By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
During a June 5 special called meeting, Escambia County Board of Education (BOE) members spent more than half an hour discussing the pros and cons of abandoning the system’s current uniform policy before voting to do away with the policy in favor of a dress code that will serve the intended purpose while lessening the financial burden on parents.
After Superintendent of Education Dr. Michele Collier reiterated that “about 70 percent” of the 2,701 individuals who responded to a survey were in favor of changing the current policy, BOE members debated the issue from one end of the spectrum to the other.
Given consideration were items such as safety issues, cost of the clothing dictated in the policy, difficulty in finding clothes that fit the policy, and difficulty in locating clothes that fit the individual students, especially girls.
Board member Kevin Hoomes, District 1, summed up the problem and noted that Escambia is one of the few county systems in Lower Alabama that still has a uniform policy.
“Most of the uniform clothes are not available locally, so most people can only buy them online,” he pointed out. “It’s getting harder and harder to find them each year. If we went back to a dress code, it would be adequate. Conecuh, Monroe, Baldwin — every system around us except Mobile — has moved away from uniforms.”
District 5 rep Loumeek White said the current policy is already being ignored by many students and stressed that allowing students to wear regular clothing would just create more problems, for school administrators and teachers.
After the lengthy discussion ended, and consideration of the uniform policy was added to the agenda’s “action items,” District 4’s Cindy Jackson made a motion to let students continue wearing the shirts that are allowed under the present policy but allow them to wear jeans and jackets of any color that have no lettering on them other than a school logo or emblem.
That motion was defeated by a 4-3 vote, with Jackson, White and District 7’s Coleman Wallace voting in favor of the motion. Kevin Hoomes (District 1), Greg Dawkins (D-2), Jerry Wilson (D-3) and Sherry Digmon (D-6) voted against it.
Hoomes then made a motion to abandon the uniform policy altogether in favor of a dress code, and he, Dawkins, Wilson, Jackson and Wallace voted in favor. White and Digmon cast the dissenting votes, making the final tally 5-2.
Dr. Collier said parents shouldn’t get in a hurry to purchase clothing for their children to wear during the upcoming school term, as she would need to talk with the system’s principals and iron out a new policy for board consideration.
“Don’t go out shopping today,” she said after the vote to do away with the system’s uniform policy.
Another item that drew significant discussion was the use, or non-use, of metal detectors at county schools, as was discussed at a recent workshop. Several suggestions were made that could make using the machines a faster experience, including the requirement of clear book bags to eliminate the need for checking each student’s bag on entry, and the policy was revised to mandate use by all schools of the security devices.
In other action, the board:
*Approved an overnight trip (taken June 6-8) for the Escambia County High School (ECHS) cheer team to attend camp at Alabama State University.
*Approved the 2025-2026 Code of Conduct after the policy on uniforms was temporarily removed.
*Approved a policy revision concerning use of metal detectors in schools.
*Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Atmore under which Atmore Police Department will continue to provide a School Resource Officer at Escambia County High School.
*Approved the following new positions: Accountability Supervisor (paid under the 240-day SVF pay scale) and Special Education Program Specialist (paid under the 202-day-SPEC pay scale).
*Approved a revision of the 2025 summer salary schedule.
*Approved the purchase from Slone Doors of partitions and screens for restrooms at W.S. Neal Middle School. The $29,720.80 cost will be paid from FY2025 Advancement & Technology (A&T) funds.
*Approved the purchase for $27,944 of career and life skills curriculum from Education Associates. The cost will be paid from an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) transition grant.
*Approved the purchase from Phonics First of a training course from Brainspring in the amount of $90,565 — to be paid from FY24 Title II funds.
Personnel
The following personnel recommendations by Superintendent Collier were approved by the Board.
