Dale County Schools: Board Meetings, Calendar, Schools & Family Help
If you live around Ariton, Skipperville, Midland City, Newton, Pinckard or rural Dale County, a search for the Dale County Board of Education usually means you need something practical: a school calendar, Board meeting, student registration, bus-zone question, school phone number, job application or district service.
Dale County Schools’ Central Services office is in Ozark. The elected Board has five members representing five districts, while the school system operates seven schools across the county. This independent guide connects those pieces without treating the Board office as the answer to every school question.
Dale County Board of Education at a glance
Dale County Board of Education is the governing school board for Dale County Schools in Alabama. The district office is at 202 South Highway 123 in Ozark, and the Board’s published schedule says regular meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Dale County Government Building.
Right office first: Dale County Board of Education is not Ozark City Schools and it is not the Dale County Commission. If your child attends a city school system or you need county-government services unrelated to public schools, use that authority’s website instead.
Board business and school business are not the same thing
The elected Board handles school-system governance. Its public page is the right place for Board members, meetings, minutes, district policies, amendments and districting information.
A day-to-day issue such as attendance, classroom communication, student pickup, grades or a campus event should normally start with the child’s school. Registration, transportation, employment and special education each have their own district routes.
Use the Board page for
Meetings, minutes, Board members, district policies, policy amendments, Board districts and governance records.
Use Central Services for
Registration questions, residency clarification, employment, district programs and department-level help.
Use the school first for
Attendance, teachers, classroom questions, school events, pickup procedures and immediate student needs.
Student privacy: don’t put a child’s grades, disability information, discipline history, medical details, home address or other education records into a public Board discussion. Ask the school or responsible district department for a private route.
When does the Dale County Board of Education meet?
The Board’s official page says regular meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Dale County Government Building. Meetings are open to the public.
Do not assume every meeting follows that pattern. The Board also posts special-called meetings, and the 2026 archive shows several months with an additional special meeting.
| 2026 record | Type | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 13, 2026 | Regular Board meeting | A published 2026 minutes entry is listed on the Board page. |
| Feb. 10, 2026 | Regular Board meeting | Matches the second-Tuesday pattern. |
| Mar. 10, 2026 | Regular Board meeting | Minutes entry is listed in the 2026 archive. |
| Apr. 14, 2026 | Regular Board meeting | Published under 2026 Board minutes. |
| May 15, 2026 | Board meeting | Shows why the live archive matters: not every posted record lands on the usual Tuesday. |
| June 9, 2026 | Regular Board meeting | Standard monthly meeting entry. |
| June 29, 2026 | Special called | Special meetings can appear outside the regular monthly schedule. |
| July 14, 2026 | Regular Board meeting | Published 2026 minutes entry. |
| July 30, 2026 | Special called | Another additional meeting outside the standard cycle. |
| Sept. 22, 2026 | Special called notice | The Board page posted a 5:30 p.m. special-called meeting in the Government Building Board Room. |
Next regular meeting: the standing second-Tuesday schedule places the next regular monthly date after October 2 on October 13, 2026. Because the live Board page can add or change special meetings, verify the current notice before driving to Ozark.
The official Board page publishes minutes by year. Use that live page instead of relying on a cached PDF or an old social-media post.
Open Dale County Board Meetings & Minutes →How to verify what happened at a Dale County Board meeting
A meeting date and an approved Board action are not the same thing. If you are checking a personnel decision, policy change, contract or other formal action, use the Board’s posted minutes rather than assuming an agenda item passed.
Open the official Board page
Scroll to the Minutes section and choose the correct year.
Match the exact meeting date
Check whether you need a regular meeting or a special-called meeting. Some months have both.
Use the minutes for the formal record
Minutes are more useful than a calendar entry when you need to know what the Board formally recorded or approved.
Check the policy manual separately
If your question is about the rule that now applies, open the current policy manual and listed amendments instead of relying only on meeting discussion.
Policy freshness: the Board page lists a policy manual effective July 1, 2022 plus later amendments, including amendments published in 2025. A policy PDF and a Board-meeting minute answer different questions.
Dale County Board of Education members
The official Board page currently lists five members. Officer roles can change after Board organization or elections, so use the district page again before relying on a title for formal correspondence.
| Board member | Current role shown | Official email |
|---|---|---|
| Jerald Cook | Board member | jcook@dalecountyboe.org |
| Priscilla McKnight | Board Vice President | pmcknight@dalecountyboe.org |
| Dale Sutton | Board member | dsutton@dalecountyboe.org |
| Phillip Parker | Board President | pparker@dalecountyboe.org |
| Shannon Deloney | Board member | sdeloney@dalecountyboe.org |
District representation: Dale County says its five Board members are elected from five districts. The Board page also provides a Dale County districting map for geographic reference.
Dale County Schools calendar: dates families should watch
Dale County school-calendar dates and Board meeting dates are separate. School pages publish the district’s 2026–2027 approved calendar, while the Board page handles governance meetings and minutes.
