Bice overrules board's deadlock, financial plan passes - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

Birmingham City Schools will start on time this fall, but it will be without roughly 200 fewer jobs.

During a standing room only meeting today, the Birmingham BOE didn't pass the state's cost cutting plan but State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice overruled them and put the plan into action.

The Birmingham BOE voted 2-2-2 on the plan, deadlocking on a decision. Bice, who ran today's meeting, immediately overruled the deadlock, citing statute authority that gave him the power to pass the financial plan. Board members Alana Edwards, Brian Giattina and April Williams did not attend the meeting.

And that didn't sit well with some board members, who warned Bice and the audience that the fight isn't over in terms of lawsuits.

"I am very sad for them, their families, they're hardworking, and I'm sad for Birmingham that we've added to the unemployment rolls," board member Virginia Volker said.

Board member Emanuel Ford was also displeased, saying that Bice's promise to work with teh board didn't seem real, even when it comes to what time to hold the board meetings.

"When you set this 12 o'clock meeting there was no discussion, well I don't know who you talked to, but I know you didn't talk to me," Ford said.

As for those job losses, the employees being fired or reassigned will get their official notices Wednesday. They have seven days to decide whether to accept a reassignment and after that the system will move forward with moving employees around to fill open spots.

The Alabama Education Association (AEA) has promised to fight this in court if necessary.

"We're telling our members today, once you're notified you're being demoted, terminated or whatever, come see us. If we need to get the paperwork ready and go to court, we will," said Lance Hyche with the AEA.

Bice said he's cleared his calendar for the fourth Tuesday of the next several months and will personally run the board's meetings.

"When you reach a certain point where the school board is unable to do the business of making those tough decisions, especially to get school started, sometimes you have to step in and make those tough decisions, and that's what we did," he said.

Bice said another tough decision may be closing even more schools or closing them faster than the system had planned because he said too many schools are at less than 40 percent capacity. But, the state won't move on that issue without community input.

"The last thing we wanna do is go into a community that believes strongly in their school and say 'we're shutting it down.' There needs to be a dialogue about what this could mean, positively and negatively," Bice said.

Birmingham City Schools superintendent Craig Witherspoon affirmed that schools will start on time on August 20.

Bice said the state team has been impressed with the staff at the school level in the Birmingham City School system and wants to focus on that, not the board drama.

"They've gone about their business and done what's needed in spite of this mess. So I can't say enough about the principals and the staff that have come in to work during the summer to get things ready, they've done a remarkable job," Bice said.

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