Board recognizes MBJH speech and debate team
With the start of school just days away, the Mountain Brook Board of Education met on Aug. 13 to discuss a few items on the relatively short agenda.
First on the list was the Mountain Brook Junior High Speech and Debate Team. The team — which Mountain Brook Speech and Debate Coach Liz Wood Weas said is fairly young, only 4 or 5 years old — competed at the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in late June, and two students walked away with a national title.
Jean Grey Battle and Claire Lauterbach, who worked as a team, were crowned national champions in middle school public forum debate after focusing on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Fellow debaters Christian Glenos and Jack Sansbury advanced to the top 16 for their division, Lincoln Douglas, in which they focused on whether or not the United State’s use of targeted killing in foreign countries is unjust. Glenos was also recognized for being the fourth best speaker in the division.
Wood Weas, who also serves as the president of the Alabama Speech and Debate Association, said her students competed against teams from around the world.
“We came out with really high winnings and I’m super proud of these kids,” she said. “They did a lot of good work.”
Superintendent Dicky Barlow then discussed the I-6 Religion and Religious Expression policy, which states that religion may have a place in instructional conversation, and gives students the right to observe their religion individually or in a group during school or school-related functions. This policy was first discussed at the July Board of Education meeting.
Barlow said the board has received input from the community and noted there are a couple things to change to update the policy in addition to removing outdated language, which was originally proposed. He recommended the policy be tabled for another month to allow for additional input, to which the board agreed.
“We want to make sure we get this policy and any policy we have correct,” he said.
Finally, board members approved a contract with Mascot Media for athletic webpages for the school system’s different teams. The contract details a revenue sharing partnership, in which Mountain Brook Schools receives some revenue from advertisements placed on certain websites, and would allow the district to maintain control over its athletic websites.
During the meeting, the board also:
- Approved this month’s financial statements.
- Approved personnel recommendations.
- Approved the removal and/or disposal of surplus items.
The first day of school is Tuesday, Aug. 14 and the first home football game is Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. against Center Point High School.
The board will host its first budget hearing on Sept. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Charles Mason Building, and the next Board of Education meeting on Monday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 p.m. at Mountain Brook High School. The Sept. 10 meeting will also serve as the second budget hearing.