Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said on FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show" on Thursday that he thinks public complaints about a Baldwin County tax could have led to the Alabama Legislature's failure to make a change.
The proposed legislation would have required monies from a special tax to be split between the Baldwin County School District and municipal school systems within the county. Currently, the county school system does not have to share its portion of the tax.
Several bills addressing the issue failed after heated discussions in Montgomery.
"I don't know how it got to where it's at," Kennon said. "You know, I really do wish we'd have all gotten into a room and tried to deal with it without necessarily putting it out, airing everything out, because it accelerated from that point. You know what I mean? And I was just as much a part of the problem as anybody else, but I'm hoping that we can get the right people in the room that will be willing to work together and see that everybody should be treated fairly, and we come to some kind of agreement."
Both Orange Beach and Gulf Shores leaders asked lawmakers to ensure they get their share of the tax. The cities are the only two municipalities in Baldwin County with their own school system.
Kennon said the tax split needs to be legislated so that future school systems within the county will also receive their share. He was aggravated that Republican lawmakers couldn't pass a bill.
"There's just absolutely no logic or reason to think that we were paying for you to educate your kids," Kennon said.
"… That R is for convenience," Kennon said. "Every city that can afford it should take the model that Gulf Shores and Orange Beach has done and do it because your kids are going to get a better education because it's local."
While some lawmakers have told Kennon they are disappointed that Orange Beach broke away from the county system, he said academic success proves it was a good move.
"Why wouldn't you be happy for us?" he said. "Why wouldn't you come down here and say, what are y'all doing? We need to be doing the same thing. But they're not. They're acting as though we have done something wrong for doing something better for our kids."
"I need to understand why anybody that calls themselves a conservative can argue that point or be on that side," Kennon added. "They're rhinos. I don't even know. It just sickens me. It really sickens me that they take that position."
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