September 2017 Group Watch: AL State Superintendent Resigns
Alabama State Superintendent Michael Sentance resigned last week amid controversy and criticism from the State Board of Education and others in the education community. According to Gov. Ivey’s office and the Department of Education, Sentance resigned last Wednesday, the day before the board was scheduled to meet and consider his fate. State board members raised concerns earlier this year that Sentence was leaving them in the dark on things like proposed contracts and interventions. Sentence became the leader for Alabama public schools in August 2016. At that time, the Department of Education was under a cloud of controversy surrounding key board members’ involvement in allegedly running a smear campaign on superintendent candidate Dr. Craig Pouncey. At its regular meeting last Thursday, the State Board formally accepted the resignation of Mr. Sentence and appointed retired former superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson as interim superintendent.
