EBOE names finalists for superintendent

The Enterprise City Schools Board of Education officially narrowed down the list of 13 candidates to four for the open superintendent position at a special called meeting on May 21.

The list of finalists includes Cullman County Schools Assistant Superintendent April Tucker, former Troy City Schools Superintendent Dr. Lee Hicks, current ECS assistant superintendent Dr. Zel Thomas and ECS assistant superintendent Dr. Patrick Cain.

Hicks – a Pike Road native – graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science before receiving his Master of Education at Troy University and a Doctorate in higher education from the University of Nebraska.

Hicks began his teaching career as a teacher at Muscogee County Schools in Columbus, Ga. from 1996 until 1998 before becoming a teacher at Montgomery County High School in Mt. Vernon, Ga. until 1999. Hicks was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Troy University from 1999 until 2001 before becoming a teacher at Prattville in 2001.

In 2002, Hicks was hired as the assistant principal at Prattville High School, where he remained until 2005. Hicks became the principal at Prattville until 2011 when he accepted the position as superintendent at Troy City Schools. He remained in that position until the two sides parted ways in March of 2020.

Tucker is the assistant superintendent of academics and special programs at Cullman County Schools, a position she has held since 2017. She is also the former Director of Federal Programs at Cullman County from 2016 until 2017 and a former principal at Good Hope Middle School in Cullman from 2007 until 2016. According to the Cullman Times, Tucker was named to the Board of Directors of the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools in 2017, as well.

Thomas has been the assistant superintendent at ECS since 2017 and before that also served as coordinator of student services from 2014 until 2017 and elementary supervisor from 2009 until 2014. He was also the principal at Pinedale Elementary from 2005 until 2011. Before coming to Enterprise, he was a principal at Abbeville High School from 2002 until 2005. Thomas also previously served as an assistant principal at both Daleville High School and Windham Elementary School.

When Thomas was the principal at Pinedale he was selected to be a part of the Alabama State Council of the National Beta Club.

Cain graduated from Troy with a Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics before earning his Master of Education from Columbus State and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Alabama State University.

Cain served as assistant principal at Stanhope Elmore High School from 2007 until 2010 and then became principal at Capital Heights Middle School in Montgomery until 2012. Cain was the principal at Dale County High School from 2012 until 2014 before moving on to ECS in 2014.

Cain was the principal at the Temporary Alternative Placement Center in 2014 and then Director of Secondary Instruction until 2015. He has served as Director of Human Resources, Curriculum and Community Outreach at ECS since 2015.

“We want to let our appreciation be known for each applicant’s time and effort and look forward to interviewing the finalists on May 25,” ECS School Board President Rodrick Caldwell said. “The interviews will be open to the public to attend but will also be live streamed.”

The school board unanimously approved the list of finalists and set the date for the interview process for May 25. The interviews will be open to the public – at the board room in the central office – and live streamed on the internet. The first two interviews will be at 9 a.m. on May 25 with two more coming later in the day. A new superintendent is expected to be announced at the June 8 board meeting.