The planning dates below follow the published 2026–27 Dale County calendar transcription and should still be rechecked against the current district calendar before booking travel, childcare, medical appointments or other commitments.
| Calendar item | Date | Family planning note |
|---|---|---|
| First student day | Aug. 7, 2026 | 2026–27 student year begins. |
| Labor Day | Sept. 7, 2026 | No regular school. |
| First nine weeks ends | Oct. 9, 2026 | Half day for students is listed. |
| Fall Break | Oct. 12–14, 2026 | Check individual school notices before returning. |
| Veterans Day | Nov. 11, 2026 | No regular school. |
| Thanksgiving Break | Nov. 23–27, 2026 | Full school-week break. |
| Winter Break begins | Dec. 21, 2026 | Published break runs through Jan. 5. |
| Students return | Jan. 8, 2027 | Teacher professional-development days precede student return. |
| Spring Break | Mar. 22–26, 2027 | Good Friday falls inside the listed break. |
| Last student day | May 27, 2027 | Half day is listed for students. |
Calendar rule: weather closures, emergency decisions or later Board action can affect instructional days. Reopen the current Dale County Schools calendar before making a date-sensitive plan.
The district calendar and individual school calendar pages are the safest route for live updates.
Open Dale County Schools Calendar →Dale County Schools directory
Dale County’s Superintendent page describes a seven-school system. Those schools are spread across several small communities, so the town name on a mailing address does not by itself tell you which attendance zone applies to a particular home.
Ariton School
264 Creel Richardson Drive
Ariton, AL 36311
Elementary: 334-445-5560
High school: 334-445-5561
Bridge Academy
3971 South Highway 231
Ozark, AL 36360
Phone: 334-445-5566
Bridge Academy is a district career/technical program location offering programs such as aviation maintenance, diesel technology, emergency medical services, mechatronics and welding.
School assignment: do not choose a school only because it appears closest on a map. Dale County publishes bus-zone maps and tells families who are unsure of their district to contact the Superintendent’s office for clarification.
How to register for a Dale County School
Dale County’s registration page starts with one important eligibility rule: the student must live inside the Dale County School district. The district says families will be asked for two documents proving residency.
Confirm the residence is in Dale County Schools
Do not assume a Dale County mailing address automatically means Dale County Schools. Separate city systems and attendance boundaries can matter.
Prepare two residency documents
The district lists examples including an electric bill, water bill, driver’s license and voter-registration card. The page says acceptable documents are not limited to those examples.
Clarify the school district if necessary
If you are unsure which district serves your residence, call the Office of the Superintendent at 334-774-2355 before submitting personal records.
Follow the assigned school’s enrollment instructions
Once residency and school assignment are clear, use the district/school registration process for the student’s remaining enrollment records.
Residency question?
Call Central Services at 334-774-2355 instead of uploading documents to an unofficial website.
Protect private documents
Residency records can contain addresses and account information. Use a district-owned page or instructions supplied by the student’s school.
Dale County Schools transportation and bus-zone help
The Transportation Department says its role is to provide safe and efficient transportation to and from school for qualified students and for school-related activities involving buses.
Transportation phone
Use this route when you need district transportation help rather than a Board member.
Bus-zone maps
The district homepage currently links maps for Ariton, Long, Newton and South Dale zones, plus an all-zones map.
Moved recently? Recheck school assignment and transportation after an address change. An old bus stop or another family’s route is not reliable proof of current eligibility or school zoning.
Dale County Board of Education jobs and Human Resources
Dale County separates certified, support and substitute employment workflows. That distinction matters because the application method is not the same for every job.
Certified positions
The HR page directs certified applicants through the Alabama State Department of Education job-application system and the district’s current HireTrue route.
Support positions
For support jobs, the district says an application attached to the vacancy can be downloaded and returned to the office or emailed as directed by HR.
Substitute teaching
HR provides a substitute-teacher application packet with instructions, forms and fingerprint information.
Application-system update: the HR page notes that Alabama changed its job-application software and directs applicants to the current system. Verify the live vacancy before sending employment documents.
Special Education, Child Find, meals and school health
Parents sometimes contact the Board because they do not know which district office handles a service. Dale County has dedicated Special Education, Child Nutrition and School Health sections, so those routes are usually more useful for a student-specific question.
Special Education & Child Find
Dale County says Special Education services are available across its schools for eligible students in Pre-K through grade 12.
Its Child Find information covers efforts to locate, identify and evaluate people from birth through age 21 who have disabilities or are suspected of having disabilities.
Child Nutrition
The Child Nutrition Program page provides school meal resources, student-account access, dietary-accommodation documents, wellness information and cafeteria contacts.
School Health
The health-services area includes medication authorization, health-assessment documents, immunization information, school nurse contacts and guidance about when a child may be too sick for school.
Health and disability privacy: contact the student’s school or the responsible department directly. Do not put an IEP, medical diagnosis, medication list or other confidential education information into public Board correspondence.
