Homewood City Schools

Homewood City Schools is an independent school system established by the City of Homewood in 1970. The system currently operates five schools and has a student population of approximately 3,200.

Even prior to creating its own school system, the citizens of Homewood were dedicated to their local schools. Hall-Kent Elementary School was established in 1887, well before the city was incorporated. Shades Cahaba High School was established in 1920, later becoming Shades Cahaba Elementary School when Jefferson County replaced it with Shades Valley High School. Homewood Junior High School followed shortly thereafter in the 1950s.

On December 22, 1969, the Homewood City Council established the Homewood Board of Education, which would assume authority on July 1, 1970. The initial board consisted of Dr. Leslie Wright, Madison W. O'Kelley, Jack R. Gurley, Richard T. Ownes, and Mamie Foster. They hired G. Virgil Nunn as the first superintendent.

Because Shades Valley was not in the city limits, the system did not have a high school when the city broke away from the county's system in 1970. Instead, students were allowed to continue attending Shades Valley if they paid tuition. In 1971, a five-mill tax was passed by voters to pay for a city high school, which opened at the end of the following year.

In 2021 the system was awarded $5,844,644 ($1,399/student) in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Board of Education

The Homewood Board of Education offices are located in the Hollywood neighborhood at 7 Hollywood Boulevard, next to Shades Cahaba Elementary School. Members of the board are appointed by the Homewood City Council to staggered 5-year terms representing each of the city's five voting wards. The board appoints the Superintendent of schools to serve as chief executive and as board secretary. The current board members are:

• Ward 1: Justin Russell, president
• Ward 2: Jill Kimbrell, vice-president
• Ward 3: David Thompson
• Ward 4: Sheetal Cordry, 2023–
• Ward 5: Judy Truitt
• Superintendent: Justin Hefner

The Homewood Board of Education Building, completed in 2013, was designed by Williams-Blackstock Architects. It won a Merit Award from AIA Birmingham in 2015.

Former board members

• Charlie Douthit, –2023
• Jim Williams
• R. Scott Williams
• Patti Atkinson
• Eric Fournier
• Bruce Limbaugh

Schools

Homewood's school system consists of three elementary schools (K-5) which feed into a single middle school (6-8) and high school (9-12).

• Homewood High School
• Homewood Middle School
• Edgewood Elementary School
• Hall-Kent Elementary School
• Shades Cahaba Elementary School

Superintendents

• G. Virgil Nunn, 1970–?
• George C. French, ?–1978
  • Edna Snow (interim)
• Michael Gross, 1978–1985
• Robert Bumpus, 1985–1991
  • Edna Snow (interim)
• Byron Nelson, –1998
• Jodi Newton, 1998–2008
• Bill Cleveland, July 2008–August 2020
• Justin Hefner, August 2020–

References

• Summe, Sheryl Spradling. (2001). Homewood: The Life of a City. Homewood, AL: Friends of the Homewood Public Library.
• Crain, Trisha Powell (October 25, 2021) "Alabama schools got $3 billion in federal COVID relief money. Where did it go?" The Birmingham News

External links

• Homewood City Schools website