Superintendent-elect set to start job on New Year’s
By DONNA THORNTON, Editor
Clay Webber says he still doesn’t think of himself as a politician, even after launching a successful bid to become Superintendent of the Marshall County School District.
Webber effectively won the office when the Republican primary was decided. He defeated three-term incumbent Cindy Wigley in a runoff and will take office in January.
He graduated Paint Rock Valley High School, in a class of six. He was the first in his family to graduate college, and the first to receive a Ph.D.
“I knew in the ninth grade that I wanted to be a history teacher,” he said. “I loved history and I always loved school.” He hired in 2007 at Paint Rock Valley to teach history. He soon found himself working as a guidance counselor, handling some discipline, coaching baseball, basketball and golf.
“I began to look around and see issues in the school,” he said, and he thought if he were principal, he would address some of those issues. In 2012, he became principal of the school he started first grade in. After a few years there, he became principal at Asbury, holding a job he’s loved for 10 years.
As principal at Asbury, he had a familiar feeling. He saw issues and thought, as a superintendent, he would work on the organizational culture – the norms and the way an organization is run.
“If an organization does not have a good culture, it doesn’t matter what the title of the business is, it’s not going to be successful, in my opinion,” Webber said. He decided to pursue being a superintendent. He went to the Alabama Superintendent’s Academy and any other professional development that could help prepare for the position. He watched every superintendent interview he could find on YouTube, and he started to apply for some superintendent’s jobs.
Webber said he did a lot of praying, and he feels like the Lord opened doors for him run and to win the superintendent’s race.
Webber said he will be sworn in Dec. 21 at the Marshall County Courthouse in Guntersville and will take office Jan 1.
“My vision it to change the organizational culture in Marshall County,” he said. “I’m passionate about people, about relationships, about communication. If you know anything about public education, it’s not a good time, not necessarily financially, but with massive teacher shortage. People are demoralized, teachers are stressed out, teachers are burned out. You can’t find teachers. People don’t want to go into the field anymore.
“I think there are some reasons for that. One is that we’ve put way too many expectations on our teachers. We’ve asked them to be mental health counselors, to teach and to do so many other things,” he said, while they have to learn new programs.
“We’ve got to get back to letting teachers love to come to school,” Webber said, “to let them do their job.”
Instead, he said, they’ve been micromanaged, over-whelmed, have not given them support and not treated as professionals. “We’ve not given them the appreciation and support they deserve,” he said – something that will cause problems in any work force.
“We need buildings,” he said. “but rather than buildings, rather than anything physical, I think the things that need to be change most in Marshall County schools don’t cost a dime. They just need someone who cares about people and is willing to take the time to invest in people.”
“I think that will always be the most important thing,” Webber said.
