Gov. Robert Bentley has candidates on both sides of Baldwin County’s recent school tax debate to choose from as he considers who to appoint to a vacant seat on the Alabama Board of Education representing District 1, which covers Baldwin County along with parts of Mobile, Butler, Conecuh, Escambia and Crenshaw counties.
Among those who have expressed interest is the executive director of the Baldwin County Education Coalition, who supported the county’s proposed 8-mill property tax increase that voters rejected in March. Also seeking the appointment is a leader of the campaign that helped defeat that same tax proposal, along with a third southwest Alabama resident who previously ran an educational software company before selling it more than a decade ago.
The District 1 seat has been vacant since the governor appointed its previous occupant to a newly created board overseeing Alabama’s community college system about a month earlier. Unlike a previous vacancy the governor filled almost immediately, Bentley’s office has said no timeline has been set for this appointment, with the governor’s office saying only that it is currently accepting recommendations. Because the seat comes up for election next year, waiting until after the legislative session allows the governor to avoid a confirmation hearing until then.
A local tea party organization has also pushed for the appointment of a conservative commentator and former congressional candidate who serves on the board of a Mobile-area preparatory school, citing his experience covering education issues as a journalist. The candidate has said he has not heard back from the governor’s office and believes his chances are slim.
The declared candidates include a 28-year-old Fairhope resident who leads the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization and chairs the Baldwin County Young Republicans, a longtime education advocate who previously worked with the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and South Baldwin Education Foundation, and a Daphne business broker and father of three who serves on his alma mater’s business school board of visitors.
State lawmakers representing the area say they hope the governor selects someone genuinely passionate about K-12 education, regardless of where they stood on the tax vote. One of the central issues facing the state board is the ongoing debate over Common Core academic standards, which has drawn opposition from conservative activists who argue the standards move public education too far toward a national curriculum. Candidates for the seat have offered varying views on the standards, with some expressing support for the flexibility the framework gives local districts and others saying they would need to study the issue further before taking a position.