From the Office of the Mayor
Bill Pruitt is currently serving in his second term as Mayor of Pell City, Alabama. This column and others that are featured in this series are written and shared with the purpose of providing information to the general public and encouraging discussion on topics that impact the lives of the residents of Pell City.
Of the questions I’ve received regarding the upcoming vote on the governance of the Pell City School System, one of the most poignant is “now, why are we doing this?”
In a nutshell, the answer is that the Pell City Board of Education is correcting a 42-year-old structural shortcoming in the formation of the Pell City School System and fulfilling a promise they made to the voters during the 2021 Tax Referendum.
The starting point for our look into the “why” of the upcoming vote is Resolution No. 2024-1, approved by unanimous vote of the Pell City Board of Education on January 25, 2024. While I will be citing the portions most pertinent to this discussion, there will be a link to the full text of the Resolution following this post. Those portions read, as follows:
“WHEREAS, since the formation of the Pell City School System, those individuals that reside outside the city limits of the City of Pell City and within the unincorporated portion of the Pell City School Attendance Zone and Tax District (the “County portion”) have not been legally eligible to serve on the Pell City Board of Education or to vote in elections for the Pell City Board of Education; and,”
Pell City Board of Education Resolution No. 2024-1
When the Pell City School System separated from the St. Clair County School System in 1982, there were certain areas outside of the city limits that were served by schools within Pell City. By agreement, those students continued to be educated by the newly formed system. However, residents outside of the City limits had no right to serve on the Board of Education and had no voting representation on the Board.
Although the System has represented all students equally, without regard to residency, it has been a long-standing point of contention that residents in the county portion of the school system had no voice on the Board that made the decisions regarding the education of their children.
“WHEREAS, the Pell City Board of Education is committed to providing representation for those individuals that reside in the County portion of the Pell City School Attendance Zone and Tax District; and,”
Pell City Board of Education Resolution No. 2024-1
During the Kids Count tax referendum, the Pell City School System promised to address the issue of representation for families residing outside of the city limits. The Board of Education remains committed and is fulfilling their promise to correct this 42-year deficiency.
“WHEREAS, the Pell City Board of Education has analyzed and considered every option available to provide those individuals that reside in the County portion of the Pell City School Attendance Zone and Tax District the opportunity to participate in the governance of the Pell City School System; and,”
Pell City Board of Education Resolution No. 2024-1
“WHEREAS, the Pell City Board of Education has determined that it is in the best interests of all citizens residing in the Pell City School Attendance Zone and Tax District to return the Pell City Board of Education to an appointed board, as it existed when the Pell City School System was formed, and to legally establish that the appointed members of the Pell City Board of Education shall be qualified individuals who reside within the entire Pell City School Attendance Zone and Tax District, with at least two of those members being appointed from the County portion of the Pell City School Attendance Zone and Tax District; and,”
In 2023, the Pell City Board of Education enlisted the assistance of the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham to help them fulfill their promise. RPC is known for their expertise in the field of redistricting and serves the counties of Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby and Walker.
Upon analysis of the possible options, and upon the recommendation of RPC, the Pell City Board of Education determined that the most viable option for fulfilling their promise to the voters, and that in the best interest of the families of the Pell City School System, was to return to an appointed board, which is the format currently employed by 2/3 of the 70-plus city school systems throughout Alabama.
So that is the “why.” The next stops in the discussion pertain to “how will this work?”, and more importantly, “how will this impact my children?”
For more information, please see the Pell City Board of Education and City of Pell City’s information packet on Local Amendment 1 at www.pell-city.com/amendment 1.
Nothing contained herein intends to advocate in favor of or against the local ballot measure. The information is provided for the purpose of informing members of the public about the upcoming election, providing objective analysis or factual information about the local ballot measure, and encouraging citizens to vote.
