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Will we be Penny-wise or Pound-foolish?
The citizens of Baldwin County face a critical choice on March 23.
By voting in favor of the temporary one-cent sales tax, we can see our schools through the toughest financial period we've experienced in a generation. We can also say YES to keeping the quality school programs and services we have come to expect and to cherish here in Baldwin County.
However, without the $25 million this initiative would provide annually over the next 36 months, our children and community stand to lose in ways that are hard to imagine:
- More students will be squeezed into already over-crowded classrooms as up to 400 additional teachers and school system employees are let go.
- Funds to provide coaches, band directors and other enrichment teachers will be eliminated.
- Essential student services like transportation and school nurses will be further reduced even though we are already operating below state requirements in these areas.
- Dropout rates will likely climb in the absence of sports and other extracurricular activities that help keep many students in school.
- Up to $36 million in school system debt will accrue by 2013, severely limiting instructional opportunities for years to come.
A perfect storm of plummeting property values, extensive retail losses and an 11 percent shortfall in state funding has left our schools with $61 million less for operating expenses this year than we had in 2008. Even though the Baldwin County Board of Education began that fiscal year with $22 million in reserve, those savings quickly evaporated in the wake of the recession.
For now, the only option available is a short-term fix that will keep our school doors open, teachers in their classrooms and our children on a level playing field with others across the state.
We each can have a hand in protecting Baldwin County's future by voting YES on March 23.