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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – During the most recent Shelby County Schools Board of Education meeting held on Thursday, Nov. 19, the board approved a new Human Resources Supervisor, swore in a longtime board member and passed an emergency declaration at two schools for funding.

One of the biggest items on the agenda was the approval of longtime Oak Mountain Elementary School Principal Debbie Horton being named the new Shelby County Schools Human Resources Supervisor.

Horton has been the principal at OMES since 2011 and has been involved in education since 1990 when she began her teaching career in Midfield City Schools.

A few years later, she joined Shelby County Schools for the first time in 1997 when she began teaching at Valley Elementary. Prior to taking over as principal for the first time at Oak Mountain Elementary, Horton was named the assistant principal of Valley Elementary and Intermediate schools.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Auburn University, a Master of Art Degree in Elementary Education from UAB, and a Master of Art Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from UAB.

In addition to that, Peg Hill was sworn in for another term as a Shelby County Board of Education member, marking another term for the longtime SCS BOE board member.

Hill became a board member back in 2002 after a lengthy career in education, spending 15 years teaching kindergarten through eighth grades and spending 17 years as an administrator for grades kindergarten through 12th.

Before retiring and eventually becoming a board member, Hill served as the principal at Elvin Hill Elementary, which is named after her father.

Hill was sworn in by Shelby County Probate Judge Allison Boyd at the meeting on Nov. 19 with her bible in hand.

During the meeting, the board also declared an emergency declaration for two schools needing repairs.

The repairs are to the roof of Chelsea Middle School, which was damaged during Hurricane Zeta, and the boiler system at Inverness Elementary.

According to the declaration, it’s the middle school gym’s roof that was damaged and needs to be repaired for safety.

The declaration allows the board to bypass the normal public advertisement for bids in order to get the repairs done quickly, according to Public Relations Supervisor Cindy Warner.

The roof project at Chelsea Middle School will cost $22,300 and will be completed by Standard Roofing of Montgomery, Inc., while the boiler at Inverness Elementary will cost $25,995 and be completed by JAMCO, Inc.