Buettner appointed to fill vacant seat on Hartselle school board
Sabrina Buettner, a Hartselle resident and retired educator, will return to the city’s school board after being appointed to fill a vacancy.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Hartselle school board on Tuesday.
Monty Vest resigned from the board’s Place 1 seat July 25. Buettner was chosen Tuesday by the remaining board members to fill the vacancy to fill Vest’s term which ends in November 2025. Vest said she and her husband Andy are in the process of relocating to St. Louis, Mo.
Buettner is a retired district administrator who worked with Hartselle City Schools for 36 years. She is a graduate of Jacksonville State University. Currently, Buettner serves as the chairperson of the Hartselle Educator Hall of Fame and attends Hartselle First United Methodist Church. Buettner also previously served as the interim superintendent during the search for a replacement for Dee Dee Jones when she resigned in July 2022.
Sabrina Buettner
More than 25 people applied for the last vacant board position when Venita Jones resigned in July 2023, according to board president Dr. James Joy.
Rather than open the application process, Joy said he and his fellow board members chose to appoint someone with board experience to fill the seat in a temporary capacity due to the election next year.
Dr. James Joy
Buettner’s experience as an administrator and her time as interim superintendent made her the ideal person to finish Vest’s term until the election next August, Joy said.
“We were really pleased with Sabrina’s preparedness and willingness to serve again in a temporary capacity,” he added.
Joy added the board was looking to appoint someone who has previous board experience and familiarity with the district, but who didn’t necessarily have interest in running in the next election.
“We don’t want to give anyone a head start as an incumbent,” he said.
According to Joy, Buettner will be sworn in sometime before her first official duty as a member of the board which would take place Aug. 29 at a work session or the first of two budget hearings Sept. 3.
