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By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – Members of the Alabaster City Schools Board of Education recently honored ACS Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Latanza Harrison during a regularly scheduled board of education meeting on Monday, July 14.

The ACS BOE honored Harrison after she was recently selected by the American Association of School Personnel Administrators to receive the organization’s Special Recognition Award.

“Dr. Harrison is always a wonderful professional,” Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said. “She is wonderful to work with.”

The Special Recognition Award given to Harrison recognizes human resources administrators who have made significant and lasting contributions to the field of school personnel administration.

“She’s done a marvelous job for our (school) system,” Vickers said. “She always handles things in such a professional way. She’s not afraid to ask tough questions and she’s not afraid to ask questions. She’s not afraid to shut the door and have conversations with people… And we’re very thankful for her.”

During the BOE meeting, members of the board approved a price update to the new THS Sound System Console. According to Vickers, the previous sound board was damaged and after approving the purchase of a replacement,  a new quote came back to the board for an additional $6,000.

The BOE also approved Personnel Actions during the meeting which included new assignments.

“I would like to thank all of our administrative team, our principals and our Central Office staff for working diligently to fill as many positions as we can,” Vickers said. “As you know, we like to get as many filled by this board meeting as we can. I appreciate the work, and we should be down to just a few that are left.”

After completing the items on the agenda, Vickers commented on Alabaster City Schools reaching its 10th anniversary.

“It’s 10 years of progress,” he said. “When you start really digging into what we had in 2013 and what we have in 2023, it is truly earth-shaking to see. I’m so proud of our parents and our students and our employees for their dedication and work and your believing in what we’re doing. It has transformed us into a system that everyone looks at and admires.”

ACS Board of Education Vice President Derek Henderson expressed his gratitude for those that helped Alabaster City Schools reach 10 years.

“Thank you to the staff and everybody that works so hard to get us where we are, and it has been a wonderful 10 years,” he said. “Whenever I’m in an official capacity going around the state, everybody knows where we were and where we are now. And I never thought we would be in the position where people are asking us, “How did you do it? What are you doing now?’ or ‘We want to be at Alabaster City Schools.’”

In other news the Alabaster City Schools Board of Education approved the following items on the agenda:

• Out-of-State field trip requests for Thompson High School to Orlando, Florida for the National High School Cheerleading Competition.
• 2023-2024 Glimpse Contract Renewal
• Purchase of Open Court Reading Materials, grades K-5
• City of Alabaster Statutory Warranty Deed and Facility Use Agreement
• Volkert, Inc. recommendation – Construction Contract for Central Office/A.C.E.S.
• Resolution #2023-03
• Resolution #2023-04
• Alabaster City Schools 2023-2024 Salary Schedule Revision
• Inventory Deletions Request
• Financial statements, payroll, bank reconciliations and pay app #33