Superintendent Asks for Community Support During School Board Recognition Month

This letter was received by Birmingham Patch Editor Laura Houser.

Dear Editor,

As a superintendent of schools, it truly is not difficult to recognize public schools as the great backbone of our democracy. The public schools are the one institution in our country that has its doors open for all children and represents, through our locally elected school boards, what our communities want for our children. Needless to say, this is very important work and the purpose of this letter is to recognize one important element of what makes public schools so special.

We live and work in challenging times. For school districts to be governed well it requires the selfless sacrifice of individuals willing to serve on a local board of education. The men and women who serve on local boards of education recognize the need for public schools to remain strong and they provide an incredible amount of time and personal sacrifice to ensure children develop well as learners and as future citizens of this evermore complex and challenging world.

This fall I began my service as the superintendent of schools in the Birmingham Public Schools. Having been recently selected by the Birmingham Board of Education to serve as superintendent I have come to understand how much the seven individuals serving on the Board care for the community’s children and how much they are willing to give of themselves in service of this great school district. 

I have been truly impressed by their work and ask you, members of our community, to join with me in thanking Michael Fenberg, Susan Hill, Geri Rinschler, Robert Lawrence, Chris Conti, Lori Soifer and Steve Scheidt for all they do support the needs of our students in a fiscally responsible manner.

January is School Board Recognition Month. Let’s take the time to understand how hard these individuals work and what they are willing to give individually and as a group in this very challenging time. Let’s applaud them for their commitment and for the hope they give to our community’s children. 

Daniel Nerad
Superintendent of Schools
Birmingham Public Schools