At the Oct. 8 Montgomery school board meeting, members elected Jamie Wilson to serve as interim superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools. Her duties begin on November 1 when Inspector Melvin Brown steps aside.

But the board also discussed its annual strategic plan and voted to form a committee to select new textbooks under state law, among other actions. Here are four issues you may have missed amid the big news.

The new management

Members of the Montgomery County Board of Education have appointed Jamie Wilson to the position of superintendent. Five members voted on the final vote to confirm Wilson. Board member Lesa Keith abstained.

The board went into executive session to discuss the nominees before the vote. The district has not announced the nominees. Pamela Cloud said the voting process was somewhat complicated. Cloud planned to vote for another candidate, but chose to vote for Wilson after four members had already voted for her initially, giving Wilson the majority needed to be approved.

The board also appointed Pamela Watkins to be the school’s interim chief financial officer.

Watkins previously served as director of budgeting and financial reporting and brings “a wealth of knowledge to this interim role,” according to a Montgomery Public Schools news release.

More: Montgomery school board members defend recent actions, call for unity

New plan for the school system

Wilson established the strategic plan for the school system. At completion, she estimated it would be about 300 pages.

“It should be a living, working document,” said School Board member Pamela Cloud.

Cloud has experience in education, including working with the Alabama Department of Education. She said she takes the plan very seriously.

Cloud’s issue with Wilson’s presentation concerns a law that requires schools to back up their ad valorem tax dollars with financial numbers.

This ad valorem tax money Cloud is referring to is the new county voter taxes passed to better fund schools, with a focus on children. In Cloud’s view, the plan discussed by Wilson did not do that.

If state officials decide the plan isn’t up to snuff, they could take over the district, Cloud said. “So why give them ammunition to (do that)?” Cloud said in an interview Thursday. “You know what you have to give. You know what you have to do. Why don’t you do it?”

For Cloud, she said this was central to members’ duties to their constituents.

“We have to be good stewards of those funds, and we promised when we campaigned that it would reach the child, the children,” Cloud said. “It would be for the child’s special needs.”

Manuals

The board voted to form a committee to select updated textbooks within a deadline set by Alabama law.

The committee will involve teachers, community members, administrators and high school students.

Communicating concerns

At the beginning of each meeting, the board allows community members to speak according to guidelines prescribed by the members.

Ashla Roseboro spoke about the importance of providing for children with disabilities. She homeschools her student who has disabilities, but noted that not all parents can do the same.

She questioned whether teachers are trained to adequately assist students with disabilities.

“Let’s not let the next surgeon, principal, teacher or accountant have to leave MPS to find refuge and safety elsewhere,” Roseboro said.

She emphasized the importance of kindergarten teacher training and the importance of professional development for teachers.

Alex Gladden is the education reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @gladlyalex.

This article originally appeared on the Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery school board meeting lays out plan amid turmoil