From Robin Schultz:
 
Introduction:  Ladies and gentlemen of the Board.  Our city, our schools, our students, our parents and the public have just gone through a very harrowing five months.  We’ve gone from a showcase city to the butt of many jokes.  People in our schools have put us through a very humiliating chapter in our history.  As a Hoover City Schools parent, and as a resident of Hoover, I don’t want to go through something like this again.  And I think it would be fair to say, neither do any of you.  This evening I would like to offer some suggestions and some critique of the past five months.  I hope you will take what I say to heart so that we don’t have to repeat any of it again.  There are four topics that I would like to go over.
Topics
 
I.      Implementation of a Reporting System
II.      Duties and Responsibilities of a Board of Education Member
III.      Education of a Board of Education Member
IV.      Retreats
 
 
I.      Implementation of a Reporting System
The previous five months have taught us, the residents of Hoover, and you, the Hoover Board of Education, that we have some flaws in the current system.  You have spent over $150,000 of our money on a report that detailed things many people already knew, but were afraid to mention due to fear of retaliation.  
 
I ask at this time that the Hoover Board of Education put in place a system that will allow school employees and others to report actions they feel are unethical, improper or illegal.  Any of these reports should be reviewed by a panel that consists of two employees, two non-employees and a fifth person chosen by those four.  If that panel finds merit in their review, further investigation by the Superintendent should be ordered.  Once the results of that report are completed, the superintendent should make his personnel recommendation to the board.  At no time should the board ever have the power to make personnel decisions except to approve or deny the recommendation of the superintendent.
 
If this process is implemented, the reporting party, the whistleblower, should be held harmless from any retaliation.  Anonymous reporting should also be considered.  If such a system is good enough for the Federal government, then it should be good enough for the city of Hoover.
 
The public is aware of several ongoing instances of unethical and immoral behavior at one of our schools and the Superintendent and the Board of Education not acting on it.  I’ll be happy to meet with any member or Mr. Craig to discuss these. These things need to stop so that we don’t have a repeat of what we just went through.  
 
II.      Duties and Responsibilities of a Board of Education Member
On June 5, 2006 Sandra Sims-DeGraffenreid, who was the Executive Director of the Alabama Association of School Boards, led a training session for the Hoover BoE.  All of you were present, except for Mr. Veitch.  Then Superintendent Williams and Mr. Sweeney were also present.  I would like to cover a few things that she talked about that I have not seen, as a parent, being practiced by this board.
 
You are responsible for how the schools are run, but you don’t run them.  She suggested that you do not “hang out at the schools” or take a particular school or district for “your own”.  As Board members, you represent the interests of all the children.  The perception by the public is that you are not doing so.  I read all of your biographies and know your backgrounds.  Two of you were very involved at your children’s schools.  As a board member, you come across as biased by doing that now, which is not good, because if gives the perception of favoritism.  You need to separate yourself from your children’s schools for the sake of the administration and faculty there.  Or, if you can’t do that, you need to no longer be a Board of Education member.
 
I have not missed a single BoE meeting since June.  I can now tell you, based upon your behavior at meetings, how you will vote on certain issues.  You have become predictable because of your allegiance to a certain school.  Up to last Friday, I thought that there was only one impartial Board member.  Comments I heard on TV that night changed my thoughts on that as well.  How sad is that?
 
Remember that every decision you make, you must put the children first.  You are responsible for how the schools are run.  But you don’t run them.  And please remember that you have NO authority as individuals, only as a body.
 
Micromanagement should be avoided.  At this point, several members of this board are exhibiting signs of micromanagement.
 
III.      Education of a Board of Education Member
Based upon the last public figures available, this Board has not taken advantage of the AASB’s School Board Member Academy.  These figures show that, out of four Levels of Achievement available to you, none of you have completed even Level One.  This lack of training showed in the handling of the Pointer Report.  Take advantage of the training offered.  We as parents depend on you to make the right decisions and those can only be made if you know what to do.  You wouldn’t want to fly on a plane where the pilot is still a student, would you?  We would like our Board of Education to be as knowledgeable and educated in what to do as possible.  Mrs. Powell has the information on how to sign up for classes, and if she doesn’t, I do.
 
IV.      Retreats
One of the things that I have found out during my research is how important it is for the five of you to know one another.  I have spoken to former Board members who said that retreats, lunches, informal get-togethers were of paramount importance for a successful Board of Education.  Even Mrs. DeGraffenreid mentioned it during her training session last year.  You need to learn to work as a body, to get to know one another better.  You have not taken part in any retreats.
 
Finally, let me say a couple of things.  This was not meant as a beat up session.  It was meant as constructive criticism from a concerned parent.  I don’t claim to speak for anyone but myself, but I think many parents feel as I do.  You see them here tonight.  We’re asking that along with the best schools in Alabama, that we have the best Board of Education in Alabama.  Allow Mr. Craig to do his job.  Remove any signs of perceived bias.  One of the things I have learned over the past five months is that, in my opinion, no school board member should have a child currently enrolled in the Hoover City Schools.  I believe that a member cannot be objective when they do, regardless of how much they say they can.  Sooner or later, parental emotion will set in.  It set in several times during the Pointer Report discussions, from every member of the Board of Education.  But all of you are parents of children in the system, so the perception of bias has to be removed.  By implementing the four things I covered, you can help remove this perception and begin to move forward.  
 
Thanks for your time.

Not one of the speeches, but a Sound Off from Birmingham News 11/07/07 from Trisha Crain:
 
What has transpired within Hoover City Schools since early summer is nothing short of tragic.  Neighbors pitted against neighbors, twisted into a bitter argument over what we as a community want and expect from our high school athletic programs and the people that lead those programs.
 
We have watched as Hoover High’s football program grew into a national power over the last 5 years.  Coach Propst stated that his goal was to take Hoover High to a national title when he first arrived in 1999.  A lofty goal, but one that almost seemed attainable under Propst’s leadership.  
 
But what has been lost in the pursuit of that ever-elusive national title?  What sacrifices have been made in other programs, both academic and athletic, in pursuit of that national title?
 
What is the purpose of high school athletics?  This question has been batted around recently by area writers, but no satisfactory answer has emerged.  
 
I submit that this issue---the purpose of high school athletics---is the most important issue that the folks in our Hoover school community need to address before we go forward in the search for a new head football coach for Hoover High School.
 
A school system has a finite amount of resources, both human and financial, to provide for the education of our children.  Our school system has serious academic needs that are going unmet because of a professed lack of funding.  Not “wants”, but “needs”.
 
Here’s where “want” and “need” matter a great deal.  You can “want” an indoor practice facility and you can “want” artificial turf, but when you “need” additional teachers to lower class sizes at the middle school, and you “need” serious year-round remediation for elementary school students who are two grade levels behind and you “need” a vocational program at the high school, the choice should be simple:  a school system simply must put its resources into the “needs” related to educating the children within its walls.
 
Before we search for a head football coach to pick up where Propst left off, please let’s have that community discussion about what we really want out of our middle and high school athletic programs.  Must we achieve national success to consider ourselves successful?  Or can we be satisfied with winning many and varied state championships and turning out first-class citizens with stellar athletic abilities?  
 
Let’s take the time to get this into the proper perspective.  Only then can we move forward with an academic and athletic program that we can, as a community, be proud of.  
 
Trisha Crain
Chairman, Hoover School Community Information Network