DAPHNE, Ala. — Elected state officials, Baldwin County commissioners and representatives from the Baldwin County Board of Education gathered Thursday at Trojan Hall for an emergency summit to discuss plans for the county to dissolve its unprecedented $56 million deficit.

The panel included: U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner; state Reps. Randy Davis and Joe Faust; state Sens. Tripp Pittman and Mark Keahey; Baldwin County Commissioners David Ed Bishop and Wayne Gruenloh; Baldwin County School superintendent Faron Hollinger; School Board President Tracy Roberts; and Board members Frank Trione, Norman Moore, Robert Wills, Elmer McDaniel and Angie Swiger.

Board members did not vote at Thursday’s meeting.

The summit’s goal was to share with a concerned public the factors that contributed to the Board’s current condition, including: an inflexible budget due to fixed costs; rising costs to pay for increased enrollment; a decreased state allotment; and decreased revenue from lower sales and use taxes.

Almost 80 percent of the Board’s budget is fixed — 72 percent covers salaries for tenured and non-probationary employees; 7 percent is for debt services.

A state regulation requires the Board to pay off its debt services before dispensing salaries.

The remaining 21 percent, comprised of non-tenured and probationary employees, has been dramatically impacted as the Board streamlines its budget.

“The first step is to make sure our house is in order,” Gruenloh said, referring to cutting peripheral employees.

To clean house and address the financial crisis, a joint committee, consisting of many of the officials present at the summit, recently approved a crisis management plan that includes implementing a reduction in force.

The reduction calls for terminating all probationary employees; establishing criteria to designate employees as “essential” or “non-essential; and researching additional sources of revenue.

On Aug. 20, the Board terminated 180 positions, including: custodial, lunchroom, mechanics, bus driving, nursing and bookkeeping.

Since 2000, enrollment in Baldwin County public schools has increased by more than 22 percent, adding infrastructure costs such as new school buildings and larger staffs.

The state faces its largest decrease in revenue on record, down $630 million this year, according to State Revenue Commissioner Tim Russell.

“Since the Revenue Department was formed in 1935, we have never seen anything on this scale,” he said.

Added to that is the state’s 51st ranking in funding per capita.

“We operate on a lean budget,” he said, two-thirds of which goes to public education.

He added that the county’s budget, due to decreased tax revenues, is $25-28 million below its expected totals.

Jean McCutchen, the Board’s chief financial officer, reported an 8 percent decrease in sales taxes in 2009 and expects a 4 percent decrease next year.

“We have increased costs to employ the teachers, buy textbooks and build the schools for the growing number of students, even among dwindling revenues,” she said.

McCutchen added that the county’s state allotment reduction for 2010, $15.5 million, has also contributed to the crisis.

Economist Matt McDonald explained how equity funding, designed to dole out revenue funds equally to each county, has worked against Baldwin County.

In 2002, Baldwin County contributed $16.9 million in local funds to the state foundation plan.

Citing the region’s dramatic growth in the condominium market and its impact on property taxes, he said that in 2010, the county will pay $45 million, an increase of $28 million.

In the same eight-year period, Shelby County’s contribution increased $10 million; Jefferson County went up $5.5 million; and Madison County grew $4.6 million.

He added that a decrease of $32 million in unrestricted local funding was another factor. The county received $90 million this year but will only get $58 million in 2010.

“That basically puts us right where we started in 2001,” he said.

Officials left the summit feeling confident that its management plan will address the county’s mounting deficit.

“The summit gave an opportunity to size up the school funding crisis from a national, state and local perspective,” Baldwin County Board of Education Communi-cations Director Terry Wilhite said.

“The federal and state participants helped bring the perspective that we're not alone with the school funding crisis but a unique set of circumstances has made a bad situation worse,” he said.

However, some audience members left as frustrated as they were when they entered the meeting.

Darlene Jones said, “This is unfair to all of us and it’s especially tragic for the kids,” adding that she attended the meeting to support three of her teaching friends who recently found out they will not be renewed next year,

“The administrators make upwards of $100,000 a year, and they have staffs,” she said. “That’s four teachers’ salaries right there.”

Roy Johnson, parent of three Baldwin County students, feels the Board is trying to remedy the situation but can do more.

“I know these are hard times for everyone,” he said. “Look around, places are closing all over town. But at some point, the Legislature has to step in and help us out; enough is enough.”

Pittman said, “Everyone in the system, young and old, needs to look at themselves and ask, ‘what can I do to help the children of their county?’”

The meeting was televised on the Baldwin County Government and Education Access Channel and will be replayed throughout the week.