Baldwin County school officials are concerned about a state property tax policy that they say is reducing the amount of money the district receives from the Alabama Department of Education. Board members are planning a special meeting this week to further discuss the issue.

Equity funding, established in the mid’90s, reduces the amount of state aid a school district receives based on local property tax revenues. Counties that have higher property values, like coastal Baldwin County, receive less funding equal to 10 mills of property tax. One mill is equal to $1 in taxes for each $1,000 in assessed property value. That money is withheld from state aid payments and goes into a fund that pays for teacher salaries, benefits, school supplies and other expenses.

The intent is to redistribute funds from more affluent school systems to poorer ones. The remaining local funds are considered “discretionary” and can be spent on capital improvements, like building schools, said Mobile attorney Matthew McDonald, who will make a presentation to the board during the meeting Monday at Trojan Hall on Lawson Road, next to Daphne High.

School board calls special meeting