Alabama voters will decide on only one statewide constitutional amendment on Nov. 5, that could provide a financial lift to a Northwest Alabama county school system where close to 71% of the students are economically disadvantaged.
The constitutional amendment on the ballot, if passed by voters next week, would allow the Franklin County School System the ability to sell a large portion of land it owns in Walker and Fayette counties in hopes of selling or leasing it to a developer.
State Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, is hoping voters back the amendment even if they live no where near Franklin County, or even have the slightest idea of where the county is at.
“We are dealing with what is best for the children of Franklin County and I would hope someone from Madison or Mobile counties would look at it in a way that it’s the children who will benefit,” Kiel said. “It’s not costing the taxpayers anything additional.”
He added, “I think the golden rule applies here to do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.”
Almost all of the school-owned property is in Walker County, and Kiel said that if it’s sold and developed for a truck stop or a hotel, then much-needed revenues would go to both the Franklin County school system from the sale or lease of the land to use on school capital projects and to Walker and Fayette counties from sales and property tax collections.
“The real benefits are to the citizens of Walker County,” Kiel said. “They are not collecting property tax or sales tax or revenue from this property. If this is approved, it could have a huge economic impact on the area surrounding the intersection, and also with the tax revenues coming into Walker County.”
So why exactly do voters statewide need to decide the fate of a land deal in Northwest Alabama? There are several reasons:
- Kiel said the amendment needs statewide approval because it involves multiple counties, and not just one. Franklin County also does not abut Walker or Fayette counties, which are to the south and separated from Franklin by Marion and Winston counties. Alabama also does not have home rule authority, so individual county and local governments need the state legislature to support an amendment similar to this one for everyone in the state to vote on. Kiel supported HB302 during the spring session, which created the constitutional amendment.
- The lands are considered “sixteenth section lands” and “indemnity lands” that Congress granted to schools in Alabama in the 1800s. The money that is derived from these lands is dedicated to the “support and maintenance of public schools” in Alabama, according to Fair Ballot Commission explanation of the statewide amendment.
- Franklin County owns sixteenth section lands and indemnity lands in Fayette and Walker counties. Kiel said the land in question is approximately 225 acres and is at Interstate 22 and Alabama State Route 13, north of Eldridge.
- The amendment, if approved, transfers ownership rights of those lands to the Franklin County School Board, and any money earned from the lease or sale of the lands will be paid to the school system. Currently, the school system cannot sell nor lease the land because it’s managed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The state agency has the legal authority to manage all sixteenth section and indemnity school land in Alabama.
- Kiel said the proceeds from a lease or sale would go toward capital improvement projects at Franklin County Schools, where there is a need for expansion projects.
“We’re out of space at two of the county schools and are completely out of classroom space,” Kiel said. “We have multiple mobile units serving students at those schools. This money won’t be used for luxuries, but for necessities and for putting roofs over heads.”
Kiel said like a lot of rural Alabama school systems, Franklin County has a high number of low-income students. According to the latest state report card, 71% of its students are considered “economically disadvantaged,” which is higher than the statewide average. A student is considered economically disadvantaged if their parents don’t have a high school diploma or if their family participates in the free or reduced-price meal program.
“With multiple schools throughout the county, the funding is short,” Kiel said. “The money would be used for their education and for the capital needs at each of the schools.”
Kiel said that the I-22/Route 13 interchange is poised to be developed, though he said there was not specific developer waiting to build on the undeveloped acreage.
To read the article in full, visit AL.com at: https://www.al.com/news/2024/10/alabamas-amendment-1-aims-to-benefit-a-rural-school-system-and-attract-a-buc-ees.html