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Alabama State Board of Education
| Alabama State Board of Education | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Total Seats: | 9 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Code of Alabama, Title 16-3-1 |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
| Kay Ivey, Allen Long, Marie Manning, Kelly Mooney, Wayne Reynolds, Yvette Richardson, Tonya Smith Chestnut, Tracie West, Jackie Zeigler | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 3, 2026 |
| Last election: | November 5, 2024 |
| Other Alabama Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission | |
The Alabama State Board of Education is an elected executive agency of the Alabama state government, responsible for managing the state's public K-12 education. The board's mission is "To provide a state system of education which is committed to academic excellence and which provides education of the highest quality to all Alabama students, preparing them for the 21st century."[1]
Current officeholders
The board is composed of nine members, including the governor, who serves as the president of the board. The other members are elected to four-year terms by voters in one of the state's eight education districts, all of which are similar in population. Elections to the board are staggered, with Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 holding elections in presidential election years, while Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 hold elections in midterm years. Each year, the board elects a vice president and a president pro tempore from among its elected members.[2]
| Office | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama State Board of Education District 1 | Jackie Zeigler | Republican |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 2 | Tracie West | Republican |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 3 | Kelly Mooney | Republican |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 4 | Yvette Richardson | Democratic |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 5 | Tonya Smith Chestnut | Democratic |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 6 | Marie Manning | Republican |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 7 | Allen Long | Republican |
| Alabama State Board of Education District 8 | Wayne Reynolds | Republican |
| Governor of Alabama | Kay Ivey | Republican |
Authority
The Alabama State Board of Education was established in 1919 by the Alabama State Legislature.[3] Its authority is laid out in Section 16-3-1 of the 1975 Code of Alabama.[4]
Section 16-3-1:
| The State Board of Education shall be composed of the Governor as an ex officio member and eight members elected from districts provided by general law. Members of the board shall serve for terms of four years each, and the member from each district shall be elected by the qualified electors of the district at the general election immediately preceding the expiration of the term of office of the member, as designated by the board, representing such district on the board and every four years thereafter. Each member shall hold office from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next after his or her election and until his or her successor is elected and qualified. |
Qualifications
The qualifications for serving on the board are laid out in Section 16-3-3 of the 1975 Code of Alabama. Board members must be eligible voters living within the district they represent. Employees of the board are ineligible to run for election to the board, as are former educators who have held a teaching position within five years of the election.[5]
Section 16-3-3:
| The members of the board shall be qualified electors of the State of Alabama, and each member shall be a qualified elector in the district which he represents. No person who is an employee of the board or who is or has been engaged as a professional educator within five years next preceding the date of the election shall be eligible for membership on the board. For the purposes of this section the term "professional educator" shall include teacher, supervisor or principal of any public or private school; instructor, professor or president of any public or private university, college or junior college or trade school; any state, county or city superintendent of education; or other person engaged in an administrative capacity in the field of education. |
Elections
Alabama elects members to four-year terms on the State Board of Education in all even-numbered years. Members representing odd-numbered districts are elected on presidential election years, while members representing even-numbered districts are elected on midterm election years. Members take office on the first Monday after the second Tuesday of January in the year after their election.
Term limits
There are no term limits to the Alabama State Board of Education.
