What a fantastic day we had at City Hall and other Pell City facilities yesterday.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, The City of Pell City was thrilled and honored to host more than 300 bright and curious fourth grade students from Pell City Schools on an inaugural tour of our municipal departments and facilities.
Organized by Coosa Valley Elementary Teacher Angela Davidson and City Special Projects Coordinator Jeff Thompson, the students went behind the scenes to learn more about City administration, police and fire operations and the Pell City Public Library. These young minds were eager to learn about how our city operates, and we were more than happy to share our knowledge.
In addition, Davidson organized the students’ visits to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, and Central Dispatch. Finally, every fourth grader also had the opportunity to tour the Museum of Pell City and learn the history of our community.
The City of Pell City is grateful to Ms. Davidson for taking the initiative to create this wonderful opportunity, and we’re especially proud of our City’s fourth-grade students for their exemplary behavior, insightful questions, and excitement about our wonderful employees and the work they do.
Special thanks to the organizers and presenters at the seven different stops throughout the day:
Bill Pruitt, Mayor of Pell City
Captain Josh Herren, Pell City Police Department
Battalion Chief Joey Vaughan, Pell City Fire and Rescue
Youth Librarian Jordan Rawson, Pell City Library
Chief Deputy Matt Coupland, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Director Charity Mitcham, St. Clair Emergency Management Agency
Museum Coordinator Erica Grieve, Museum of Pell City
Thank you for joining us, future leaders – we’ll see you next year!
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,”
“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,”
Pell City Board of Education Resolution No. 2024-1
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.
The City of Pell City received notice that its contracted service provider for solid waste collection and disposal, Arrow Disposal Service, Inc. (ADSI), was acquired by by Meridian Waste Acquisitions, LLC. The transition took effect Sept. 1, 2024.
According to Meridian Waste, Pell City customers will see no impact to their services. No changes are anticipated other than minor branding updates.
According to the ADSI website, “Effective September 1, 2024, EEP & ADSI have joined forces with Meridian Waste. While the name of the company servicing you or your business will change to Meridian Waste, the original core group of drivers, helpers, landfill operators, supervisors and managers are still here to help you and keep your homes, streets and businesses clean. Your contracts remain valid and your service schedules will not change except for possible routine operational efficiencies. Thanks for entrusting EEP & ADSI, and now Meridian Waste, with your environmental services. It’s a job we take seriously, and we value your trust in us.”
Questions should be directed to Pell City Street Department Superintendent Greg Gossett at ggossett@cityofpellcity.net
In response to some discussion about the procedure for the Pell City Board of Education requesting funds from the City of Pell City, we would like to be clear. The process begins and ends with the Superintendent for Pell City Schools, who submits requests on behalf of the PCBOE. A request is made, and it is either approved or denied.
There are three documents attached to this post. The first is the original agenda for the PCBOE for a Called Meeting of Sept. 5, 2024. The second is an agenda that has been edited post-meeting, and the third is a request for funding from the PCBOE to the City Council.
The text highlighted in bold in the second agenda implies that City funding for PCBOE contracts has already been committed. Please be aware that the third document is the request for funding, which was hand-delivered to the Council by the Superintendent. It has yet to be approved.
It is anticipated the Council will approve this request for funding, as it has in the past. The third document also discloses last year’s requests from the BOE / Superintendent Martin, which the Council approved in an effort to show its continued support for the Board.
But it is also important to note that the Superintendent is requesting these funds on top of the more than $5 million that the City annually commits to the Board. These funds are discretionary, meaning the Board has full control of how they are spent.
As it has shown in years past, the Council is in full financial support of the students and teachers who drive this system. But it relies on the Board to determine how its contributions can be most impactful.
