The Athens City Board of Education meeting Tuesday looked a little different than previous gatherings this year.

The meeting took place in the Board chambers at the ACS central office instead of the more spacious Athens Performing Arts Center at Athens High School due to relaxing restrictions surrounding COVID-19.

While the venue may have returned to its original home, probably the biggest change was the number of appointed personnel serving on the Board. The City Council voted Monday to eliminate two positions in keeping with a heretofore unfollowed state law from 2000 after receiving an opinion from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on the issue.

So the Board was left to move on without former president Russell Johnson and Tim Green, whose at-large positions were the next two up for appointment/reappointment.

“I want to sincerely thank Russell Johnson and Tim Green for their many years of service with Athens City Schools,” Superintendent Beth Patton said. “Mr. Johnson was appointed to the ACS Board of Education in 2006, and Mr. Green joined the Board in 2011. These gentlemen have served the students, teachers and families of our community with integrity, wisdom and compassion. I am grateful for their dedication to Athens City Schools over the years and look forward to their continued support in the years to come.”

Vice President Beverly Malone led Tuesday’s meeting, and one of the first items on the agenda was naming a new president and vice president. Malone was voted as the new president going forward, with Jennifer Manville elected as vice president.

“I am honored,” Malone said. “I am really honored for them to see fit to appoint me as president.”

Malone graduated from Athens High School in 1981 and was appointed to the Board in 2007. She said Mayor Ronnie Marks was the one who suggested she apply for the appointed position.

“I thought about it, and I thought, ‘I was born and raised here, I’m a product of Athens City Schools, so why not be somewhere where that can serve for our teachers, students and what’s best for our community?’” she said.

Malone said she is looking forward to serving the Board as president, while Manville said she is “honored” to serve with her fellow Board members. Manville is in her eighth year in the position.

“They have been on this Board for a long time,” Patton said. “They know the vision and mission for this school system. We are going to hit the ground running and not look back. We are excited to keep moving forward.”