Valkyrie Voice

NEWS FEED

Vote YES YES YES

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Written by Staff Reporter

A serious decision is being left up to Mobile County voters on March 22.  County residents will have the opportunity to vote to renew a property tax that directly impacts funding for our educational system.  This vote has been in effect in Mobile County for 175 years, and voters are allowed to renew it every twenty years.  This is not a new tax or “additional” tax.  This renewal would only keep the status quo in taxes and school funding.  No additional taxes are being added.  This is the same tax base for schools we have had since 1915, it only requires a renewal  of voters.  The money generated through this tax provides teacher salaries, supplies and buildings.  Without this funding, if an air condition breaks, it probably won’t be fixed.  If a teacher retires, one may not be hired to take his/her place.  The number of students in classrooms will likely increase as well as the drop out rate.  Part of the funding is used to provide programs to decrease drop-outs.  It also goes toward advantages such as live-stream video of graduation services.  If the residents of Mobile County choose to not renew the tax, one of the first obvious disadvantages students could see is the loss of about 400 teachers.  People often comment that the personnel cuts could come from Central Office.  While that could be a possibility in some positions, many of those employees, if cut, would transfer back into the classrooms which would in turn, leave current teachers out of a job. 

The Mobile Chamber of Commerce commented that it is important to have good, effective schools with funding when trying to attract big businesses and job opportunities to Mobile.  One of the first questions any company asks when thinking of Mobile as a job site is, “How are your schools?”  Big businesses need to know the area in which they invest is attractive to people who work in these companies.  They also need to know an intelligent workforce is available to them in the area. 

No school money is being used to fund the campaign to renew this 13 mil property tax.  All campaign funding is coming from private businesses and people within the community.  The Mobile Area Education Foundation is working hard to make sure voters are aware of all the details going into the March 22 vote. 

Mr. Ken Megginson spoke at MGM’s recent PTO meeting about the importance of the renewal.  He encouraged everyone in attendance to renew the vote.  An important point he made was about the actual voting procedure.  There will be three different parts of the votes that must be accounted for.  Each voter must vote yes three times in order for the vote to be counted a yes vote.  If a voter checks no on any of the three stipulations within the vote, the vote will count as a total no.  So, on March 22, Mr. Megginson encouraged voters to go into the voting booth and vote, “Yes, Yes, Yes,” to make sure we keep education a priority in Mobile County. 

For more information about the property tax renewal, visit www.childrenourfuture.info.