Walter Curry Wins Jefferson Co. BOE District 1

The seat to represent District 1 on the Jefferson County Board of Education will be on the ballot Tuesday. District 1 includes areas such as Forestdale, Adamsville and Pleasant Grove.

Republican Phillip Brown and Democrat Walter Curry are vying for the seat. If elected, each candidate addressed their goals, and Brown answered questions related to a civil case in which he was found liable in 2018.

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Brown had a 22-year career in education before retiring last year. He worked as an automotive technology teacher for 20 years in Jefferson County Schools.

Curry is currently the director of operations and technology at Fairfield City Schools. He has been in education for more than 25 years, holding principal and interim superintendent positions.

If elected, Brown told ABC 33/40 that one of his goals is to improve the relationship between parents and the school system.

“Everybody wants to point fingers and blame somebody. Why do we have failing schools? Why do we have problems with kids learning? It’s a combination. We have to work together. One of the things I saw in my career is that the PTAs are no longer that strong, we need to strengthen the relationship between the community and the school because we both suffer when the children do not excel, we are looking for excellence, not mediocrity .

In 2018a jury found Brown liable for conspiracy to remove church funds from bank accounts, conspiracy to improperly act as administrator of the Sandusky Church of Christ, and libel against the minister. He was ordered to pay $230,000 to the church.

ABC 33/40 News asked Brown about the case.

“What you’re looking at is what we told them last time I ran is when you come to church, sometimes it gets messy in church. When you have people who are interested in themselves, not in society, so That’s what’s going to happen. Sometimes the law makes decisions that you don’t necessarily agree with to do it again, I would also challenge the person I did last time,” Brown said. “People know me. Those who have been around me and seen me work with the school system, seen all the young minds, boys and girls that have come through my program and gone on to do great things, they know that my heart is with the kids We want to build the community and a program that empowers people to be better than their parents.”

Brown said he has not paid the $230,000.

“That was the first judgment, but me and the other side have reached a settlement and we’re in the process of taking care of it,” Brown said.

Brown has run for Jefferson County Circuit Clerk and Public Service Commission in previous years.

“Having served a long time in the school system and realized that although national and statewide politics are glamorous, perhaps more so than local races. Politics is local. We shape the minds of our future generations in the education system. In my opinion, I believe that is there, we’re missing a lot, we’ve got to get kids to be able to capture the American Dream and believe that it’s possible for them to be successful,” Brown said.

Brown’s fear was that Jefferson County Schools was faltering.

“We’re falling behind. The kids’ scores are down, too; since COVID, our attendance is down. That’s the unfortunate direction we’re going. We’ve got to turn it around,” Brown said.

For the 2022-2023 school year, the district scored 81 on its school report card from the Alabama State Department of Education. There were 35,570 students. In 2021-2022, the district scored 81 with 35,632 students. A score was not reported for the 2020-2021 and 2019-2020 school years. In 2018-2019, the district scored 81 with 36,360 students.

Brown’s opponent, Walter Curry, believed the district had improved in several areas.

“I think Jefferson County Schools is in the best position they’ve ever been in. They have a superintendent in Dr. Gonsoulin over there, and that school board has really done some great things,” Curry said.

He hoped to support the work being done for career education and preparing students for the workforce. Curry believed he could help retain highly qualified teachers.

“Every school district in the country has a challenge to retain high quality and the best teachers. I want to help them with my knowledge, my skills in trying to come up with ideas and plans to advance that, in terms of retention, hiring the best teachers,” Curry said.

He explained that his experience in education gives him insight into what school board members do since he often works with the school board.

“I’ve been a director and superintendent for many years. I deal with the budgets. I deal with three, sometimes five million dollars. I have a lot of experience handling the kind of demands that the job would require. I’m used to working with staff and understanding teachers and the challenges teachers have, I understand our job is to make sure kids get an education, whether it’s career or college,” Curry said.

If elected, Curry could continue to work for Fairfield City Schools. However, he said he is close to retirement.

“I’m almost retiring. I decided what I could do to utilize my skills and knowledge. I decided that in my neighborhood I could give back and make sure that the schools in our neighborhood get that kind of support , they need. One of the things (I’ve noticed) since I’ve been there, the current board member doesn’t live near the area, those schools probably haven’t gotten the love that a board member, who lives in that neighborhood could provide it, Curry said.

He lives in Forestdale.

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Jefferson County Board of Education District 2 will also be on the ballot.

The candidates in that race include Democrat Sultana Godwin and Republican Robert “Glenn” Durough.