Dale County school meals and student accounts
The district’s Child Nutrition Program manages school-food services and publishes a student-account route, dietary-needs guidance, wellness documents and lunchroom contacts for individual campuses.
Meal account
Use the account link supplied by Dale County’s own Child Nutrition page rather than entering student or payment details through an unofficial menu site.
Special dietary needs
The department publishes an accommodation flow chart for special dietary needs in school nutrition programs. Use the current district document when a medical accommodation is required.
Parent communication, PowerSchool and school-level information
Dale County school pages link parent tools such as PowerSchool and school-specific resources. Newton Elementary also states that Dale County Schools uses ParentSquare as a primary communication channel for announcements, events, emergency notifications and reminders.
PowerSchool
Use a district or school-linked PowerSchool route for student information. Do not send usernames, passwords or screenshots to a third-party support page.
ParentSquare
Watch district and school instructions for account setup and communication expectations. School-level pages remain useful for campus announcements and supplies.
Dale County Board of Education address and map
Common Dale County Schools problems and the better next step
“I found an old Board minute.”
Return to the live Board page, choose the correct year and match the exact meeting date.
“The meeting is not on the usual Tuesday.”
Check for a special-called meeting or changed notice. Dale County posts additional meetings outside the regular schedule.
“I do not know my child’s school.”
Do not guess from town or ZIP code. Check the district’s bus-zone material or call Central Services for district clarification.
“Registration needs proof of address.”
Prepare two residency documents and use the district’s current registration instructions.
“I need a bus route.”
Use Transportation at 334-774-2360 and verify the current zone rather than relying on another student’s route.
“I found a Dale County job on another website.”
Confirm that the vacancy still appears through Dale County Human Resources before submitting identification or employment records.
“I need an IEP or disability-service answer.”
Start with the student’s school or Dale County Special Education rather than discussing a private student matter with the public Board.
“The calendar screenshot is different.”
Check the current 2026–27 district calendar. Saved images and third-party calendar pages may not reflect a later district change.
Dale County Schools official links
Use these district pages when current information matters. Each route has a specific purpose, so you do not have to treat the Board page as a catch-all directory.
Dale County Board of Education FAQs
What is the Dale County Board of Education phone number?
Dale County Schools lists the main Central Services phone number as 334-774-2355.
Where is the Dale County Board of Education office?
The district lists Central Services at 202 South Highway 123, Ozark, Alabama 36360.
When does the Dale County Board of Education meet?
The official Board page says regular meetings are scheduled on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the Dale County Government Building. Special-called meetings may be posted separately.
Are Dale County Board meetings open to the public?
The Board’s official page states that all meetings are open to the public. Check the current notice for a specific meeting before attending.
Who is the Dale County Schools Superintendent?
The district currently identifies Ben Baker as Superintendent of Dale County Schools.
How many members are on the Dale County Board of Education?
The district says the Board consists of five members elected from five districts.
Who are the current Dale County Board members?
The official page lists Jerald Cook, Priscilla McKnight, Dale Sutton, Phillip Parker and Shannon Deloney. The page identifies Parker as Board President and McKnight as Vice President.
Where can I find Dale County Board meeting minutes?
Use the official Board of Education page and scroll to the Minutes section. The district organizes minutes by year and also lists special-called meeting records.
How do I register a student in Dale County Schools?
The student must live inside the Dale County School district. The district says families are asked for two documents proving residency and directs families with district-boundary questions to the Superintendent’s office.
What can I use as proof of residency?
The district gives examples including an electric bill, water bill, driver’s license and voter-registration card. Check the current registration page because the list is not presented as exhaustive.
What is the Dale County Schools transportation number?
The Transportation page lists 334-774-2360.
How many schools are in Dale County Schools?
The Superintendent’s page describes seven schools in the Dale County School system. The district also operates Bridge Academy as a career and technical program location.
Where do I apply for a Dale County Schools job?
Start with Dale County Human Resources. Certified applicants use the current Alabama education application system; support and substitute positions have separate district instructions.
Where can I find the 2026–27 Dale County school calendar?
Use the Dale County Schools calendar and school calendar pages. Individual school sites also publish the district’s 2026–2027 calendar.
Is Dale County Board of Education the same as Ozark City Schools?
No. This guide covers Dale County Schools, a county school system headquartered in Ozark. A student living in Dale County may still need to confirm which school system or attendance zone serves the residence.
Use the right Dale County route the first time
Board or governance question
Open the Board page for members, meetings, minutes, policies and districting information.
Student or family task
Use the school, Registration, Transportation, HR, Special Education, Child Nutrition or Health section that actually handles the task.
Freshness check: meeting notices, job vacancies, school calendars, bus information and department contacts can change. Reopen the official Dale County Schools page before a time-sensitive visit or submission.
Independent guide: BoardofEducations.org is not Dale County Schools, the Dale County Board of Education, the Alabama State Department of Education or Dale County government. Official district notices, policies, records and decisions take priority.