Last Friday, the Baldwin County School System filed a lawsuit against State Superintendent Eric Mackey after Mackey had threatened to use his powers to potentially remove Baldwin County Superintendent Eddie Tyler for not accepting Mackey’s final proposal in the split between Baldwin County and Gulf Shores City Schools.
Mackey, the Gulf Shores City School System and the Baldwin County Commission are all named as defendants in the suit, which was filed late in the afternoon on Feb. 15 - the same day that Mackey had given as a deadline for Baldwin County to sign the finalized separation agreement in the Gulf Shores split. Baldwin County refused to sign the agreement, citing several issues they felt needed to be decided by the courts.
At a press conference held Monday in Robertsdale, Tyler said Baldwin County believes Mackey’s final separation agreement would put the county system in a situation where it would have to spend a possible $4 million in payroll expenses for the new Gulf Shores system - which Tyler said was not a position he or the Baldwin County Board of Education were comfortable being in.
“Why should Baldwin County taxpayers pay the consequences of Gulf Shores starting their own system?” Tyler questioned. “Gulf Shores’ decision is not our financial responsibility. Baldwin County didn’t ask Gulf Shores to leave. Since this was the sole decision of Gulf Shores, they should bear the costs of the decision.”
According to the lawsuit and supporting documentation, Baldwin County believes the Gulf Shores system should have to meet its own payroll obligations starting Sept. 1, citing a 2015 letter from former State Superintendent Tommy Bice regarding the split between Jefferson County and Gardendale.
“By creating a separate school system, the Gardendale City Board assumed the obligation of paying the salaries and benefits of its employees,” Bice wrote in 2015.
Gulf Shores officials have contended that Baldwin County’s expenses would decline following the separation of the two systems, which Tyler disputed.
“We keep hearing from Gulf Shores that our expenses are going to fall,” Tyler said. “I’d like to share with you that our costs of starting up a new school in Orange Beach, which was made necessary by the Gulf Shores split, is costing this system more than $40 million. That’s not a reduction in expenses.”
Baldwin County’s lawsuit also challenges Mackey’s authority to potentially remove Tyler from his post as superintendent.
In a Feb. 5 letter to the Baldwin County and Gulf Shores school systems, Mackey said if Baldwin County did not comply with his final proposal, he would invoke the powers given to the state superintendent in the Alabama State Code in Section 16-4-4, which Mackey said would allow him to remove “any person appointed under the provisions of this title for immorality, misconduct in office, insubordination, incompetency or willful neglect of duty.”
Baldwin County’s lawsuit would seek a temporary restraining order against Mackey if he tried to remove Tyler from office, though Tyler said he was not afraid of Mackey taking such an action.
“I’m not concerned about any type of firing,” Tyler said. “I’ve been in this business for 43 years, and I’ll die on that hill for Baldwin County schools if I need to.”
Baldwin County’s litigation attorney for this matter, Don Beebe, said the precedent that could be set by Mackey’s actions in this case were concerning for not just Baldwin County but the rest of the state as well.
“There is no precedent for the decisions made by Mackey here,” Beebe said. “We are simply standing up for the rights of the taxpayers, students and parents of Baldwin County. We’re not suing anyone for monetary damages. We’re simply asking the court to interpret what is the law.”
Mackey did not respond to The Baldwin Times’ questions sent to him via email earlier this week.
Gulf Shores City School Board President Kevin Corcoran said “On the advise of counsel, we have been advised to not comment at this time.”
County commission actions
At its regular meeting on Feb. 19, the Baldwin County Commission voted 3-1 to support the Baldwin County Board of Education’s lawsuit on the positions that are “grounded by a basis in state law.”
While the Baldwin County Commission was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, County Attorney David Conner explained that was due to the county being the collecting agent for tax moneys for the school system.
“The Baldwin County Commission does not question Gulf Shores’ ability and right to form its own school system,” Conner said. “At the same time, we want to make sure that both systems are treated on the same playing field.”
Baldwin County Commission Chairman Skip Gruber said he felt it was important for the commission to support Baldwin County’s lawsuit.
“I do feel we need to take a stance,” Gruber said. ‘This will set a precedent in the state of Alabama for every other school system in the future. It’s never been done the way it’s being done here as far as we can tell, and we want to make sure we’re being treated as equally as any other system in the state would be treated.”
Commissioner Jeb Ball agreed and said the matters at hand were complicated.
“I support the Baldwin County school board’s position, but there are just so many unknowns in this process right now,” Ball said. “I pray this ends well.”
Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood was the lone dissenting vote on the matter, saying she felt the commission shouldn’t take action on the matter yet.
“I do not feel like we should take a position one way of another,” Underwood said. “I’m in support of all of our school systems in Baldwin County. I don’t feel at this time we should side with either side.”
The 3-1 vote authorized Gruber, the county attorney and staff to take a position of support as it relates to the positions of the BCBE in the complaint that are based on applicable state law and would allow the county to take “any action necessary to file briefs or support those claims.”
“We need to know what’s going on and be part of this,” Gruber said. “We’re being drug into this because we are the ones who distribute the money, so I think it’s just a good thing for us to get started in this at this time.”
