of 2020.

Hicks said that his experience as a superintendent for eight years at Troy City Schools makes him the man for the job.

“This position is extremely important but I do understand what it takes to be a superintendent,” Hicks said. “For any successful community the school system is the driving force in the community.

“I was one of the longest serving superintendents in our district. When I took the job roughly 18 months was the average job expectancy for a superintendent. I understand that there is a difference between a superintendent and assistant superintendent. I’m the one with that experience to come in and work with the board but also be able to work with the CFOs directly creating budgets, working directly with federal programs directors and being a capital planner myself being able to create a capital plan. There were a lot of roles I had to handle myself (at Troy City Schools).”

While Hicks was the only finalist with superintendent experience, Tucker pointed out that he doesn’t have the experience of dealing with the unique atmosphere that the COVID-19 pandemic has created overt the past 14 months.

“During COVID-19 he hasn’t been actively involved in a system,” Tucker said. “I have – and I know the other two assistant (superintendents) have – worked day in and day out having to become an expert on what cleaning supplies the janitors need, knowing what supplies the nurses need, knowing how to set up the rooms.

“We’ve come to know and learn about quarantining and social distancing and masks. We have been through a lot in the last year.”

Thomas earned his associate’s degree from Wallace Community College in Dothan and then earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Troy. He also earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from Troy before earning a doctorate in adult education from Auburn.

Thomas started his teaching career in 1994 as an elementary teacher at Lisenby Elementary School in Ozark and then became assistant principal at Windham Elementary in Daleville in 1999.

In 2000, Thomas became assistant principal at Dalevile High School before being named principal at Abbeville High School in 2002. Thomas joined Enterprise City Schools in 2005 when he became principal at Pinedale Elementary School.

Thomas went on to be named Director of Elementary Education at ECS in 2009, which is a position he considers extremely important to the school system.

“One of the first orders of business if I’m (selected) will be to go out and find a dynamic elementary director of instruction,” Thomas said. “I want someone in there that will be better than I was and help make us No. 1.”

Thomas has been assistant superintendent at ECS since 2017 and while Thomas has been in education for a number of years he said that he has plenty left to give.

“I’ve given a lot to Enterprise City Schools for the last 15 years but there is still more to give,” he emphasized. “I’ve been able to impact a lot of kids over the years but in that (superintendents) chair I can impact a lot more.

“The higher you go the more (people) you can impact and I would like to do that. I think I have a lot to offer to benefit the community.”

Cain earned his Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics from Troy and then earned a Master’s Degree in mathematics education from Columbus State in Georgia. He also received administrative certification from Alabama State and a Doctorate in educational leadership from ASU.

Cain’s first job in education came as a math teacher in 2003 at Clay County Schools in Georgia before becoming a math teacher at R.E. Lee High School in Montgomery in 2005. He was named assistant principal at Stanhope Elmore in 2007 and then became an adjunct professor at ASU in 2010. He also became principal at Capital Heights Middle School in Montgomery in 2010.

In 2012, Cain was named principal at Dale County High School before moving to ECS in 2014 as the Director of Secondary Instruction. In 2015, Cain was made Director of Human Resources and then assistant superintendent in 2017.

One of the questions proposed by the board was how would the candidates handle a “marginally effective” teacher or administrator. Cain shared his experience with a bad teacher as an example of the type of teacher the school system cannot tolerate.

“I can think back to my first grade teacher and to this day I am probably not the best teacher,” Cain recalled. “I remember stumbling across words and that teacher smacking my hand with a ruler because I skipped over a word or didn’t pronounce it correctly.

“To this day that has a lasting impact on me when it comes to reading. At no time do I think it is okay for a teacher like that to stay in our system.”

While Cain said he wouldn’t tolerate bad teachers, he said that when it comes to struggling or ineffective teachers, the school system can’t simply toss them aside.

“I think the first thing that needs to be done is find out why they are ‘marginally effective,’ whether that be a teacher or administrator,” Cain said. “What I’ve learned is there is a humanistic standpoint to this. We don’t know what issues they are having unless we take the time to talk to them and find out.

“Are they themselves going through cancer? Do they have a family member going through it or have they lost a family member?

“These are all things, unfortunately, I’ve had to deal with as a human resources director. So, there is that humanistic standpoint and the last thing I want to ever do is just throw someone away. We have to find out what the cause is because I don’t think anyone comes to work thinking, ‘I want to be a crappy teacher or a crappy administrator.’ Once it is determined what the issues are talk to them and devise a plan for them. We want our students to be effective leaders and communicators and we want the same thing for our teachers and administrators.”

The topic of “communication” was a key point for all of the candidates and Hicks said that he has always had an “open door policy” as an administrator.

