The Bessemer City Schools Board of Education has been suspended by the Alabama State Department of Education, according the state education officialsBessemer City Schools have been operating under state, not local oversight, since 2024. The Alabama Board of Education voted unanimously to take over Bessemer City Schools at an August 2024 board meeting in Montgomery. That meant the local school board was no longer in charge of decisions about personnel, finance or operations. “Therefore, the Bessemer School Board Members have been suspended from regular meetings until further notice.”Bessemer City, located just west of Birmingham, enrolls about 3,000 students and employs just under 240 staff members. “The indefinite suspension of elected members of the Bessemer Board of Education is a serious matter that should concern every citizen,” Bessemer City Council member Cleo King wrote on Facebook Wednesday.