By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – The year-long search for Jefferson County's school superintendent ended Wednesday. School board members met privately for an about an hour before offering the job to Phil Hammonds. He was the system's deputy superintendent of instruction from 1997 to 2001 and is currently superintendent of Sylacauga schools. Hammonds' salary is still being negotiated, but he's expected to take the new position January first. The Jefferson County school system is the state's second-largest with nearly 39 thousand students.