White believes school board must continue unceasing commitment
Ray White is president of Madison Board of Education. (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – As president of the Madison Board of Education, S. Ray White Jr. believes continual work is critical in maintaining the caliber of Madison City Schools.The board “will cease to be successful if we are ever prideful about our success or if we ever forget that it takes hard work every day to be successful,” White said.
White wanted to serve on the board because “our schools are our community’s No. 1 asset. I’m very passionate about not being complacent with our success.” After joining the board in June 2005, he was re-appointed to a second term in 2010.
“The board is charged with governance of the school system, which should be clearly distinguished from operations,” White said. He ranks the most important items in governance as “long-range strategic planning, setting policy and financial management.”
In general, the board’s busiest time of the year “is late summer/early fall when we are working on budgets and goals for the upcoming school year,” White said. However, other activities “can demand a lot of time as well, such as when we rezone schools.” The board always has projects “in the works.”
“No matter where you live in the city of Madison, you should expect that your child will receive a world-class education,” White said.
A certified public accountant, White is managing partner of the Huntsville office of the accounting and financial consulting firm Warren Averett LLC. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting at the University of Alabama.
White is a lifelong resident of Madison. “I’m a bit unusual in that regard. When people ask me where I’m from, and I say, ‘Madison,’ they usually say, ‘No, I mean where are you from originally?'”
His wife Lia is a homemaker. Their children are Sid, an UA freshman; Grant, a junior at Bob Jones High School; and Caroline, a Discovery Middle School eighth-grader. The family attends Asbury United Methodist Church.
Ray White is a member of Rotary Club, Leadership Huntsville-Madison County and state and national CPA societies.
