FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Fairhope has called off further public meetings on the possibility of forming an independent city school system after a survey found overwhelming opposition among residents, Mayor Sherry Sullivan announced Friday.
Roughly 1,400 people completed the survey, including 862 who live inside the Fairhope city limits. Among those respondents, 83% opposed or strongly opposed creating a city school system, 89% said they were satisfied with the Baldwin County Board of Education, and 81% opposed a property tax increase to fund a separate district. More than half of those who answered reported having children currently enrolled in the school system.
“These results are clear, and I believe we have a responsibility to listen to our citizens and respect their voices,” Sullivan wrote in a social media post announcing the decision.
A tense meeting preceded the survey
The survey followed a contentious public meeting held Tuesday to explore whether Fairhope should separate from Baldwin County Public Schools. Speakers supporting the county system turned out in force, raising concerns about the tax burden a new district would require and about ambiguity over where students living outside the city limits would attend school. A large share of the students enrolled at Fairhope schools live beyond the municipal boundary, a fact that has complicated every previous round of this debate.
Two additional meetings had been scheduled — one on Sunday and another on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Both have been canceled.
Sullivan says the question is unlikely to disappear
The mayor was candid that shelving the meetings does not settle the matter permanently. Discussions about a Fairhope city school system have resurfaced every few years as enrollment shifts, new schools are built, district boundaries move and state law changes.
Sullivan said she intends to support legislation on three fronts: allowing education funding to follow students, permitting citizens to vote directly on the formation of a city school system, and allowing property owners in the Barnwell-Landmark area to annex into Fairhope for educational purposes.
“These are all things that could fundamentally change the conversation,” Sullivan said. “They could give people who live outside the city limits an opportunity to become part of Fairhope City Schools if they choose to do so. They could also change the financial picture by increasing the tax base and providing additional revenue specifically for our schools and our children.”
Alabama law leaves the decision with city councils
One structural detail shapes this entire debate: under Alabama law, a city school system can be created only by a vote of the city council. Referendums — even non-binding advisory referendums — are not permitted on the question. That places the decision squarely in the hands of elected officials rather than voters, which is part of why the survey carried the weight it did.
A call for a more civil conversation
Sullivan also used her announcement to address the tone of the debate, saying she was “disappointed” that the city “cannot have a conversation about difficult issues without people becoming angry, upset or disrespectful toward one another.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, attendees at times shouted at the volunteers presenting the case for a city system. Representatives of that group later likened the gathering to a rally in support of the county school system rather than a neutral forum.
“At the end of the day, I believe we all share the same goal: to provide the best education, opportunities and future possible for every student in our community, whether they attend a city school or a county school,” Sullivan wrote.
For now, Fairhope’s schools remain part of the Baldwin County system, which serves one of the fastest-growing school populations in Alabama.
Council members say the debate turned personal
Councilman Jimmy Conyers echoed the mayor’s frustration with the tone of Tuesday’s meeting, and was pointed about who bore the brunt of it — the volunteers who had organized to study the idea in the first place.
“We asked for input, you provided it, and we heard it loud and clear,” Conyers said. “I understand this is an issue that people are extremely passionate about as it impacts their children, their careers, potentially their taxes, but the Tuesday evening meeting quickly devolved into an attack on members of our community. It is perfectly acceptable to disagree with their position, but these are good people who love Fairhope, are passionate about education, and they have no hidden angles or agendas. They deserved better treatment.”
A question that returns every few years
Sullivan was direct that canceling the meetings settles nothing permanently, and put a rough timeline on when the subject is likely to resurface.
“It may not come up again a year from now, but it could be two or three years from now,” she said. “Historically, the question of a Fairhope city school system seems to resurface every three to five years. Things change. District lines are redrawn. New schools are built. Enrollment changes. State laws change. Population changes. And the financial circumstances of our community could change. For that reason, I believe we need to be better prepared for the next time this conversation takes place.”
She added that whenever that day arrives, she hopes the city handles it differently.
“I may or may not be Mayor when this issue comes back up, but whenever that day comes, I hope we can approach it differently,” Sullivan said. “I hope we can have the respectful, thoughtful dialogue that this issue and, most importantly, our children deserve.”
Council members urge civility
City leaders also used the announcement to address the tone of the debate, after the first meeting on the proposal ended in heated arguments involving a group of citizens who had come together to study a new city system.
“We asked for input, you provided it, and we heard it loud and clear,” said Councilman Jimmy Conyers. “I understand this is an issue that people are extremely passionate about as it impacts their children, their careers, potentially their taxes, but the Tuesday evening meeting quickly devolved into an attack on members of our community. It is perfectly acceptable to disagree with their position, but these are good people who love Fairhope, are passionate about education, and they have no hidden angles or agendas. They deserved better treatment.”
Mayor Sherry Sullivan echoed that sentiment, saying she was troubled by how the conversation unfolded.
“I am disappointed, however, that we cannot have a conversation about difficult issues without people becoming angry, upset or disrespectful toward one another,” Sullivan said. “That is not the Fairhope I chose to represent, and it is not how I want people from my hometown to treat one another. We should be able to disagree. We should be able to debate difficult issues. And we should be able to do both while treating our neighbors with respect.”
Sullivan closed by stressing the shared goal she believes unites both sides of the debate: “At the end of the day, I believe we all share the same goal: to provide the best education, opportunities and future possible for every student in our community, whether they attend a city school or a county school. Because regardless of where a child lives, every child matters.”