On September 13, the Alabama REALTORS® Public Policy team attended the State Board of Education (BOE) meeting in Montgomery to monitor for impacts on the real estate industry and property owners.  The State BOE has a tremendous responsibility in overseeing our schools, and the quality of our school systems affects the real estate industry, economic development and property values in Alabama.

Business Meeting 

In the meeting, BOE members approved a resolution to recognize the top 50 “Million-Dollar Schools” for growth in third-grade reading. Each of the 50 schools selected were recognized for their efforts in showing the most improvement in last year’s third-grade reading results by receiving a $20,000 check from the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), sharing $1,000,000 allotted by the Legislature during the 2018 Legislative Session. To see the full list of schools, click here.

BOE members also approved the public release of Educator Preparation Institutional Report Cards. The overall results of the report cards show that Alabama’s colleges and universities are doing well in preparing Alabama teachers for the classroom. The full report cards for each teacher preparation program at each college and university in the state  can be found here.  The report cards measure three elements related to teacher preparation: 1) the percentage of teacher candidates that pass the required teacher tests, 2) survey results completed by the principal of the school where the first-year teacher was hired and 3) results of surveys by first-year teachers about how well-prepared they were for their first year of teaching.

The BOE also approved the ALSDE budget for the 2019 fiscal year, which will begin on October 1, 2018. Dr. Mackey mentioned that personnel costs have decreased in the budget due to employees retiring and other factors.

In his state superintendent report, Dr. Mackey stated that he has been busy traveling the last couple of weeks, meeting with college deans, superintendents, principals and teachers.

State Board of Education Background

The BOE was established in 1919 to set policies and regulations for the state's public school system. The board is comprised of nine members. Governor Kay Ivey is president by virtue of her position as Governor, and the remaining eight members are elected to four-year terms in partisan elections from single-member districts of the state with similar populations. A state superintendent of education is appointed by the board to serve as its secretary and executive officer over the State Department of Education.

The AAR Public Policy team will continue to monitor state regulatory agencies for potential impacts on REALTOR® members, the real estate industry and private property owners.