Type Public Grades K-12 Budget $201,000,000 (2007) | Motto Building Excellence Superintendent Eddie Tyler | |
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Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools | ||
The Baldwin County Board of Education oversees all public schools in Baldwin County, Alabama, and is based in Bay Minette, Alabama. The Board serves most of the county including both suburban and rural areas. It is the only public school systems in the county. Over 30,000 students are within the supervision of the Board. 3,400 employees including 2,100 classroom teachers, serve the students at 45 campuses. The Board of Education is the largest single employer in Baldwin County.
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Board composition
The board is composed of seven members elected within districts throughout the county. The Superintendent of Education is appointed by the board and is not a member of it.
Board members
Superintendent
The Baldwin County Superintendent of Education is Robbie Owen who previously served as principal of Rockwell Elementary School in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Owen served as a temporary appointment after the mid-year departure of Dr. Alan T. Lee. His was permanently appointed to the position in the Summer of 2014.
Finances
The 2013-2014 budget is $305 million. Economic difficulties confronted the Board beginning in 2008 when local and state tax revenue tanked and were exacerbated by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Citizens voted twice to approve an emergency one percent sales tax that has kept the system running. Among the innovations is the Digital Renaissance, an initiative that has put Mac Book laptops in the hands of more than 10,000 high school students and 700 high school teachers. Despite tight budgets the school voted to include $2.8 million in the 2014 budget to expand the program to grades 4 - 6.
Baldwin County is one of the fastest growing school systems in Alabama but is ranked 110 out of 134 systems in total funding per student. The system has averaged a growth rate of 2% per year and could soon become the second largest system in the state. Compared to 2012 one elementary school experienced a 10% increase in students.
In 2015, the Board asked voters to approve an additional 8 mills in ad valorem taxes. Officials were criticized for spending in excess of $150,000 to promote passage of the new taxes. The Alabama State Auditor asked the state Attorney General to convene a Grand Jury to examine the expenditures. In April 2015 voters refused to approve the new taxes and defunded $14 million in taxes which were due for renewal.
High School Academic Rankings
Out of 351 statewide high schools, the Baldwin County high schools received the following rankings for the school year 2014-2015:
School policies
In May 2011 the Board decided to abolish corporal punishment and this change took effect from school year 2011-2012.
Every student, including kindergarteners, receive some kind of computer or digital device for use in the classroom. The school is part of the League of Innovative Schools/Digital Promise initiative and terms its local program as the Digital Renaissance. The program began in 2013 with an initial payment of over $15 million paid to Apple Computer. A $9.6 million loan supported the expansion of the program to all students in the 2014-2015 school year. Parents pay $64 per student annually for damage insurance.