Fairhope, Alabama thefairhopetimes.blogspot.com
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| First meeting. |
NOTICE FROM MAYOR'S OFFICE
The remaining scheduled city school system feasibility public meetings have been canceled.
Mayor's Office: "The City of Fairhope is canceling the two remaining meetings to evaluate the interest of a city school system. At this time, there are no plans to reschedule the meetings."
Mayor's comments: "First, I want to thank everyone who attended one of the meetings or took the time to complete a survey regarding the possibility of a Fairhope City School System. This was a difficult and important conversation, and I appreciate the passion and participation from people on both sides of the issue. To date, approximately 1,400 people have completed the survey, including 862 respondents who live inside the Fairhope city limits. The results provide valuable insight into where our community stands today:
83% oppose or strongly oppose creating a city school system.
89% said they are satisfied with the Baldwin County Board of Education.
81% oppose a property tax increase to create a city school system.
52% of respondents have children in the school system.
These results are clear, and I believe we have a responsibility to listen to our citizens and respect their voices. I am disappointed, however, that we cannot have a conversation about difficult issues without people becoming angry, upset or disrespectful toward one another. That is not the Fairhope I chose to represent, and it is not how I want people from my hometown to treat one another. We should be able to disagree. We should be able to debate difficult issues. And we should be able to do both while treating our neighbors with respect. The meetings may be cancelled, but I do not believe this topic is going away forever. It may not come up again a year from now, but it could be two or three years from now. Historically, the question of a Fairhope city school system seems to resurface every three to five years. Things change. District lines are redrawn. New schools are built. Enrollment changes. State laws change. Population changes. And the financial circumstances of our community could change.
For that reason, I believe we need to be better prepared for the next time this conversation takes place.
You will hear me support legislation that would allow the education tax to follow the student. You will hear me support legislation allowing citizens to vote on whether to form a city school system. And you will hear me support allowing property owners in the Barnwell Landmark area to legislatively annex for the purpose of education. These are all things that could fundamentally change the conversation. They could give people who live outside the city limits an opportunity to become part of Fairhope City Schools if they choose to do so. They could also change the financial picture by increasing the tax base and providing additional revenue specifically for our schools and our children.
I also want to remind everyone that I grew up in Fairhope. I remember when J. Larry Newton was just getting started and Mrs. Cotten was the principal. My sister began her career at JLN and spent 24 years there and my niece and nephew attended JLN. I have attended more than my fair share of Homecoming Christmas celebrations. I consider those families, teachers and students’ part of the Fairhope community. But there is a difference between being part of the Fairhope community and living within the Fairhope city limits. Boundary lines exist for a reason, and people make choices about where they live. Some choose to live outside the city limits because of lower property taxes, fewer regulations, or other reasons. That is their choice, and I respect it. They are still our neighbors, our church families, our friends and people we care about. But when it comes to a city school system, those boundary lines matter and they will matter if Fairhope ever creates its own school system. I may or may not be Mayor when this issue comes back up but whenever that day comes, I hope we can approach it differently. I hope we can have the respectful, thoughtful dialogue that this issue and most importantly, our children deserve. At the end of the day, I believe we all share the same goal: to provide the best education, opportunities and future possible for every student in our community, whether they attend a city school or a county school. Because regardless of where a child lives, every child matters."
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