Our position is simple: The money should follow the students. Every citizen in Baldwin County pays this tax, and every child who attends a public school in Baldwin County should benefit equitably from it -- or the tax should not be charged in an area where public school students don't receive any benefit. This concept is fair and straightforward. However, once again, we must endure a deliberate misinformation campaign from the Baldwin County Public Schools machine.
Instead of standing behind their word and doing what we all agreed to six years ago, they are resorting to the same misinformation and scare tactics they used during our attempt to separate and form Gulf Shores City Schools. They are more concerned about preserving their $750 million per year education bureaucracy than doing what is fair and equitable for all public school children in Baldwin County.
Instead of doing what is right, Baldwin County Public Schools CSFO John Wilson stood before the Senate committee yesterday, claiming their school system might default on their debt obligations if this legislation passed. The amount of money Gulf Shores students would see under this proposal is less than 0.005% of the Baldwin County Public School budget. Mr. Wilson’s claims that this legislation will cause them financial instability are absolutely false.
Instead of treating all public school students in our county fairly and teaching our kids the value of sharing, Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler says children in Gulf Shores don't deserve to benefit from this revenue because they are "wealthy." His statements ignore that all Gulf Shores schools are Title I eligible, meaning over 40% of our students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program.
This type of divisive rhetoric that continues to come from Mr. Tyler and Baldwin County Public Schools is creating friction across our entire county. I don't wish this fight on any other city or county in our state. That is why the legislature must pass Senator Weaver's statewide bill into law and stop this injustice from ever occurring again.