State board approves multiple resolutions and appointments, including Purple Star recognitions and textbook committees

At its April 10, 2025, meeting in Montgomery, the Alabama State Board of Education approved a string of routine resolutions and appointments by voice/raised-hand vote, with the transcript recording unanimous support for each listed item in the provided excerpts.

Key votes recorded as unanimous in the transcript included:

- A resolution honoring Alabama educator Mary Travis of Robert W. Gilliard Elementary School as a Milken Educator Award recipient. The transcript identifies Mary Travis and notes she represents Mobile County and State School Board District 5.

- A resolution recognizing Dr. Walter B. Gonsolin Jr. (described in the record as "doctor Walter b Gonsolin junior") as national superintendent of the year.

- A resolution recognizing Alabama’s 2025 Purple Star Schools, a designation for military-friendly school communities. The board member remarks and superintendent comments described a substantial growth in program participation since its start.

- A resolution approving educator preparation programs at Athens State University.

- A resolution to modify practice, assessments, and scores as a precondition for initial certification (the motion passed by unanimous voice/raised-hand vote in the transcript excerpts).

- Appointments to the 2025–26 state textbook committees for arts education and for social studies (grades K–12); the transcript records the superintendent explaining the nomination and appointment process, noting that nominees are typically put forward by local superintendents and that governors make nine appointees who require senate confirmation.

- A resolution recognizing April 2025 as School Library Month in Alabama.

- Approval of the nomination for an open position on the Alabama School of Fine Arts Board of Trustees by selecting Elias Hendricks Jr. as the board’s top preference; the transcript records the motion and the board’s unanimous assent.

Superintendent Dr. Mackey provided context about textbook committee appointments during the meeting. He said committee members are generally nominated by superintendents, explained that getting members to serve can be difficult, and described additional appointment paths including governor and state superintendent appointments and higher-education nominees. "Basically, the people on here are nominated by superintendents... there are 9 appointees made by the governor to textbook committee that have to be confirmed by the state senate," Dr. Mackey said in the record.

All items of new business recorded in the provided transcript excerpts show motions, seconds, and unanimous votes where stated. The transcript shows no public speakers and no unfinished business for the meeting.

The board scheduled its next meeting for May 8, 2025, at 10 a.m. in the Gordon Persons Building Auditorium.