FAIRHOPE - Is Fairhope better off with their own school system?

Residents and local leaders gathered to discuss that question in Council Chambers of the Fairhope Civic Center as the City of Fairhope held the first of a series of public hearings on Tuesday, Aug. 18, regarding a potential split from Baldwin County Public Schools.

Proposals for breaking away have sporadically been brought up in Fairhope over the years. Councilman Jimmy Conyers said as long as he has been with the city, the conversation about creating an independent school district has “always kind of been in the background.”

Conversations renewed around two years ago when the city was approached by a local citizens group that conducted a privately funded study prepared by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA), which showed that it would be possible to create an independent school system without having to raise taxes.

PARCA was similarly used by Gulf Shores in 2017, which showed in a five-page executive summary that it would be financially feasible for them to create their own city district, which they did in 2019.

In response, the City of Fairhope commissioned their own study conducted by Criterion Consulting LLC, based in Birmingham, which showed that a property tax increase would likely be necessary in order to create an independent city school system.

Conyers said city leaders considered a referendum to let residents choose but said under state law, only city council is allowed to ultimately decide, which is what led to the city hosting these public meetings.

“It’s worthwhile to have this conversation every so often because things change, communities change, situations change,” Conyers said. “Even if we decide as a group, ‘Hey, we’re happy where we are today,’ who knows what five, 10, 20 years down the road could be.”

Both the unnamed citizens group behind the PARCA study along with representatives from the Baldwin County Board of Education were present at Tuesday’s meeting.

Amy Thompson is a part of the citizens group suggesting the city should create their own school system. She said she is a Fairhope resident of 30 years and has had three children go through Fairhope schools.

“This is not a divorce; this is a natural progression, and our very own state constitution calls for cities over the population of 5,000 to separate and form their own entity,” Thompson said.

BCPS Superintendent Marty McRae cited the work the county has done for Fairhope feeder pattern schools. He said in the past five years, they have spent over $25 million in infrastructure buildings, have been working on an athletic project estimated between $8 to $10 million and are looking at likely building another elementary school to address recent growth.

“We as a system owe it to our students and our teachers and to our communities to work together to make sure that all students get those opportunities for a good future and that we continue to work together because we are better together,” McRae said.

Fairhope High School Principal Jon Cardwell voiced his opposition to a proposed split, calling the PARCA study flawed, saying the first study from January 2025 had a $5 million surplus while the one posted online said it was $8 million.

“This is too big of a gamble with all of our students’ lives and tearing families apart for us to take a chance on maybe this will work,” Cardwell said. “Fairhope High School doesn’t deal with maybes.”

During the public comment portion of the meeting, a majority objected to a split.

Matti Waycaster, a junior at Fairhope High School, cited the countywide programs she has been able to take part in after having to step away from volleyball due to a heart condition, which she said was a huge part of her life up to that point.

“I will graduate before the five-year transition will ever affect me. That is exactly why I am speaking,” Waycaster said. “I already had these opportunities, and students coming behind me deserve them, too, so study taxes, study the facilities, study the local control. Decide whether Fairhope can do this, but before you decide whether it should, please answer the questions that matters most: What will students gain, [and] what is worth risking what they already have? Because the ability to build something new is not proof that it will be better, and the next generation of Fairhope students should not have to be the experiment that proves whether it is.”

Tom Garney, a Fairhope resident of five years, said older community residents would not be able to afford a potential tax increase to cover the costs of an independent school district.

“Quite honestly, we can’t afford it,” Garney said. “We cannot pay you any more taxes. We’re doing good to pay light bills, groceries and utilities, and the people, the senior citizens of this community, do not have the money to pay for this, so don’t look for us when you come asking for a school tax. We can’t do it.”

Nash Campbell, attorney for the Baldwin County school board, said in response to one resident that Fairhope splitting would “absolutely” be a divorce.

“It would involve children, it would involve property, it would involve money, and it would come down to a divorce agreement,” Campbell said.

Conversely, one resident was interested in the work the citizens group has done and is willing to learn more about it.

“I would like to see a smaller elementary school, and if this is something that could help with that, you know, I’m interested in it,” said Gaynor Reynolds, a Fairhope resident with three children in elementary school.

Carlton Spinks, who is part of the citizens group suggesting the creation of a separate school district, said PARCA provided them a 25-page report detailing their findings, but only a two-page summary has been shared with the public, much to the frustration of residents who asked for the full study.

“We had taken upon ourselves to do the study after talking to the city,” Spinks said following the meeting. “The city wasn’t willing to do an initial study, but they said ‘If you guys find out something, let us know,’ so we got some donors lined up, we did the study with PARCA, provided some results that suggested we could have a city school without raising additional taxes, and we presented that study. Again, that was donor funded so we weren’t legally obligated, like a city study would be, to release it to the public.”

Spinks said the group will talk with their donors about releasing the full study on www.fairhopecityschools.com, a website created by the group to detail their vision for an independent school district.

“Because we were working so closely with the city and trying to create a game plan of how we we’re going to introduce this to the community, we just never put it out to the community,” Spinks said. “It is rather complicated to read from just a layout perspective to get up and read this 25-page study. It’s not formatted without having someone sort of narrate it for you to know exactly what you’re looking at, so that’s why we were a little bit reticent about putting the complete study out there.”

Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan shared the feedback the city has so far received from a survey they posted on their website, which had 1,100 respondents, of which 676 were within the city limits while 590 were outside and 54% having students in Fairhope’s schools.

As of Aug. 18, 81% “strongly oppose the idea of a city school system,” compared to 11% who support it. In addition, 75% are satisfied with the Baldwin County Board of Education, 3% are dissatisfied while the rest are undecided. Meanwhile, 80% oppose a tax increase while 12% would support it.

Sullivan said she does not expect a vote at the end of these public meetings, and it’s ultimately up to city council to decide whether to move forward with a split. She also said the city will be updating their FAQ posted on their website to address some of the questions asked at Tuesday’s meeting.

“Somebody said, ‘What are we doing here?’ We are having a conversation,” Sullivan said. “We are elected to do just that. We are elected to make hard decisions, to listen to our constituents, to listen to the people that we serve, and that’s what we’re doing here tonight.”

Councilman Jay Robinson said there are questions that they simply don’t know, which is why these discussions are important.

“The reality of the situation that we’re dealing with is that if there ever was a decision to break away, almost all of the questions that you’ve asked tonight, the answer is we don’t know,” Robinson said. “Who goes where? That decision will have to be made by a group of people down the road. Will there be enough money? We don’t know. Those are serious questions, serious risk that you have to consider. Where will the teachers go? Who gets what? There’s just so many unknowns right now, so many uncertain things that are incredibly important, not to just the school, but the kids, the teachers, the community. That’s the purpose of trying to figure all this out and it’s incredibly difficult, but it’s important that we make sure we get it right.”

Additional public meetings will take place at Council Chambers of the Fairhope Civic Center on Aug. 23 at 5:30 p.m. and Sept. 9 at 5:30 p.m. Following the public input process, the summary of the feedback received will be presented to city council during their Sept. 28 meeting.