School board honors Homewood Middle School boys cross-country for championship

The Homewood Board of Education on Tuesday recognized the Homewood Middle School boys cross-country team for its impressive season, including capturing the 2023 Metro South Championship.

Head Coach Eric Swope accompanied the entire team to the school board meeting and spoke about the group’s accomplishments in the championship race after being in second place most of the season.

“The most exciting thing about the year was that we ended with a championship because we were second all year long to Mountain Brook. So we knew going into it that we had to do something big,” Swope said. “It wasn’t even a close race. We beat them by a good margin, too, so it was pretty awesome.

“This whole year there was just something special about this team,” Swope said. “The culture of our team was just dynamic. Every time we went to practice, it was a good time.”

While he enjoys teaching his classes during the school day, Swope said he most looked forward to coaching the cross-country team after the final bell.

“My favorite part of the day is the end of the day,” he said. “I love getting out running with these guys, having a good time, and it was just a, it was a fun year, and to end it on that was just incredible."

Homewood schools Superintendent Justin Hefner, who coached cross-country briefly as a student teacher, often ran with the team during training sessions and saw first-hand how the athletes responded to the leadership and character of Swope.

"I tell people all the time how great coach Swope is because we've had a lot of success in our track program at the high school, another boys state championship this spring, and I always point to coach Swope," he said. "What starts here, finishes the loop there.

"Coach Swope, you’re such a great relational teacher, which we value so much in our system,” Hefner added. “ It's just something that I wish I could replicate across the board.”

Also Tuesday night, the Homewood Board of Education approved a $60,000 contract for work on the baseball and softball fields at Homewood High School.

One of two contracts up for approval, the board unanimously voted to award the contract to HNP Landscape Architecture for the installation of synthetic turf on each field, as well as other work related to the project, including drone surveys of the existing surface, design coordination, construction administration and other tasks.

In other business, the school board heard from Homewood High School senior Jack Roberts, who addressed the topic of adding non-voting, student representation to the school board — an idea that is catching hold in other parts of the country, including school districts in New Hampshire, Maryland and Kentucky.

Lastly, during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, the school board heard from Kelly Connor, a Hall-Kent Elementary School parent who asked the board to consider returning the school's beginning drop-off time to 7:10 a.m. rather than 7:25 a.m. in order to accommodate work schedules, families with children attending multiple schools and other needs.

“The drop-off timed at 7:10 last year worked far better for many families in the area who have to be at work by eight or earlier, or even work outside of the greater Birmingham area," Connor said.

She added that staff at Hall-Kent are allowed to bring their own children or the children of friends and neighbors at the time of their arrival, which she says is unfair to other Hall-Kent parents who have had to adjust their work schedules due to the change.

The next Homewood Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 5:30 p.m.