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After eight years of appointing its top public schools official, the Cullman County School Board took a big step toward relinquishing that duty this year back to the people, possibly as soon as the next election cycle.

In May, a local bill proposing that the Cullman County voters should have the chance to decide whether to elect the superintendent of Cullman County Schools sailed through both houses of the Alabama Legislature and was promptly signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey.

If local voters approve the change at a referendum, it would bring to an end the current manner of designating the county schools superintendent, with the position having recently been filled as a direct appointment by the school board.

The original decision to shift to an appointed school superintendent came thanks to a legislative act signed into law in 2013. At that time, the local legislative delegation unanimously supported the change, which had been endorsed by school board members as well as then-superintendent Billy Coleman. Singed into law by former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, the change ended more than 50 years of direct elected representation in the superintendent’s seat.

The legislative shift back toward letting voters decide on an elected superintendent was led by Rep. Corey Harbison (R-Good Hope), but enjoyed unanimous support from the rest of the local delegation — all of whom, except for Rep. Randall Shedd (R-Fairview), were not in office in 2013. Not all members of Cullman County’s current school board were in favor of the shift back to a voter referendum, but Harbison, who introduced the bill in the House, said the topic was one he’d repeatedly been urged by local voters to address.

Dr. Craig Ross was the county school system’s first appointed superintendent, though he resigned in 2015 after a brief tenure and was temporarily replaced by an interim superintendent, Dr. Brandon Payne. Payne served until 2016, when the board named a replacement who still occupies the position: Dr. Shane Barnette.

Under the law passed this year, Cullman County voters will take up the matter as a referendum vote in the 2022 election cycle. The referendum will put forward a state constitutional amendment, leaving the people to decide if the superintendent’s position should remain an appointed one or return to being an elected role.