Dean Taylor of Morris, second from right, is sworn in on Nov. 11 by Judge Lee Barnes as a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education while his wife Kelsey and son Bronson hold a Bible for him. Taylor was elected board president today on his first day as a board member. 

The newest Jefferson County Board of Education member was introduced during his first official meeting on Thursday, just minutes before he was also handed the gavel as board president. 

Dean Taylor of Morris was sworn into office on Nov. 11 during the Fultondale Veterans Day ceremony, and he sat on the platform for his first official meeting on Thursday. 

One of the first orders of business was the nomination of board officers. Supt. Dr. Craig Pouncey opened the election and board member Jacquelin Smith immediately nominated Taylor.

There was a few minutes of confusion when Smith made a motion for the nominations to be closed immediately after she selected Taylor, and Taylor seconded. Taylor later said he was seconding to close the nominations, not seconding his Smith’s recommendation for him as president. 

Pouncey consulted the board’s attorney, who was sitting in the audience. The attorney said the superintendent should call for further nominations for board president. He did, and there were none.

All board members voted for Taylor with the exception of Martha V.J. Bouyer, who abstained. 

Taylor then nominated Smith for vice president, and former board president Jennifer Parsons nominated herself for the same position.

Parsons won 3-2 — she, Bouyer and Oscar Mann voted yes, and Taylor and Smith abstained from the vote. 

Parsons then passed the gavel to Taylor, who presided over the remainder of the meeting. 

“I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity to serve the kids of Jefferson County and to work with a board who has built such a fine education system. I’m really excited about the leadership we have in place at the county. Dr. Pouncey comes with a wealth of knowledge and I look forward to having a very productive year,” said Taylor. “I hope to use what I’m good at to complement what they’re good at. I hope to have a year of open communication. I’m glad to be serving as an officer with Jennifer, because we can rely on her many years of experience as an officer on the board.” 

Taylor has a son who attends a Jefferson County school; he is the only board member who has a child currently in a county school.

“Being a parent of a first-grader in our system, the policies we set as a board affect my house,” Taylor said. “When the policies you put into place affect your house, it makes what you’re doing real.” 

Taylor said the best part of being on the board is visiting staff and students at schools. On Friday, he said he had visited most of the system’s 56 schools, and said he will have visited all of them by the Christmas break.

“We are an education system. Every time I get the chance to eat lunch with students in our system, I am the one who gets educated,” he said Friday on his way to Bryan Elementary to have lunch with fifth-graders. 

Taylor is filling the board position vacated by former board member Tommy Little, who did not run for re-election this year. Taylor will serve a six-year term on the board. The board holds officer elections every November. 

Note: Article edited on Nov. 21 at 12:44 p.m. to include comments from Taylor.