Gulf Shores still without school superintendent City wants to open in July; County asks, ‘what’s the rush?’

Gulf Shores still without school superintendent City wants to open in July; County asks, ‘what’s the rush?’

By John Mullen
The City of Gulf Shores, more than three months after its City Council appointed the School Board that will lead the city’s separation from the Baldwin County School System, still does not have a superintendent in place.
And even advertising for that hire has beome part of the acrimony that has turned into a battle of wills and personalities between the old and new.
Although never so abruptly, cities all over the state have formed their own school systems. Granted, it is a complex process, but it certainly is strange that a School Board, more than three months into its term, would be making where it can advertise its vacancy a point of contention.
“We distributed it out through all the associations and they have sent it out all over the state,” interim superintendent Suzanne Freeman said.
But there were at least three places the new school board wasn’t allowed to post it: the school campuses in the city of Gulf Shores. City school officials asked the Baldwin County Board of Education for permission to post the job opening in the schools they will take over at some point.
“They said they would get back to us and we’ve not heard back yet,” Freeman said. “Typically, in my situation previously in helping other separations, there’s been a good relationship in that they would let us post it in the schools. That’s typically the case where both school systems work together and coordinate and communicate.”
The first city split from the Baldwin County school system has been anything but typical. In the beginning, both negotiation teams played nice and said the right things in news conferences after the first two meetings. But it quickly crashed and burned over disagreements over having a sitting superintendent and a starting date.
“To be clear, compare the dates of when systems were formed by the city councils and when the state approved the split, not some suggested date of when people may or may not have started fantasizing about the future.’’ said BCSD Superintendent Eddie Tyler. “And in all of these splits, has there ever been one this complicated?’’
Although elected officials did not poll its citizens to determine if a majority even wanted its own school system, the new board did poll Gulf Shores citizens to ask what qualifications were important to them in a new school leader.
Gulf Shores wants to open doors for the first time this fall and Baldwin County responded “what’s the rush?”
With no inroads made on the impasse, the two sides turned to the state superintendent’s office who appointed a mediator. Both sides are currently drafting essentially position papers to present to the mediator.
Baldwin County made its position clear by passing a resolution Feb. 22 in opposition to the Gulf Shores starting date of July 1.
“The Baldwin County BOE has repeatedly expressed significant concerns that a 2018 start date is not in the best interest of the (affected) school children (children inside and outside the Gulf Shores municipal limits), or the impacted faculty and staff,” the resolution stated.
“Despite the fact that there was no meaningful due diligence associated with Gulf Shores’ decision to establish a city school system and no demonstration of an actual ability to be operational a little over four months from the date of this Resolution, the City Board insists on a 2018 start date.”
During a Gulf Shores School Board work session on March 1 several reasons for wanting the split to occur this year were discussed. One was addressing security issues at what police believe is a vulnerable campus, board president Kevin Corcoran said.
“We don’t think it is a rush,” Corcoran said. “There’s so many reasons and we’re going to present plausible reasons and not just because we want to. There’s so many things we need to do and we need to do them now.”
Meanwhile, getting access to those campuses to make assessments on security, computer systems and talking with faculty and staff has been a slow process. The board is currently trying to set a date to meet with faculty and staff from the three Gulf Shores schools.
“Mr. Tyler suggested in the past to the teachers in a faculty meeting that we weren’t going to be welcome to come on campus to hold that meeting,” Corcoran said. “That it wasn’t going to be at the school. He didn’t want it to be on school campuses.”
For teachers, Freeman said, they are anxious about the coming change and she believes a meeting will get them valuable information and ease some of their fears.
“Out of fairness to teachers, they need to know,” she said. “This is their life, their livelihood, their families are counting on this.”
Corcoran said he’s heard a different kind of anxiety from teachers he’s talked with.
“It’s very unfortunate but I hear from teachers they are worried about retribution should they attend such a meeting,” Corcoran said. “We need to stress there is strength in numbers. They have to make an intelligent decision so we have to have information for them.”
Freeman said the meeting to assess the IT capabilities at all three schools has also been put on hold.
“We hit a little snag in terms of approval from the county to be able to do that,” she said. “Our legal counsel is helping us jump through those hoops.”
