After being sworn in on December 30, Greg Hamilton was excited to start his new job as superintendent of the Franklin County School system, but there was little time to get his feet wet. He had to dive in.
Now, just a couple weeks into assuming his new role, Hamilton has already dealt with some of his bigger responsibilities.
“If I had to describe my first few weeks, I’d have to say extremely busy,” he said.
Franklin County schools started back class on Thursday, January 5. The next day, threatening winter weather forced Hamilton to make the decision to cancel Friday’s classes.
“The weather just kind of took over, and dealing with weather issues early has made me busier than I anticipated,” he said. “It’s something you wish you didn’t have to deal with, but you can’t control it.”
Hamilton has also held board meetings and approved a new hiring. His first personnel move was naming his replacement as Vina’s head baseball coach. Former Russellville standout Jake Ward was picked to fill the position on January 10.
“We want to hire the best, most qualified people we can to make our kids the best they can be,” he said. “[Ward] is energetic, we know he knows the game, and I think he’ll do a good job.”
Calling the shots is part of the job, and problem-solving is another. One of the biggest problems facing Hamilton is one that many superintendents face: Money.
“The financial situation right now is not good,” he said. “I would like to see a period of economic prosperity, but public education is under attack at the state level. If there’s one thing I could change, that would be it.”
To help alleviate some of the financial stress, Hamilton would like to see the state of Alabama invest more in public schools, not private ones.
“The state needs to stop sending public education money to private schools,” he said. “There’s going to be a surplus this year in the education budget that local schools could use if the LEA gives it to us, but who knows what the state will do.”
Hamilton believes that the politics involved in the education system hurt the students and teachers more than they help.
“Someone’s always going to get hurt when you throw politics in,” he said. “I don’t want politics in this office. I ran on that. There’s just too many important people out there for me to let politics hurt them.”
Financial and political issues aside, Hamilton has other projects to prepare for in the short term.
“We have a capital project at Tharptown coming up with a new cafeteria and some new classrooms, so we’ve got that right out of the gate,” he said. “We also have the tornado damage at Vina. With baseball around the corner, we’ve got to get the field, dugouts and backstop rebuilt soon.”
Not yet four weeks in, Hamilton is looking four years down the road. His goals between now and then are simple.
“Long-term, I want the school system to be the best it can be and out of financial troubles,” he said. “I want to make it clear in the four years I’m in office that the teachers and support staff are appreciated, and they’re not forgotten.”
Hamilton also wants to make it clear that he understands the importance of his job and the responsibility he has to everyone in the school system.
“There are over four thousand people in the school system, and I make decisions that affect their lives. It weighs on my mind every day and every night,” he said. “I have the kids best interest at heart, and I pray about it day and night because I care what happens to them. I care about their future. That’s what it’s all about.”
