New Fairhope School Commission Meets

Fairhope, Alabama


Fairhope public school commission meets.

OFFICERS SELECTED

The public school commission that was formed to distribute the new 3-mil property tax met for the first time last week. It replaces the old Educational Advisory Committee which has been dissolved.

Their first order of business was to elect officers: Ken Cole was selected as chairman, Carrie Mclemore as vice chairman, and Miranda Schrubbe secretary.

Other members are:  Tanya Bosarge, Robert Brown, Robin Coleman, Danielle Mashburn-Myrick, Hill Robinson, and Cornelius Woods.  All were appointed by the city council to one, two, or three year terms.

Bylaws were then approved and a question and answer session followed.

Jon Gray, a consultant for the Baldwin County Board of Education and the five area school principals attended as well.


QUESTIONS RAISED

New members then asked about how the commission will function. Questions ranged from time lines, equitable disbursement of funds, accountability to public, and "metrics" for measuring success.


Issues raised included:

*Funds will come from two sources: the new 3 mill property tax ($2 million/yr. Collection begins Oct. 1, 2020) and the city's usual $300K contribution (for 5 more years).

*Chairman Cole said the commission should operate the same as the old EAC: funding requests will originate from the five principals, the commission will discuss them, and then forward its recommendations to superintendent Eddie Tyler.

*Advancing academics in the classroom was the goal cited in the 2015 AKRIBOS school study: specifically, higher math and reading scores.

*Always disbursing funds equally among the five schools may not be the best way to achieve goals.  Jon Gray: "Equitability is in the eye of the beholder."

*Standardized testing alone may not be enough to measure results, since the effectiveness of the tests themselves has been questioned at state and national levels, according to the principals.

*Cole suggested the principals could suggest metrics for measuring success when they make their funding requests.


NEXT MEETING IN FEBRUARY

Cole said Baldwin County School's chief financial officer John Wilson will attend their next meeting to further explain financial aspects of the commission's operation.




bylaws




Comments

Anonymous said…
The cost of living is already way too high here.
Anonymous said…
Then move. People do it every day in a free country.
Anonymous said…
There ought to be plenty enough to form our own school system now and not have to deal with the county at all.