Next week, Baldwin County voters are tasked with deciding whether to renew the county’s existing property tax millage at its current level.

Over the last several months, this newspaper has published story after story regarding what renewing this funding means to our county’s schools, the history of these renewals and what consequences could befall the county if these renewals fail to pass.

It would seem this issue is a no-brainer.

At its heart, this vote is about educating our children.

The backbone of a thriving, growing county has to include strong, well-supported schools.

Everything from the value of your home to recruiting new businesses to our area depends on the quality of our educational system.

The message residents would send by voting “No” on these renewals is that Baldwin County doesn’t prioritize education, and those industries and businesses looking to locate here will certainly give pause if the schools will soon be sub-par.

Growth will slow in a county where the schools are being run by the state or where there are 60 children in a classroom. These might sound like extremes, but this is the reality facing our education system.

If this renewal vote fails, the county could see some cities move to break away from our current system, especially in the Eastern Shore municipalities. If those affluent areas create their own school systems, it will only increase the financial burden faced by other areas of the county that don’t generate the same tax revenue.

Some of the opponents of the renewal have complained about the terrible burden these taxes will place on residents, but let’s look at the facts.

These taxes have existed since at least 1916. No new taxes are being voted on in this referendum; you’ll be voting on taxes that your grandparents and great-grandparents voted into existence. You’re already paying these taxes, so you are not losing any additional money.

Those citizens who voted these rates in initially knew those property taxes would last for at least 30 years, long after their own children had left the county’s schools. They still chose to take the mantle of a better education upon themselves, and they even voted to renew them again by a nearly three-to-one margin in 1940 and again in 1987.

These previous generations understood the importance of having a strong, well-funded education system to produce the workforce that would help this county grow and thrive for years to come.

Many current residents are the beneficiaries of that investment, growing up here and taking advantage of the excellent educational opportunities available in Baldwin County’s schools.

Secondly, if these mill renewals fail, it wouldn’t mean much money coming back to the average taxpayer. The owner of a $100,000 home would see a reduction of about $1.66 per month in their property tax bill – the amount spent on a Coke at the gas station.

While that doesn’t seem like a lot of money on an individual basis, that Coke money added up affects a great deal of people across the school system.

School officials and members of the Community Task Force paint a grim picture of a number of cuts the schools could face if this renewal fails.

We could lose arts and music programs that serve to inspire our children. Cuts to sports programs and facilities would be on the table – something that would certainly distress students and parents alike.

Probably worst of all is we could see a reduction in teachers and support staff, further driving up the number of children in classrooms in a system already full of over-packed classrooms.

Surprisingly, a number of the citizens who have complained the loudest about these renewals come from the retiree and senior citizen age bracket. This group is eligible for tax exemptions and freezes allowing them to pay a fraction of what other citizens have to pay.

Seniors would benefit the most from the increased property value properly funded schools would bring. They wouldn’t have to pay any increased tax on that higher valuation.

It feels incredibly distressing our county is having to push for the money we need just to be able to survive, to maintain what we have.

Baldwin County’s citizens constantly speak about wanting their system to be one of the best in the state, but we pay a third of the taxes to support that dream compared to what school systems like Hoover, Mountain Brook and other top-tier schools do.

Considering the already depressed budget our schools have to work with, we find it remarkable and commendable that teachers and school officials have been able to do all the wonderful things they have.

Superintendent Eddie Tyler has constantly said of this vote that all the schools are asking for is “to be made whole again” by renewing existing funding.

It’s more than just that. This vote is a battle for what values Baldwin County really believes in.

If you’re for Baldwin County continuing be one of the fastest-growing, economically prosperous places to live, then you need to vote “Yes” to keep us on our forward-moving path.

Even though most of our editorial board doesn’t have children able to take advantage of our county’s schools, we are unanimous in our support of these renewals because strong schools will continue to make us a strong county.

“Yes” is the only logical choice on this issue. “No” leads us down a path of very difficult choices for the collective future of all county residents, especially our children who don’t get a say in this.

As able adults, our job is to protect and passionately defend those who can’t defend themselves. That includes school-aged children who deserve better from their elders than a shrug for a couple extra dollars in their wallets a month. For nothing else than that, vote “Yes” March 1. Vote “Yes” for the children who depend on us for guidance, support, conviction and courage.

This editorial represents the collective opinion of the Gulf Coast Media Editorial Board, composed of editors and staff of the Gulf Coast Media family of newspapers. If you have questions or comments, or would like to send a letter to the editor for publication, please email our managing editor at cliff@gulfcoastmedia.com.