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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – The Shelby County Schools Board of Education approved Ashli Polizos and Brent McCaleb to new administrative positions at a recent BOE meeting on Thursday, Jan. 23.

Polizos was approved to become the new assistant principal at Oak Mountain Middle School, while McCaleb has been appointed as the interim principal for New Direction

Polizos, a long-time faculty member for the Oak Mountain schools, is a National Board Certified teacher and has worked in education for nearly 19 years. Twelve of those years have been spent in the teaching realm at both the middle and high school levels, and she last served as an assistant principal at Oak Mountain High School.

Polizos extended her gratitude to the Shelby County Schools BOE for all of their support of her work, while also expressing how ready she is to return to OMMS.

“I just want to say thank you to the board, to Dr. (Lewis) Brooks and the leadership team for this opportunity,” Polizos said. “I am excited to return to the middle school world, it is truly a special place. I am thrilled to get to work with Mrs. (Sandy) Evers and the admin team down there and all of the incredible teachers and staff.”

McCaleb has been in the field of public education for 30 years, most recently serving as an assistant principal at Helena High School. He also thanked the board for the opportunity to take on this position, touching on his passion for serving and educating.

In other news, the BOE approved a bid for pieces of new CNP equipment to be moved into various schools around the county, which will serve as updates to current equipment used in cafeterias and other places around the school.

The board also approved bids for new walk-in coolers and freezers to be installed at the Linda Nolen Learning Center and Chelsea Middle School, both of which belong to Singer H&R for a total of $176,500.

In addition, change orders were approved for three projects around the county, including a partial reroofing of Shelby County schools, a new parking lot at Chelsea High School and new classroom additions at Chelsea Park Elementary School.

The board’s budget for the reroofing was higher than estimated, and as a result, the board will receive $10,500 back. The new classroom additions also were completed under budget, which gives $25,949.69 back to the board.

On the other hand the parking lot renovation experienced difficulties, pushing the board over the initial approved budget. The board approved an additional $47,898.79 to be added to the project.

In other news, the SCS Board of Education approved and discussed the following items:

• Out-of-state field trips for Calera High School and Chelsea Middle School
• A management report
• The payroll and monthly expenditures for December 2024
• A revised job description for the board’s data administrator and trainer
• Bus substitutes and aides
• An architect and construction report