Скачать или смотреть School Future Struggle in Baldwin County

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WPMI) Right now, Baldwin County spends a little more than $8,000 per student- per year, to educate our kids. That might sound like a lot, but Baldwin County ranks 99th in the state per student; second to last when it comes to funding from the state.Some are saying the county is in crisis. How and when will the school system keep up with the exploding population in Baldwin County?The Baldwin County School Board, the superintendent, and the County Commission agree on at least one thing: educating the county's kids is a priority.They are very important to us, and we care deeply about them, said David Tarwater.Education is key to everything we do in Baldwin County, said Tucker Dorsey We're delivering great education to our students of Baldwin County, Tarwater said.If we're not putting out quality education, said Drosey, if we're not producing good students instead of investing in the megasite, we should have invested in a jail. It's really that simple.What isn't so simple, is continuing to provide quality education as the population of Baldwin County continues to explode.We are facing some big growth, said Shannon Cauley, We welcome everyone that comes to our schools. We are growing faster than we'd like to but we are doing the best we can.Baldwin County residents did their part: renewing a penny tax. That revenue continues to go to the school system, fattening that coffer by tens of millions of dollars. But according to the superintendent: that money has merely kept the system above water. The county could easily use another 4 or 5 school buildings right now.That will be happening soon, here in Spanish Fort. They'll be breaking ground in the next couple of months to build a new wing at Rockwell with 20 classrooms. But will that be enough?I don't want to oversell it, but Spanish Fort will be the epicenter of the growth, says Tucker.Gulf Shores is also exploding. The elementary school has simply run out of space for any more portables, but more kids continue to come.Despite the growth, and the success, Baldwin County continues to rank second to last in state funding per student.We're gonna have to make a case with the public that there is a crisis, said Lee.That's where the school system and the county commission do not see eye to eye.I don't keep up with the school population on a daily basis, but I have a hard time calling it a crisis. They're going to have to come up with better ideas than just we need 150 or $200 million to build new buildings, said TuckerNot everybody in the county would use that term, define it that way: oh the school system has a crisis, says Lee, They're growing rapidly, they don't have enough facilities to house everybody, they wouldn't define that as a crisis.No matter how you define it, there are needs. If they are not met, the quality of education this county has become known for, could soon struggle for a passing grade.So committees have been formed for finances, and facilities. But for some, the wheels of progress are spinning much too slowly to keep up with what is happening along the Gulf Coast.I've made the case superficially, but our board has not come to a conclusion yet on what the