Hoover City Council appoints new school board member

After considering 15 applicants, the Hoover City Council has finally tapped a replacement for Hoover Board of Education President Donna Frazier. The school board member, appointed during the Monday, April 20 city council meeting, will be Jill Ganus Veitch. She takes office on June 1.

Frazier will remain president through the end of May. In June, after Veitch joins the panel, the Hoover Board of Education will have to select a new leader.

Veitch was unanimously appointed 6-0 with Councilman Gene Smith abstaining. Voting yes were council members John Lyda, Joe Rives, Brian Skelton, Jack Wright, Jack Natter and John Greene.

The applicants, a diverse group that included seven women, three African-American and three education professionals, all stated their case one-by-one before City Council during a marathon 5-hour plus interview session April 6. Some council members said they were impressed with the caliber of candidates, and whittling them down to one person was tough.

“I was very pleased with the quality and diversity of applicants we interviewed,” Councilman John Lyda said.  

Council President Jack Wright said there were several great candidates, but “we can only select one school board member.”

Here is a look at the new Hoover school board member:

Ganus Veitch is a former Jefferson County Judge who is now an assistant district attorney in Tuscaloosa County. Her husband, Bill Veitch, served 10 years on the Hoover Board of Education from 2002 to 2012. He opted not to seek a third 5-year term in 2012.

In her application, Ganus Veitch cited her career as a child advocate as making her the best candidate as a school board member. She served seven years on the Bessemer Domestic Violence Task Force and is currently on the Tuscaloosa Domestic Violence Task Force. She also served on the YMCA Hoover board of directors over the past five years.

The most pivotal moment of Ganus Veitch’s interview came when she was asked how she would separate herself from the previous 10-year tenure on the board of her husband Bill Veitch.

“I love my husband, but I was Jill Ganus the child advocate before I met Bill,” she said. “We are definitely two different individuals.”