Trussville City Schools
Trussville City Schools (TCS) is the public school system for Trussville, Alabama, a city east of Birmingham. The Trussville City Schools school district serves approximately 5,000 students and is consistently ranked among the top 10 districts in the state of Alabama. Its standardized test scores in Math, Science, and English Language Arts regularly land among the Top 5 or Top 10 in the state (among 138 school systems). The district also consistently earns high rankings from third-party entities including Niche and School Digger. The mascot is the Husky, and team colors are red, gray, and white. Board Members School board officials are appointed by the Trussville City Council for a set term that can be extended or have their contract altered by a vote of the Board of Education. Current Members (As of May 2023): Superintendent - Patrick M. Martin, Ph.D. Board President - Mrs. Kathy Brown Board Vice President - Mrs. Kim DeShazo Board Member - Mr. Mark Sims Board Member - Mrs. Sherrye Tolbert Board Member - Dr. Steve Ward History Trussville schools were part of the Jefferson County School System until 2005. In 2000, a financial crisis forced the county to reduce funding for teachers, and when the city of Trussville was not allowed to offset these reductions with its own funds, it began to explore the possibility of creating a separate system. In 2004, the city council passed a resolution that created the Trussville Board of Education, and in 2005, Trussville City Schools officially separated from the Jefferson County School System. Suzanne Freeman was the district's first superintendent, serving from the district's inception until 2012. She was succeeded by Dr. Patricia Neill, who resigned in 2022. On October 31, 2022, Dr. Neill sent her letter of resignation to the school board, ending her tenure as superintendent. Frank Costanzo was named interim superintendent on November 1. Dr. Neill’s contract was originally extended in February 2022 to June 30, 2026, but was reworked by the school board to end on October 31, 2023. This negotiation settled ends for both parties, avoiding potential litigation from Neill and allowing her to receive a year’s pay but having no official position within Trussville City Schools. This was amid a “death notebook” scandal that started in September 2022, which was a situation not properly reported to the Trussville Police Department in September 2021. Even though it was discovered the notebook “scandal” was a misunderstanding with no apparent intent of harm, the protocol to contact police was not followed and was discreetly managed. This was the breaking point for many locals who felt they already received little to no communication from the school system and that their concerns had been ignored by the school board and superintendent for years. Dr. Neill requested a 60-day leave the day of an executive school board session, which she did not attend. This meeting on September 30, 2022 was standing room only with a surplus of local residents, parents, students, teachers, and former teachers, with some voicing