State Superintendent Finalist Files Ethics Lawsuit Against State Board

A superintendent finalist has filed a civil lawsuit against a state school board member and others, accusing them of orchestrating a scheme and ethics complaint last year to knock him out of the running to be the state’s next education chief.

Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Craig Pouncey filed the lawsuit Thursday in Montgomery. It names board member Mary Scott Hunter, Deputy Superintendent Philip Cleveland and others as defendants.

Pouncey, a former state deputy superintendent, had been a leading candidate to be the next state superintendent. An anonymous complaint sent to board members accused him of getting state staff to help write his 2009 dissertation. The information was sent to the Alabama Ethics Commission.

The lawsuit says the complaint was settled in Pouncey’s favor.

The board hired Michael Sentance as superintendent.

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