It has been a busy week across South Alabama’s schools and colleges, with a record-setting enrollment announcement, a leadership shakeup in Baldwin County and construction updates in Mobile County all making news.
The University of South Alabama reported its largest enrollment ever this fall, with 16,055 students registered for the semester, a jump of nearly 5 percent over last year. University officials pointed to the growth as evidence of increasing interest in the Mobile-based institution among students across the region and beyond.
In Baldwin County, the school board approved a reorganization of the district’s administrative structure, proposed by interim superintendent Robbie Owen. The plan adds two assistant superintendent positions, effectively reverting to an organizational setup used before the previous superintendent’s tenure began in 2010. Separately, the district has launched a phone survey of parents to gather feedback on how to manage rising enrollment, part of an ongoing effort to gauge public support for new school construction funding.
Mobile County’s school board used its annual retreat this week to review progress on 17 projects funded through a $100 million construction bond. Officials acknowledged that delays in selecting a new site for Citronelle High School will push that project’s completion back to the summer of 2016. On a more positive note, Superintendent Martha Peek received top marks for the second consecutive year in her performance evaluation, with the board expected to discuss a possible contract renewal in the spring.
Virtual learning options in both counties still have room to grow. Mobile County’s online program for grades 6-12 has enrolled 187 of its 250 available seats, while Baldwin County’s virtual high school option has around three dozen students, with officials encouraging more students to add online courses to their schedules.
Down in Orange Beach, roughly 350 residents turned out for a community meeting to discuss the city’s push to break away and form its own independent school system. Voters will decide the matter in a referendum next month on a proposed 5-mill property tax increase to fund the new district. Meanwhile, Satsuma City Schools, now in its third year as an independent system, approved a $13.2 million budget for the coming year, a roughly 6 percent increase, even after trimming six teaching positions to match enrollment.
Elsewhere, Mobile County school employees have embraced the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, raising thousands of dollars for charity in the process, while the Alabama School of Math and Science earned recognition as one of the nation’s top high schools. Several district boards, including Chickasaw City Schools, have budget hearings on their calendars in the coming days as the new academic year gets underway.