By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster Board of Education is considering hiring a short-term consultant to serve as an interim superintendent, board members announced during a July 9 meeting at the Alabaster Senior Center.

During the meeting, Board President Melanie Shores said the board could hire the consultant to begin separation negotiations with the Shelby County Board of Education and to serve the superintendent’s role until the Alabaster board hires a full-time superintendent.

“We would like someone to navigate through the negotiations with Shelby County,” board member Ty Quarles said. “We are moving toward that pretty expeditiously.”

Board member Linda Church said the interim superintendent likely will be an ex-superintendent or someone with extensive knowledge of school operations.

“We are looking for someone who can lead until we get a (full-time) superintendent,” Church said. “We need someone who can guide us through the separation with Shelby County.”

In other business, the board:

-Announced it had obtained “preliminary financial numbers” from Alabama Association of School Business Officials Executive Director David Smith, and said the amount of debt Alabaster schools will inherit from Shelby County could be lower than Alabaster officials anticipated.

“That will mean more money (for the Alabaster school system),” Shores said.

-Announced the Alabaster system could finalize its split with Shelby County Schools in 2013 or 2014.

“Now the ball is starting to roll down the hill. I think things are going to really start happening over the next two-to-three months,” said board member Adam Moseley.