By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A pair of administrators at two Alabaster schools said they view the city’s decision to break away from the Shelby County School District as little more than a change in management.

Creek View Elementary School Principal Joyce Dixon and Thompson High School Principal Dr. Danny Steele both said they planned to continue following their education routines one day after the Alabaster City Council voted to form a city school district.

“The City Council’s goal through this process has been to figure out what is best for the kids. That is also the goal of Shelby County Schools,” Steele said. “It’s just a matter of how you get there.

“We will continue to reach and teach everyone who walks through that door no matter who our employer is. Our commitment to Thompson High School will not change.”

The Alabaster City Council will interview candidates for the Alabaster Board of Education over the next few months before appointing board members in spring 2012. Alabaster Councilman Adam Moseley said the city schools could finalize the separation from the county in June 2013 or June 2014.

The two principals said they were “excited” to see how the city schools process plays out over the next few years.

“I don’t think the city would have taken the step to separate without knowing it will benefit the children and that the teachers will be taken care of,” Dixon said. “Some of the teachers have had some questions. Will they keep their jobs? Will they keep their tenure? The answer to all of those is ‘Yes.’”

Dixon said she believed the Alabaster school district will be “as good as Shelby County.”

“(The City Council) has worked to make it better than Shelby County,” Dixon said. “I believe they will see that through to completion.

“I don’t think they will put the school district in place until they have everything figured out.”