Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum Textbooks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vestavia Hills board adopts state-approved social studies and art textbooks; district estimates $300K–$400K local cost
Summary
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education approved recommendations to adopt state-approved social studies and art textbooks after a multi-year review. Staff said the state provided an approved list; the district committee finalized selections and estimated a local cost in the $300,000–$400,000 range beyond state allocation.
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education voted March 30 to adopt new social studies and art textbooks recommended by district staff after a two-year review tied to recently updated state standards.
Brooke, a district staff member who led the local adoption process, told the board the state textbook committee published its approved list in October and the State Board accepted that list on March 12; a local district committee then met March 18 to finalize the materials teachers had selected. "The state's always almost like a year ahead of us," Brooke said, describing how state and local review timelines overlapped.
The adoption followed an extensive local review in which teachers and administrators examined candidate materials using a rubric and a textbook caravan, Brooke said. She described the process as collaborative and said the local committee included teachers representing all schools and parent participants. "It's important because our teachers spend a lot of time reviewing materials," Brooke said.
District staff described curricular shifts tied to the new social studies standards: increased emphasis on Alabama history and a redistribution of U.S. history content across grades. Staff said the more significant changes are in grades 5–7 and that the district is aligning world history and geography across grades 7–9 to create vertical coherence.
During discussion about costs, Gordon, a district staff member presenting financials, estimated the district would pick up "3 or 400,000" beyond the state's textbook allocation and noted the state provides a textbook allocation that does not necessarily cover the entire local purchase. Staff said the district will use its available textbook allocation and cover the balance with local funds.
The board approved the recommendation by motion, second and voice vote. The district described the adoption as part of the roughly six-year textbook rotation and said elementary arts materials will remain generally unchanged.
Next steps for the district include finalizing purchase amounts and budgeting for the local share of the cost; staff said specific dollar totals will depend on final orders and were described in the meeting as an estimated range rather than a fixed figure.