Baldwin County School Superintendent Tyler said in a statement that when the BCSB proposed engaging an independent mediator to try and speed up talks and make meaningful progress, Gulf Shores representatives instead put out a press release offering to take students from outside their city limits into their school system, so long as they are paid for doing so.
“Previously we raised concerns about the legality of not having a superintendent and instead of simply informing us of their intentions to resolve this matter, they again went to the public with their actions in some condescending tone about the legitimacy of our concerns, even though the law is clear on this matter,’’ Tyler said.
Tyler said he told State Superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson that it is not in the best interest of the 580 students, who live outside the city limits, to be subjected to an untested, undefined and unknown new school system.
“With a June 30 separation date to start school, this would be completed in less than six months from when we first met on January 24 and that has never been done in Alabama,’’ Tyler stated. “We reviewed the splits across Alabama in recent history and none have ever been done in the six months Gulf Shores has suggested, though they have stated numerous times that this has in fact been done before,’’ Tyler continued in the statement.
“Gulf Shores’ demands to start in 2018 are ridiculous knowing that their reason for leaving was spurred by our decision to build new facilities in Orange Beach. They knew that these facilities would be complete and ready for students in August 2019. To know this from the beginning and still demand a 2018 start date is disrespectful at best. Again we continue to ask, what would be the harm in waiting one year to be sure everyone can start with the best opportunity and the least disruption?
“We have zero intention of preventing them from completing their split; in fact, we believe that their exit will allow us to focus more resources on the remaining students in the nearby areas and the rest of Baldwin County.We want them to have the best chance at success – long term success, not some silly goal of setting a new state record for creating a new city school system.
“The offer by Gulf Shores to accept students in the feeder patter, while impressive on the surface, is yet another empty commitment.
First of all, this is a standard practice to allow students who are already in the graduation pattern to stay in place and finish where they have attended the majority of their schooling. We have always expected that those children who want to graduate as a Dolphin, would be allowed to graduate as a Dolphin. Again, look to other splits which took place in Mobile County and others across the state.
Second, we have no idea what their school system will look like. What kind of educational standards do they intend to implement? Will they use computers in a one-to-one environment as we do? What will their curriculum be? Will it transfer easily back into where we are currently with our students or will they be behind when they transfer back in? Will they hold the same holiday and school schedules to accommodate families with children in both the Orange Beach Elementary school and the new Gulf Shores School? Will they use the same uniforms or require parents to purchase new ones for one year before returning to the Baldwin County system?
“Third, there is a financial motive for this. Many have wondered how Gulf Shores can operate at the level they have suggested without any new taxes. This was the dilemma in Saraland, Satsuma and Chickasaw where the systems opened with no new taxes only to have tax votes almost immediately following their first years. By including an additional 580 students, Gulf Shores would receive nearly $3.5 million more in funding for the first year, while their additional expenditures would be minimal.
“Fourth, they have appointed an interim superintendent, who was released from her contract as the Trussville City School superintendent. This is likely why Gulf Shores has gone out of their way to be clear that their new interim superintendent is not being considered for any permanent position.
“Yet, they expect everyone to jump on board with their vision, a vision with no leader, no plan, inadequate funding and not enough time to work out the problems that are inherent in starting a new school system with 2,000 children across city lines with the highest technology demands of any in Alabama.
“Offering a free cruise isn’t worth much if you don’t know where the cruise is going, what kind of ship you will be traveling on or what you are going to be asked to pay for once you get there. This is how I feel about the actions of Gulf Shores. There has been a lot of ‘talk’ about their vision and their hopes but they have yet to offer anything of any substance on how they will do this, including the simple question I have asked in every meeting – how are you going to get this started in just a matter of months?
“More importantly, aren’t these children better off if we take a year and properly plan this out and prepare for the best transition we can provide the students, parents and teachers?’’
“I do not believe the representatives from Gulf Shores are focusing on the right people. I believe they are more interested in doing what they said they were going to do at the beginning and are determined not to change their plans.
“My focus is the same today as it was when I started in education 42 years ago and that is the best interest of the children. That is where I will make my stand, regardless of whether these children reside in the City of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or other surrounding areas.’’