Chilton County Schools will join school systems throughout the state to salute their local education leaders during Alabama’s annual School Board Member Recognition Month in January.

The commemorative month is designed to recognize the contributions made by Alabama’s more than 800 local school board members, including members of the Chilton County School Board of Education, who are charged with governing public education under state law, according to a release.

Alabama school board members are chosen by their communities through election or appointment to manage local schools.

They oversee multimillion-dollar budgets that fund education programs for more than 744,106 Alabama schoolchildren.

Local school board members are part of a statewide team that supervises 91,190 employees, including 46,480 teachers, 3,133 administrators, and 35,652 support workers and others in 1,475 schools.

These volunteer leaders are responsible for formulating school system policy, approving curricula, maintaining school facilities and adhering to state and federal education law.

Legal concerns and the complexities of school finance, including budgeting and taxation, require them to spend many hours in board training programs and personal study to enhance their understanding of the issues.

The public servants of the Chilton County School System whose commitment and civic responsibility make local control of public schools in the community possible include Lori Patterson, Joe Mims, Linda Hand, Keith Moore, Pam Price, James Shannon and Curtis Smith.

Individuals are invited to say “thanks” to the school board members during Alabama’s 23rd School Board Member Recognition Month.