During last week’s Baldwin County Board of Education meeting, the board unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the system’s position that the Gulf Shores school split should not happen in 2018.
“The Board hereby officially opposes a 2018 start date for the newly formed Gulf Shores school system and requests that the Gulf Shores City Board of Education partner with the Baldwin County Board of Education to facilitate a smooth and orderly transition to a 2019 start date under circumstances that ensure that the best interest of all impacted school children are properly served,” the resolution said.
The BCBE resolution added that the board “has repeatedly made it clear that it does not oppose the establishment of a city school system in Gulf Shores” but questioned whether a 2018-2019 school year start date was truly feasible for the Gulf Shores system.
“The Baldwin County BOE has repeatedly expressed significant concerns that a 2018 start date is not in the best interest of the effected school children (children inside and outside the Gulf Shores municipal limits), or the impacted faculty and staff,” the resolution said, “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.”
Negotiations between the BCBE and Gulf Shores City School Board recently derailed and both sides have appealed to the state superintendent of education to mediate the issues between the two factions.
Calls to the Gulf Shores City School Board about the BCBE resolution were not returned.
