Mobile and Baldwin County News
Baldwin County residents and school leaders discussed a proposed one-cent sales-tax referendum at a Bay Minette forum in March 2010, focusing on jobs, spending priorities and accountability.
Baldwin County leaders discussed renewed support for a temporary sales tax in 2009 as school budget cuts and potential personnel reductions continued.
The Mobile County School Board allocated $33 million in mostly stimulus-funded construction work in 2009, including renovations at B.C. Rain and Scarborough schools.
Facing a $38 million shortfall and projected revenue losses, the Baldwin County Board of Education voted in 2009 to seek a one-cent sales tax increase.
The Mobile County School Board voted 3-2 against allowing school security personnel to carry Tasers in 2009 after a public debate over student safety and campus security.
The Mobile County School Board prepared to vote in April 2009 on proposed campus closures and a move for the math and science middle-school magnet program.
The Baldwin County School Board voted unanimously in 2009 to close the Alternative School in Fairhope while delaying a decision on Vaughn Elementary in Stockton.
Mobile County school leaders said in March 2009 that some proposed campus closures or consolidations could be reconsidered after public hearings and funding news.
Facing a projected $47 million shortfall over two years, Baldwin County schools considered closing Vaughn Elementary in 2009, a move officials said could save millions.
The Baldwin County School Board discussed cutting 300 teaching positions and other cost-saving measures during the 2009 school-finance crisis.