State Board hears legal report on Sumter County and Bessemer City state interventions; construction and staffing challenges cited

During the Feb. 13, 2025, meeting of the Alabama State Board of Education, a staff legal report said Sumter County and Bessemer City remain in state intervention and summarized recent progress and ongoing challenges in both districts.

Doctor Mackey presented the semiannual legal report. Regarding Sumter County, Mackey said the district is in its second year of state intervention and has made progress on finances: a chief school finance officer was placed in the district, and the district submitted a budget on time this year. Mackey reported personnel issues have been "cleaned up" in part, but recruitment and retention remain a challenge because Sumter County is rural and many employees live outside the county. Mackey said two schools in Sumter did not open this year and the district is consolidating to one campus; construction of a new elementary school behind the existing high and middle schools is "moving along really fast." He said the district has limited financial capacity and that the career-technical center—located near a condemned junior-high facility that the district closed—is overcrowded relative to student demand and that a longer-term solution is being pursued.

On Bessemer City, Mackey said the intervention is about six months old. He reported improvements in budgeting and payroll: Bessemer submitted its budget on time and adopted an updated salary schedule. He said ongoing construction is addressing deferred maintenance and that the district's Cognia review was "not great," with external reviewers finding the board "continues to not be able to function on its own." Mackey said the State Department of Education will continue to work with the Bessemer board and has asked the board to undertake training.

Mackey credited Chief Administrative Officer John Hurd for assistance with Sumter County matters and said the department is pursuing additional steps, particularly to expand career-technical programming capacity for students who currently lack access to desired courses. Mackey said the department is optimistic about academic gains in Sumter County and expects to see more when this year's test results arrive, but he acknowledged some students currently lack access to career-tech courses while facilities and financial capacity are addressed.

The report contained operational updates and did not include formal board motions or votes. The next board meeting was announced for March 13, 2025, at 10 a.m.