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Baldwin County Says YES!
Baldwin Voters Approve Penny Sales Tax By Wide Margin
March 23, 2010 was a defining moment for Baldwin County citizens. As the shareholders of our public schools, we stepped up in historic fashion to protect our investment. SEEDS would like to thank everyone who contributed to this extraordinary decision. With that one simple “Yes,” we showed more about who we are as a community than ever before – and many were watching.
Our campaign volunteers included Daphne parents, teachers, administrators, students, support staff, the business community, civic and professional organizations and many elected officials. It was their passion, long hours and, for some, their courage, that made such an unforgettable moment possible.
Clearly, the referendum caused many to consider for the first time how they benefit personally by living around the corner from a good school. But it also prompted a great deal of discussion about people’s experiences with and perceptions of our current system of public education. Underneath it all, there seems to be a question that has countless possibilities for the future of our community, that is – “Can we expect more?”
On March 23, the citizens of Baldwin County answered that question with a resounding “Yes” – “yes” to protecting our quality staff, programs and facilities, but “yes” also to doing more as a community to ensure the best possible use of our resources.
Local Foundations Form County-wide Coalition
In November 2009, SEEDS joined with six other local enrichment foundations to form the Baldwin County Education Coalition which quickly moved into a leadership role for the Vote Yes campaign. To build on that successful partnership, the Coalition has decided to establish a new county-wide foundation that will work to –
- Create a compelling vision for the future of our community and schools;
- Take an outside-in approach to making quality education the central public concern for Baldwin County;
- Collect the voices of citizens across the county to articulate common expectations;
- Provide the mechanism to ensure ongoing transparency and community involvement;
- Keep the focus of our advocacy work on children, not adults.
SEEDS to Launch Community Conversations in July
We are planning a series of Community Conversations to be held beginning in July in homes, churches and community settings around the county. We are currently looking for volunteers to host one of these 90-minute conversations that will be led by a Coalition member. Participants in similar meetings around the country have said they enjoyed the opportunity to talk with others about the future and to share their ideas. We hope to conduct as many as fifty meetings of this kind and to involve at least 1000 Baldwin County citizens.
Representatives from the summer conversations will then meet in September to identify the themes that arose from their initial discussions. The resulting Community Agreement will spell out areas in which we plan to work together to get results. It will also serve as an invaluable tool for our new superintendent to undertake the development of a long-range, co-owned strategic plan.
If we are serious about answering the many questions and concerns that were raised over the past few months, we can’t allow the energy and resolve of the Vote Yes campaign to fade away. We must build on that momentum and give everyone who is interested a way to stay involved in this big-picture work.
You can help further the cause by contacting SEEDS to schedule a Community Conversation in your home or for your church group or other organization. Here in Daphne, we need a dozen or more civic-minded individuals who will commit to bringing 15-20 people together on an appointed evening. SEEDS will take care of everything else. The success of this next critical step in working together to realize our full potential depends entirely on the willingness of citizens to give a little more of their time over the coming months.
What do we hope to accomplish? The ultimate goal of our new Coalition is to speak with one clear, cohesive voice about raising the bar in Baldwin County to improve our children’s prospects for success. It is a proven, ongoing way to say “Yes” to them and to the future of Baldwin County.