Hoover City Schools named Kevin Maddox as the district’s new superintendent during a board meeting Thursday.

Maddox, who was the assistant superintendent in neighboring Homewood City Schools, received a unanimous vote in favor of his appointment.

“We have undertaken a thorough, multi dimensional effort to identify potential candidates to uphold the tradition excellence that is synonymous with Hoover City Schools,” Board of Education President Kermit Kendrick said during the meeting today.

“Our vetting process has been both exhaustive and effective in identifying a number of exceptionally well qualified career educators who could serve in this position. That said, our task today is not simply to select a well-qualified leader, but one whose educational philosophy, experience and temperament will further elevate our already high standard of educational achievement.”

Last month, current Superintendent Dee Fowler announced he would retire effective Oct. 1. Fowler had led the district since 2021 and was previously the deputy state superintendent and superintendent for Madison City Schools.

“Although we knew Dr. Fowler’s superintendency would be a limited engagement, [his] positive contributions to the system have been anything but limited in scope and impact,” Kendrick said.

During Thursday’s meeting, board member Amy Tosney said she met with Maddox three times during the interview process and felt he would be a good fit in the community and help the district recruit teachers.

“I like the fact that he’s relational…and the fact that he is from Homewood which is very similar to our school in a lot of ways. I feel like that is good experience and we’re trying to get the same teachers as them,” said Tosney.

Board member Alan Paquette said there was “not a stone left unturned” during the search process. At the end, “all five [board members] independently came to the exact same conclusion as to who we thought should lead Hoover City Schools.”

Maddox will begin as superintendent later this semester.