LEE COUNTY — Lee County Schools Superintendent Mike Howard told the Board of Education on Tuesday, Sept. 8, that he will retire effective Dec. 31, roughly halfway through the 2026-27 school year.
Howard, hired by the Lee County board in December 2023 after serving as superintendent of St. Clair County schools, called the job “a significant honor and a highlight of my 27-year career in education, which began as a special education teacher and coach.” He said the work has been demanding but rewarding, and that he is retiring to spend more time with his family. The board extended his contract through June 2030 as recently as January.
Board members spent a Sept. 8 work session — which Howard did not attend, though he led the regular meeting afterward — reviewing how to replace him with board attorney Woody Sanders. Sanders laid out legal posting requirements, recruitment channels, application processing and the cost of an interim superintendent, and offered two timelines: an accelerated search aimed at a Jan. 1, 2027, start, or a spring hire that he said would draw a stronger applicant pool by lining up with the academic calendar. “Decisions for August are set in March and April,” he said.
Sanders also suggested surveying the public and school employees on district strengths, weaknesses and the qualities they want in a superintendent. Candidates for either the interim or permanent job must clear background checks and hold an Alabama certificate in administration and supervision, with at least five years in public school work and three years as a teacher, principal, supervisor, superintendent or administrator in the five years before appointment. Alabama does not require superintendents to live in the county they serve.
Source: CNAW 2 News
Additional reporting: The Opelika Observer
Opelika Daily News — Midweek Report, Sept. 9, 2026 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News
