Saraland City Schools Superintendent Aaron Milner has been named a finalist for the 2015 Alabama Superintendent of the Year award, recognition that comes as the young school system continues an ambitious run of growth and community investment.
Milner is one of nine finalists set to be announced statewide, representing each of Alabama’s education districts. Since taking the helm of Saraland’s system in 2013, he has overseen a period of rapid expansion, including a successful property tax referendum that voters approved earlier this year to fund the district.
That tax measure, which redirects roughly $1 million annually to the school system, has already helped fuel a $3 million expansion of Saraland High School, with bids expected soon on construction of a new elementary school to accommodate the growing district.
Saraland Board of Education President Bill Silver praised Milner as a “master communicator” capable of connecting with everyone from staff and parents to students of every age. Silver said Milner has been effective at translating the board’s long-term vision into day-to-day decisions while still maintaining what he called his own distinct leadership style.
Milner, who previously led the Enterprise City School System before coming to Saraland, said he interviews every employee hired by the board personally and credited the broader community — including parents, staff and the Saraland City Council that helped create the standalone school system — for the recognition.
He pointed to the recent tax referendum as one of the clearest signs of community support, noting that few systems in Alabama have seen residents vote to direct additional property tax revenue specifically toward their public schools. Milner said that backing, paired with high expectations parents hold for both the district and their own children, has been central to the system’s early success.
The full slate of Alabama Superintendent of the Year finalists was expected to be finalized in the weeks following the announcement, with a statewide winner chosen from among the district representatives. For Saraland, a system still in just its second full decade of independent operation, Milner’s nomination adds to a growing list of milestones for the Mobile County suburb’s schools.