LOXLEY — The construction of Novelis at Baldwin County’s Mega Site will bring money to county schools and may provide jobs for students at the new career tech high school.
During the Baldwin County Board of Education’s May meeting this week Superintendent Eddie Tyler said money generated by the sales tax revenue of the new construction could be used to increase teacher pay scales, purchase additional supplies for classrooms and pay for future infrastructure for system schools.
Novelis, the world’s leading aluminum supplier, is slated to open at the Mega Site in Bay Minette in 2025.
According to Lee Lawson, president of the Economic Development Alliance, the new construction is expected to generate upwards of $30 million in sales tax revenue for education, and an additional $5 million in ad valorem tax annually.
“So, you can see that the economic impact of a project like this is tremendous,” Lawson said.

He added Novelis will be reaching out for partnerships in many different areas, but the biggest partnership will come through career tech education.
“I can’t tell you over the conversations that we’ve had with (Novelis) for months now about how the prospect of the career tech high school has driven them to look deeper with how they can partner with our community versus the other communities we competed with this opportunity on,” said Lawson. “They were really thrilled to learn about what is on the books here with this facility.”
During the meeting, the name of the upcoming career tech high school was revealed: Baldwin Preparatory Academy, or simply Baldwin Prep. The hook for the new school? “College. Career. Choice.”
“When coming up with a name and logo, we really wanted to focus on a name that let parents and students know this is more than just a traditional shop class, it offers so much more,” said Dave Barnette, creative director at Davis South Barnette & Patrick. “Another misconception we really wanted to focus on was the idea, especially for a parent, that if their child goes here they’re just doing the career tech and you’re eliminating the college possibility. It’s so important for them to know that it’s not an either/or.”
He said the high school’s brand was designed to convey high educational standards and introduce a sense of a school with a competitive entry and that produces multiple pathways to success.
“We’ve talked about the pipeline of students that this school system alone is putting straight into the workforce every year,” said Lawson. “Again, harness that human resource and then partner with companies like Novelis. We already have the demand. We have Airbus, we have Austal, we have Infirmary Health, USA Health and the construction industry all at the door saying, ‘we’re ready, we’re in, let us know how we can partner.’ All these commitments are sitting there, still on the table. There’s demand in every other industry, and now there will be Novelis. It’s going to take long term, sustainable pipelines to fill it.”
Baldwin Preparatory Academy will be located along Highway 59 in Loxley on 70 acres. It will be Baldwin County school’s first magnet school.
Beginning in 10th grade, students who apply and are accepted will leave their feeder pattern high school and transition into Baldwin Prep to finish their high school education. Students will receive their core classes along with on-the-job training in the industry of their choice. Instead of a traditional school day, the new campus will be designed to simulate going to work in industry.
“This is the first school that you’re going to build where somebody doesn’t have to go to it,” Lawson said to the BCBE. “Let that sink in. They don’t have to go to it. Just as we’ve recruited Novelis, we’ve now got to go out and start recruiting students. I think that based on how we’re going to present to them, and the types of business and industry leaders that we have lined up ready to partner with the school system, all of these things are going to be what makes this a success. And the fact that we’re developing it and designing it in a way that is going to be truly one of a kind.”
The system plans to begin introducing students to the new Baldwin Prep concept this fall. Current seventh and eighth graders will be the first classes entering into the new school based on the current construction timeline.
Construction on the Novelis plant could begin late summer or early fall, with the facility opening by mid-2025. Ground is expected to break on Baldwin Preparatory Academy this fall, with the new high school opening for the 2024-2025 school year.