ALSDE

Health

Alabama leaders’ plan to reopen schools really isn’t a plan at all

There is no plan to reopen Alabama’s public schools. That much was clear after state superintendent Eric Mackey’s hour-long press conference on Friday — the one in which he presented the state’s plan to reopen schools. It was, to put it kindly, underwhelming. To put it not so kindly: It was the State Department of … Continued

Josh Moon

June 29, 2020

Opinion

How a group of concerned citizens killed a bad charter school

A bad charter school died in Alabama on Tuesday. For that, we should all cheer. For that, we should thank Betty Brackin and the concerned parents, teachers and citizens of Washington County. Because the system that was supposed to provide checks and balances and weed out bad charter schools and bad actors failed miserably. Instead, … Continued

Josh Moon

June 10, 2020

Opinion

Analysis | Alabama’s charter school law has a number of problems

The Alabama charter school law is an absolute mess, filled with loopholes and nonexistent instructions that make it possible, if not likely, that the state will endure countless bad charter schools that rob taxpayers and leave Alabama school children worse off. Those were not the words of Alabama superintendent Eric Mackey. But you could draw … Continued

Josh Moon

July 30, 2019

Opinion

We already know the danger of an appointed state school board

So, you want to appoint the state school board? According to Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, all of the voting we’ve been doing to elect state school board members is one of the biggest problems with public education in Alabama, and he wants to stop it. The stupid voters have screwed this up enough … Continued

Josh Moon

May 29, 2019

Opinion

Hiring Jason Taylor for MPS was Mike Sentance’s worst decision

Of all the blunders former state school superintendent Mike Sentance made (and there were many), none looms any larger than his decision to hire Jason Taylor to “straighten out” finances for the Montgomery school system. Taylor was the Chief Financial Officer for the Huntsville city school system early in 2017 when Sentance gave him a … Continued

Larry Lee

October 8, 2018

Opinion

The plan to kill public education in Alabama is succeeding

Put the flashlights away, Jason Taylor has been located. Maybe. The Alabama State Department of Education’s $700,000 accountant is still working for the state, just not doing much — or anything, depending on who you ask — for the Montgomery Public Schools. Instead, according to ALSDE spokesman Dr. Michael Sibley, Taylor is spending the majority … Continued

Josh Moon

September 21, 2018

The Montgomery intervention’s $700,000 CFO is missing, but still getting paid

Where is Jason Taylor? Taylor, one of former state superintendent Michael Sentance’s most controversial hires, was brought into Montgomery by the Alabama State Department of Education to serve as chief financial officer for the Montgomery Public School system during the ongoing state intervention. Taylor, the CFO in the Huntsville system at the time, signed a … Continued

Josh Moon

September 18, 2018

The revenge of the BCA

A terminated position, a transfer, a well-financed primary opponent and a ballot challenge. Over the last several weeks, some of the major players who exposed a scheme to smear a state superintendent candidate and hand the job to an outsider have fallen on hard times. And the source of their problems isn’t much of … Continued

Josh Moon

May 21, 2018

A new state superintendent, more controversy

If the State Board of Education is picking a new superintendent, count on controversy. Eric Mackey, the head of the Superintendents of Alabama group, was selected as the state’s newest superintendent on Friday, and almost immediately there was controversy. There are also currently at least two groups considering lawsuits to challenge Friday’s vote. According to … Continued

Josh Moon

April 24, 2018

Opinion

Another abnormal Alabama superintendent search

Why can’t we just do normal stuff? What is it about government in Alabama — from the governor’s office to the state Legislature to probate judges to boards of education — that requires off-the-wall insanity at every turn? I ask these questions as Alabama’s state school board prepares to select a new state superintendent of … Continued

Josh Moon

April 20, 2018