It’s been a headlined filled year for Hoover City Schools with controversies over zoning and busing, and the resignation of their superintendent. Now, new leader Dr. Kathy Murphy is on deck to take the helm.
Murphy, superintendent of Monroe County Schools, signed her name on the line this week, accepting a $195,000 annual contract to lead Hoover City Schools, beginning June 1.
The former physical education teacher-turned school administrator replaces Superintendent Andy Craig who resigned in December and went to work for the Alabama Department of Education. She said she’s excited about the opportunity to lead one of the state’s strongest public school systems.
“I am here to serve,” she said. “I believe in servant leadership. So I am here to serve the children and parents of this community and to work alongside our administrators, teachers and school board to give every imaginable opportunity to our students for success.”
Murphy comes from a school system with about 3,600 students compared to Hoover, with high schools alone the size of that school district. According to the Alabama Department of Education, Hoover has about 14,000 students this year.
“Will there be a learning curve and some transition time. Obviously there will be. Some of the high schools are the size of my entire school district,” she said. “I don’t see that as a disadvantage at all. I am just excited to make that transition and excited to work with almost 14,000 students here in Hoover.”
Murphy began her career as an educator working in Auburn City Schools. Over the past three decades, she has climbed consistently — teaching at Judson College and West Georgia College before going on to lead schools in Greenville, Alabama and Troy. She decided to seek the Hoover job because of that system’s reputation for excellence.
“Our expectation here in Hoover is excellence in academics, excellence in academics and excellence in whatever we do,” she said. “It does not mean we’re perfect, it does mean we have a standard of excellence and we are always seeking to achieve that.”
Murphy is stepping in following major controversy in Hoover over the redrawing of school attendance zones and a proposed discontinuance of busing. And she doesn’t claim to have all the answers.
“I think first of all, I need to understand those issues more clearly… It would be premature on my part begin to address some of those issues without knowing all the specifics or having done more work myself in terms of reviewing those issues…
“I know there are challenges waiting for us. Collaboratively, we will find solutions for those.”
Academic achievement, she says, is the challenge that will command a majority of her focus.
“The greatest challenge that all of our schools really has is that of maintaining our laser focus on academic achievement for our students,” she said. “While we have some exemplary student performance and achievement in our school district, there is always room to grow.”
She said there is also a challenge to “not only maintain the excellence of our students academically, but to make sure that we continue to grow that academic achievement for our students.” The major goal, Murphy said, is to ensure that all Hoover students are college and career ready when they graduate.
Like most public schools systems in Alabama, Murphy said she acknowledges the funding challenges, but those will not be a great deterrence.
“There are challenges for us financially, but we are not going to find reasons, alibis and excuses for not being a great school district,” she said. “We’re going to find remedies and solutions and we’re going to move forward.”