State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range) and Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) are at odds over a third bill introduced last week addressing school tax distribution. The bills are in reaction to creating municipal systems in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and what supporters say is unfair tax distribution.
Senate Bill 270 (SB270), introduced by State Sen. April Weaver (R-Brierfield), complements Elliott's two bills, SB135 and SB136, to require countywide funds to be distributed to municipal school systems.
While the county claims the change would harm it, 1819 News found videos showing a Baldwin County school official confirming they have already benefited while Orange Beach and Gulf Shores are suffering. However, chief financial officer John Wilson said that while there is a benefit in one aspect, there is a downside in another.
As it stands, the Baldwin County School District is receiving 100% of a portion of a countywide tax intended for education capital projects. Orange Beach City Schools and Gulf Shores City Schools now want their share of that tax.
Albritton opposes all of the bills and only learned of the Weaver bill when it was brought to the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee last Wednesday. He said he believes Elliott, who chairs that committee, recruited Weaver to get around him.
"It was an end-run sneak attack to get around me and to get around Baldwin County School Board and to get around Baldwin County Commission," said Albritton.
Elliott said he was shocked by Albritton's reaction in the committee meeting, but he believes that response indicates there is an issue that needs to be addressed.
"I was surprised by how he reacted, you know, lots of emotion there and so much so that he was frankly, he was out of order," Elliott said.
"This is something that has certainly local implications, and so there is local legislation filed to address it," he said. "It also has statewide implications. This is not the first school split that's taken place, and oftentimes they can be problematic and end up in a lot of back and forth, and it's not the last school split that will take place."
The bill was carried over in committee and is expected to be brought back this week.
Albritton said he will fight against the bill every step of the way.
Baldwin County superintendent Eddie Tyler has voiced staunch opposition to the bill, saying it would drain the county system.
Elliott presented a spreadsheet showing that Foundation Program funding skyrocketed for Baldwin County Schools after Orange Beach and Gulf Shores broke away. The reason for that is the program's 10-mill match and the island's high property values.
While some of the increase is due to the legislature's increase per pupil for schools, Elliott estimates the Baldwin County School system received around $32 million more in 2025 than it would have if the two cities were still within the county system.
Wilson has previously addressed how much the school system benefited from the split of the school systems.
In 2022 and 2024, he presented data from the separations during his annual budget presentation.
In 2022, he said, "You can see we get 90% of the sales tax, so we get 90% of the sales tax generated on the island," Wilson said. “Haha, na-na-na boo-boo. I guarantee you the parents down there don't realize that. They're like, 'I'm so glad the money stays in Orange Beach.' Me too, me too. Yeah, all 3% of it." Then he pointed to himself.
In 2024, Wilson addressed how the 10-mill match of the Foundation program affected Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.
"Orange Beach gets no Foundation funding because of their valuations is so high that with only 1,200 students, you don't even get enough Foundation program money to meet that, and Gulf Shores is almost, they get almost, I think, I haven't looked at the latest but I think it's about 60% cut in their state funding based on that," he said.
"So, again, when they left, we did benefit on our 10-mill match going down, but the county as a whole in the valuations are growing and we're all feeling that right now," he added. "Not as bad as they are, though, but they should've known that before they got into that situation."
Wilson spoke to 1819 News about his comments and the two separate tax issues.
"First of all, I want to just say that I have the highest respect for everybody in Orange Beach," Wilson said. "I mean, that was a very clean, clear, professional split. The reference was, and again, you know, a lot of emotions sometimes can run high in these type situations, and so, in retrospect, it was probably not an appropriate thing to say.
"But it was also just to clarify because, you know, when talking to a lot of the citizens down there, I mean, I don't think they realize that the educational taxes are to be split based on your percentage of student population, not where the tax is generated."
As for the state Foundation program funding, Wilson confirmed the county saw an additional $17 million when Gulf Shores and Orange Beach broke away.
However, the county now has to share the local 2% educational tax with the two city systems to the tune of around $32 million. That is the tax Wilson was referring to in the 2022 video.
"I take accountability for any inappropriate or any kind of petty comments that I've made in the past and I apologize for that," he said. "But I hope it doesn't kind of overshadow the big picture of what we're trying to achieve in Baldwin County."
The special tax being debated is only to be used for capital projects and construction. The county school system receives roughly $24 million annually from the tax, but the cities do not receive any of it.
Baldwin County Schools has an agreement with the county commission to use proceeds from the tax to respond to obligations for Baldwin Preparatory Academy's $50 million bond.
"What we're doing is that we're fulfilling the needs that industry has told us time and time again that they need across the county," Wilson said. "Many of these needs stem from the beach areas, specifically, you know, who's going to work on the HVAC units, the plumbing, the electrical systems for the large condominiums that stretch across the Gulf."
Wilson said the county would lose $6 to $7 million of the funds for Baldwin Prep if the tax were shared with city schools.
Wilson said that due to tremendous growth since 2019, the Baldwin County School system needs the funding to keep up with capital improvements and additions. To keep up with the growth, the system has built eight new school buildings and expanded seven schools, spending nearly $315 million. Another $145 million will be spent on four new schools currently under construction.
Elliott considers the setup of how the tax is distributed a "Robinhood approach," especially since he said a large percentage of taxes are generated from Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
However, Albritton told 1819 News he felt the city systems were trying to take from the county and expected them to depend more on state government. He also disputes Elliott's numbers.
"So, basically, 'We're going to take care of our own and we're going to put you on the welfare system," Albritton said. "I'm just against that. Flat out, totally."
Elliott said it is his job to bring more money from the state into the county, and he's doing that.
Albritton believes Elliott is trying to talk even more municipalities into breaking away from the county system.
Elliott denies that claim and said he has spoken to elected officials in his district about possibly forming a system when they have considered it.
"I think they believe that I'll give them an honest assessment of where they are," said Elliott. "And frankly, I think that city schools work well in some communities."
Wilson told 1819 News that there are some instances where it is better for the county for a school system to split away, but it said that is rare.
"The way that state funding is calculated in that such a huge percentage of your funding is based on your property valuations, there are unique circumstances where that's beneficial," he explained. "So, if you have a low student population and a high valuation, you're going to fall into that very kind of unique gap."
Albritton also said that when cities create their systems, they should be responsible for them.
"The other side of the coin is when the school system, when a school, a city decides to break away, they do that at their own risk," Albritton said. "They're doing this willingly and consciously. So, it's their responsibility to support themselves."
Elliott said he hopes the issue does not impact future endeavors between himself and Albritton.
"This is a contentious issue and I know that Senator Albritton is emotional about it," Elliott added. "But I think if he will look at just the facts and figures, he will realize that, again, what I've said before, both of these systems and the county system benefit and how in the world is that a bad thing?"
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