The Baldwin County Board of Education oversees most public schools in Baldwin County, Alabama, and is based in Bay Minette, Alabama. The Board serves the entire county. Over 30,000 students are within the supervision of the Board. 3,400 employees including 2,100 classroom teachers, serve the students at its campuses. The Board of Education is the largest single employer in Baldwin County.
History
In 2017, Gulf Shores approved a plan create a separate school district and began breaking away from Baldwin County School System.[1] The city of Gulf Shores broke away from the Baldwin County Public Schools system at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. The Gulf Shores City Schools operate three schools, one elementary, one middle, and one high school.[citation needed]
On March 15, 2022, Orange Beach voted on a plan to create their own city school district, breaking away from Baldwin County School System.[2]
Student body
Over ninety percent of the student body speaks English only.[3]Spanish is the language most common language after English. Languages other than English represented in Baldwin County Schools are Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, Finnish, French, German, Gujarati, Japanese, Korean, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Udu, Vietnamese, and other indigenous languages.[4]
About thirteen percent of the student body lives in poverty. This is slightly less that the state and national averages.[5] The student body is about 83% White and 9%, in line with the county population.
Board composition
The board is composed of seven members elected within districts throughout the county. The Superintendent of Education is appointed by the board and is not a member of it.[6]
Board members
David Cox, District 1
David Tarwater, District 2
Tony Myrick, District 3
Norman Moore, District 4, Board President
Robert Stuart, District 5,
Cecil Christenberry, District 6,
Shannon Cauley, District 7,Board Vice President
Superintendent
The Baldwin County Superintendent of Education is Eddie Tyler who has been with the school system in various positions for several years. Tyler served as a teacher and athletics coach before retiring to his current position. Robbie Owen of Rockwell Elementary in Spanish Fort, AL was temporarily appointed after the mid-year departure of Dr. Alan T. Lee due to misconduct.[citation needed]
Finances
The 2013-2014 budget is $305 million.[7] Economic difficulties confronted the Board beginning in 2008 when local and state tax revenue tanked and were exacerbated by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Citizens voted twice to approve an emergency one percent sales tax that has kept the system running. Among the innovations is the Digital Renaissance, an initiative that has put Mac Book laptops in the hands of more than 10,000 high school students and 700 high school teachers. Despite tight budgets the school voted to include $2.8 million in the 2014 budget to expand the program to grades 4 - 6.[7]
Baldwin County is one of the fastest growing school systems in Alabama but is ranked 110 out of 134 systems in total funding per student.[8] The system has averaged a growth rate of 2% per year and could soon become the second largest system in the state. Compared to 2012 one elementary school experienced a 10% increase in students.[9]
In 2015, the Board asked voters to approve an additional 8 mills in ad valorem taxes. Officials were criticized for spending in excess of $150,000 to promote passage of the new taxes.[8] The Alabama State Auditor asked the state Attorney General to convene a Grand Jury to examine the expenditures.[10] In April 2015 voters refused to approve the new taxes and defunded $14 million in taxes which were due for renewal.[11]
High School Academic Rankings
Out of 378 statewide high schools, the Baldwin County high schools received the following rankings for the 2023-2024 school year:
Fairhope HS - 5th
Spanish Fort HS - 10th
Daphne HS - 20th
Baldwin County Virtual School - 35th
Elberta HS - 39th
Robertsdale HS - 49th
Baldwin County HS - 61st
Foley HS - 91st
School policies
In May 2011, the board abolished corporal punishment,[12] and this change has been in effect since the 2011-2012 school year.[13]
Every student, including kindergarteners, receive some kind of computer or digital device for use in the classroom. The school board is part of the League of Innovative Schools/Digital Promise initiative and terms its local program as the Digital Renaissance.[14] The program began in 2013 with an initial payment of over $15 million paid to Apple. A $9.6 million loan supported the expansion of the program to all students in the 2014-2015 school year. Parents pay $64 per student annually for damage insurance. Since the 2016-2017 school year, the board has used Google Chromebook devices as a cheaper alternative and replacement to Apple's devices.[15]