Tucker said that communication and transparency starts “at the top” with the superintendent.

“It’s very important to have transparency and that starts at the top and filters down,” she said. “We have to listen to the parents and all stakeholders on our plans, policies, procedures, what our strategic plan is, our data and our assessments; the things we’re going off to make our decisions.

“We need to make sure we have all community stakeholders with us working and communicating to make sure we put the students at Enterprise City Schools first.”

Hicks said that good communication with the community has also been a priority as a superintendent.

“As a superintendent, one of the first things I’ve ever done is have an ‘open door policy.’ I have given my cell (phone) number out at every parent meeting or any type of meeting like that,” Hicks said.

“I tell them to feel free to contact me any time, my job doesn’t end at 5 (p.m.) or 6 (p.m.). I have never told a parent or stakeholder, ‘I’m not working right now.’ I’m constantly working and I represent the school system 24/7, 365 days a year. It is my job to offer that support for any teachers, parents, students or stakeholders.”

Thomas said that those in education are in the “people business” and communication was paramount for a successful school system.

“The whole premise of what we do in education starts with communication,” Thomas emphasized. “It’s all about communication. We are in the people business and we have to communicate and interact with the community effectively.

“I’m already established in the community and have ties in the community and communication is one of the things I excel at, as far as getting people to see why we do certain things. Parents who call that are upset about various things, I can help better understand the decisions we make by listening to their concerns and communicating with them why we do things a certain way.”

Cain pointed to a tragic situation he went through while at Dale County where effective – and sensitive – communication was required: the 2013 kidnapping of a Dale County student and murder of bus driver Charles Poland.

“One of my teachers called and was hysterical because a bunch of our kids were on the side of the road trying to flag her down,” an emotional Cain recalled fighting back tears. “She had no idea what happened. Charles lost his life that day because he was protecting my students and also students from the elementary school and the middle school.

“Having to communicate that to the parents in a sensitive manner but without releasing too much information to keep from impeding the investigation is something I will never forget. I don’t know if I was successful at that but I can say I tried my best.”

The school’s budget and how each candidate would handle budget cuts was also a focal point for questions being asked. Tucker’s response was straight forward; cuts begin at the top.

“We would have to look at the data and look at the administrative costs at the top,” she quickly said. “The last thing we are going to do is cut teachers. They are on the front line; they affect our children.

“We would probably look at our administrative costs and see where we need to cut back.”

Hicks said that he has vast experience with making tough choices in that department because he said from the time he came to Troy City Schools he was asked to cut spending, while also improving the school system.

“Sometimes it doesn’t make you popular but you have to look at things that are nonessential or maybe things that don’t impact the teachers or support staff (first),” Hicks said. “You try not to impact the kids if at all possible but you have to look at each situation and the budget. One of the first things I’ve always tried to do is secure additional funding for whatever we are having to cut.

“Everything is on the table but you want to try to look at things that impact the teachers and students the least and sometimes that means looking at the central office and doing cuts there rather than in the schools.”

Hicks pointed to two examples to describe how he handled budget cuts and stretching money. Hicks said that he found that the school was paying for a $5,000 “death policy” that most teachers didn’t even know they had. Hicks also said that the school system received a $15 million bond that it planned to spend more than $14 million of on a new middle school but the system had many more needs, so he found a solution.

“Most teachers didn’t know they had it and they would have never known they had it because the family members would have found out when they passed away,” Hicks said. “We were still able to build a new middle school in the same location and footprint (of the old school) as well as remodel the existing buildings around it, build a new (cafeteria) at the high school, gut the old cafeteria and make it a media center, build a softball field, build a new Pre-K wing on the elementary school and buy brand new instruments for the band all with the same $15 million bond.”

Cain closed out his interview by emphasizing to the board what they would be getting if they selected him and also what they wouldn’t be getting.

“I am not a politician or a glad-hander. I am not the person that is going to tell you what you want to hear and then turn around and do something else,” Cain said. “I only say that because if I am fortunate enough to be selected I don’t want there to be any confusion about who you have put in this role.

“If that is what you’re looking for then do yourselves a favor and don’t go with me. If you want someone who truly cares about this city and this community and has kids here and is raising their family here, and that has had opportunities to apply for superintendent jobs and has been called about other jobs – and has turned them down because this is where I want to be superintendent – then please select me for this role. I am not planning on being a short timer. My youngest is starting kindergarten. In my opinion, you are making a decision for generations to come if you select me. I think we need some stabilization in leadership and I am not faulting any of our previous leaders – they have done great things and each had their strengths – but I want to be clear I am not a one and done type of person and that is not my intent.”