Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Next Step
Mrs. Roberts has indicated that there will also be discussion about the path forward for the superintendent selection process. There are four proposals from search firms that have been submitted. The search firms submitting are: BWP and Associates, N & P, Hazard, Young, Attea & Assoc. and Ray & Assoc.
I do not know if the discussion on Tuesday will lead to anything more than a decision on whether to search or not, or if additional decisions will be made.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Funding and the 10 Mil Match
The next superintendent must be able to lead politically.
To this date no meetings are scheduled to continue the dialogue about replacing Dr. Hollinger
Match funding worries
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Match funding worries
Officials say soaring cost to gain state funding could jeopardize system's ability to meet county's growing educational needs
By JOSH BEAN
Staff Reporter
BAY MINETTE - What could Baldwin County Public Schools have done with an extra $29 million this year?
Plenty, said Superintendent Faron Hollinger, as he explained a vexing trend: The amount of matching money that the Baldwin school system must supply to receive state funding has more than doubled in recent times, from $12.2 million ($550 per student) in 2001 to $29.3 million ($1,126 per student) this year.
The match is projected to exceed $40 million by 2010, according to figures from the
''What I'd personally like to see is some consideration given to capping it, to the point where it doesn't grow," Hollinger said.
With uncertainty swirling as thousands of Baldwin taxpayers appeal their property assessments and as
According to state rules, each of the 132
The Mobile County Public School System pays the highest match in the state, at $36.5 million - only 24 percent higher than
For perspective, Baldwin officials often compare themselves to
Teacher cuts?
Without a cap or some kind of relief,
''We have things like the pre-kindergarten program that's been very effective, or reading coaches in every school, which has paid dividends for students. Those are the kind of things we won't be able" to fund, he said.
Says system is working
Assistant State Superintendent Craig Pouncey and education consultant Ira Harvey, who helped design the Foundation Program, say the formula is working like it should: Wealthier school systems, like Baldwin, have a greater local burden than poor systems.
Pouncey, who oversees the state's education finances, said there was never any expectation of capping the 10-mill match and added that he has heard of no movement to change it.
The 10-mill match reflects the value of a mill,
Callahan counters that Baldwin pays more, on a per-pupil basis, than small, suburban systems like
At the same time, he said,
"Where's the equity in that?" Callahan asked.
Growing sales tax revenue in recent years has helped
Property taxes
If Baldwin raised property taxes,
Callahan said local voters would never approve a property tax hike, with coastal insurance premiums soaring and annual reappraisals already boosting tax bills. ''Impossible," he said.
Hollinger said he has spoken to members of
"When implemented back in the'90s, what appeared to be an equitable strategy then may have been effective, but I think it needs to be re-evaluated," Hollinger said. ''I would contend that the inequity may not have been eliminated, but just shifted - and, unfortunately, shifted in our direction."
Supports a cap
New state Sen. Lee ''Trip" Pittman, R-Daphne, said he supports a cap and has been ''testing the temperature" of other legislators to gauge support for such a change, although he conceded that other areas of the state might reject it.
If a cap is not politically viable, Callahan suggested the state could give a discount for interest paid for capital improvements, which would lessen the local burden for high-growth areas like
A new elementary school carries an estimated cost of $20 million.
Pouncey sympathizes with
"You've got school systems in other parts of the state that have schools that were built in the 1920s and 1930s and no capacity to replace them," Pouncey said.