The following abbreviations are used:
Escambia County Board of Education – ECBOE
A.C. Moore Primary School – ACMPS
K-5 Alternative School – K-5AS
Huxford Elementary School – HES
Rachel Patterson Elementary School – RPES
Escambia County Middle School – ECMS
Escambia County High School – ECHS
Flomaton Elementary School – FES
Flomaton High School – FHS
Pollard McCall Junior High School – PMJHS
W.S. Neal Elementary School – WSNES
W.S. Neal Middle School – WSNMS
W.S. Neal High School – WSNHS
Escambia County Alternative School – ECAS
Escambia Career Readiness Center – ECRC
Atmore Bus Shop – ABS
The date at the end of each item signifies the effective date.
Resignation
1. Jennifer Lee, principal, RPES, June 30
2. Gavin Walker, teacher, WSNHS, May 23
3. Donnie Faulk, bus driver, ABS, May 28
Employment
1. Maranda Lambeth, kindergarten teacher, ACMPS, Aug. 1
2 Anthony Carter, physical education teacher ECHS, Aug. 1
3. James Page, math teacher, ECHS, Aug. 1
4. Joshua Du Pre’, social studies teacher, ECHS, Aug. 1
5. KaTia May, science teacher, ECHS, Aug. 1
6. Dailan Green, information technology teacher, ECHS, July 23
7. Kiara Johns, health science teacher, ECHS, July 23
8. Brian Stallworth, elementary teacher, ECAS, Aug. 1
9. Kenneth Busby, physical education teacher, FHS, Aug. 1
10. Savannah Rogers, elementary teacher, HES, Aug. 1
11. Lesley Davis, elementary teacher, HES, Aug. 1
12. Obie Watkins, physical education teacher, RPES, Aug. 1
13. Tina Byerly, special education teacher, RPES, Aug. 1
14. Alexia Lewis, elementary teacher, RPES, Aug. 1
15. Aundrea Beasley, instructional paraprofessional, RPES, Aug. 1
Employment change
1. Toya McMillian, from K-5AS to ECMS, from principal to assistant principal, July 23
2. Jennifer Lee, from RPES to WSNES, from principal to assistant principal, July 23
3. Tracy Padgett, from instructional aide to elementary teacher, FES, Aug. 1
4. Andrea Bailey, from 6-hour CNP worker to 7-hour CNP worker, WSNMS, Aug. 1
Transfer
1. Karl Smith, from FES to ECHS, assistant principal, July 23
2. Greg Brock, from ECHS, to WSNHS, assistant principal, July 23
3. Robb Whitfield, from WSNHS, to FES, assistant principal, July 23
4. Yolanda Walters, from ECMS to RPES, assistant principal, July 23
5. Tiffany Oliver, from ECMS to ECHS / ECMS assistant principal, July 23
6. Brenda Bell, from FHS to FES, special education aide, Aug. 1
7 Sarah Aaron, from FES to WSNES, special education aide, Aug. 1
8 Logan Cook, WSNMS to PMJHS, TEAMS – science, Aug. 1
9 Sandi McMurphy, ECHS / ECMS to ECMS and alternative schools, nurse, Aug. 1
10 Belinda Fails, WSNHS, SPED nurse to nurse, Aug. 1
Rehire
1. Nicholas Golden, TEAMS science, WSNMS, Aug. 1
2. Nikki Golden, elementary teacher, WSNMS, Aug.1
Summer school employment
1. ECMS, James Williams, custodian, June 9
2. WSNMS, Jason Thomas, custodian, June 9
3. WSNHS, Vanessa Mealar, custodian, June 9
4. FHS, Preston Hassell, custodian, June 9
5. FHS, Patricia Cooper, custodian, June 9
6. ECRC, Sarah Aaron, custodian, June 9
Summer employment
1. Meagan Barragan, counselor, WSNES, May 27
2. Jennifer Blaney, Camp Big Blue, WSNMS, May 27 (amended)
3. Bailey Johnson, Camp Big Blue, WSNMS, May 27 (amended)
4. Erin Howard, Camp Big Blue, WSNMS, May 27, (amended)
5. Sydnie O’Bannon, Camp Big Blue, WSNMS, May 27 (amended)
Contract
1. Junia Fischer, contract principal, PMJHS, July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2028
Retirement
11 Sherry Ellison, secretary / bookkeeper, FES, June 25