2024
District 1
General election candidates
- Jackie Zeigler (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
- Jackie Zeigler (Incumbent) ✔
District 3
General election candidates
- Kelly Mooney (Republican Party) ✔
Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
District 5
General election candidates
- Tonya Smith Chestnut (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
- David Perry (Republican Party)
Democratic primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
- Tonya Smith Chestnut (Incumbent) ✔
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
District 7
General election candidates
- Allen Long (Republican Party) ✔
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
2022
District 2
General election candidates
- Tracie West (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
- Tracie West (Incumbent) ✔
- Alex Balkcum
District 4
General election candidates
- Yvette Richardson (Incumbent) (Democratic Party) ✔
Democratic primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
- Yvette Richardson (Incumbent) ✔
Republican primary candidates
The Republican Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
District 6
General election candidates
- Marie Manning (Republican Party) ✔
Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
District 8
General election candidates
- Wayne Reynolds (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
- Patrick Wallace (Libertarian Party)
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
- Wayne Reynolds (Incumbent) ✔
- Rex Davis
2020
District 1
General election candidates
- Jackie Zeigler (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
- Tom Holmes (Democratic Party)
Democratic primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
- Jackie Zeigler (Incumbent) ✔
District 3
General election candidates
- Stephanie Bell (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
- Jarralynne Agee (Democratic Party)
Democratic primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
- Stephanie Bell (Incumbent) ✔
District 5
General election candidates
- Tonya Smith Chestnut (Democratic Party) ✔
- Lesa Keith (Republican Party)
Democratic primary runoff candidates
Democratic primary candidates
- Fred F. Bell ✔
- Ron Davis
- Pamela Laffitte
- Patrice McClammy
- Woodie Pugh Jr.
- Joanne Shum
- Tonya Smith Chestnut ✔
- Billie Jean Young
Did not make the ballot:
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
District 7
General election candidates
- Belinda Palmer McRae (Republican Party) ✔
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey Democratic primary candidates
The Democratic Party primary was canceled. No candidates filed for this race.
Republican primary candidates
This primary was canceled and this candidate advanced:
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Past elections
Note: Due to the lack of historical officeholder information, incumbency information may be unavailable for elections to this office before 2014.
Vacancies
The procedure for vacancy appointments is laid out in Section 16-3-5 of the Alabama Code. In the event of a vacancy on the board, the governor may appoint a member to fill the remainder of the term. The appointee must be confirmed by the state Senate.[6] Section 290-010-010 of the Alabama Code lays out the procedure for handling vacancies of board members who are also officers. Should the office of vice president of the board become vacant at any time, the president pro tempore serves the remainder of the vice president's term. In the event of a vacancy in the office of president pro tempore, the position is left vacant until the next annual election of officers.[2]
Duties
The duties of the board are laid out in the Alabama Code. Section 16-3-11 empowers the board to exercise "general control and supervision over the public schools of the state" with the exception of universities, and lists as an additional responsibility of the board as being "to direct and develop public sentiment in support of public education."[7] The Board is empowered by Section 16-3-12 to establish regulations "for the proper construction of school buildings, for the sanitation of schools, for the physical examination of school children" and is given the responsibility of coordinating the enforcement of "rules related to school health, compulsory education and child conservation."[8]
The board is also responsible for selecting the state superintendent, who acts as the chief executive officer of both the board and the Alabama Department of Education. Section 16-4-1 grants the board authority to select and dismiss state superintendents, who serve at the pleasure of the board. The board is also granted power over the superintendent's salary.[9]
Compensation
Section 16-3-8 entitles members of the board to a $10 per diem compensation for each day they spend conducting board business. The total per diem payment in a fiscal year may not exceed the board member's board-related expenses during the fiscal year by more than $250.[10] In addition to the per diem and a mileage allowance, Section 16-3-9 entitles Board members to an expense allowance of $1500 per month for official business.[11]
Former officeholders
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Alabama State Board of Education has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
- Ella Bell (2001-2019)
- Tommie Stewart (2020-2021)
- Jeffrey Newman (2013-2021)
- Cynthia Sanders McCarty (2015-2023)
Contact information
Alabama State Department of Education
50 North Ripley Street
P.O. Box 302101
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
Phone: (334) 694-4900
See also
| Alabama | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Alabama State Department of Education, "Alabama Education Report Card for the 2014-2015 School Year," accessed July 17, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alabama Administrative Code, "Chapter 290-010-010," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Alabama, "Alabama State Department of Education," accessed July 17, 2017
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-1," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-3," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-5," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-11," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-12," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-4-1," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-8," accessed January 5, 2021
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 16-3-9," accessed January 5, 2021
