Faron Hollinger, the superintendent of Baldwin County Public Schools, will participate in a public forum 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the Columbus Museum on Tuesday.

Each forum will consist of a question-and-answer session. Candidates will then meet with the media from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Each candidate also will meet with the Ledger-Enquirer’s editorial board at 3:30 p.m. before the public forums. The meetings will be broadcast live on www.ledger-enquirer.com.

Those who cannot make it to the question-and-answer session at the museum can e-mail questions for the candidates to the Ledger’s editorial board. Questions should be sent to mmcallister@ledger-enquirer.com by 2 p.m.

Georgia school district schedules public forum with Hollinger

Hollinger going to forum in Georgia

There is one new face on the board of education. The Baldwin County school board held its annual reorganization meeting Thursday and District 5 Representative Angie Swiger was sworn in for her first term by Baldwin County District Judge Michelle Hart.

Swiger, of Gulf Shores, said she looks forward to improving the school system by addressing growth within the means of a reduced budget.

“I am looking forward to bringing our county system to the next level,” Swiger said. “I look forward to doing a lot of work to make it great system. … One of the things I’d like to see is more communication between board members and principals, teachers and community leaders.”

Tracy Roberts of Spanish Fort was elected as board president and Robert Wills of Bay Minette was chosen as vice president. McDaniel was put in charge of the building committee, Wills was handed the reins of the finance committee and Swiger was elected as policy committee chairwoman.

School board reorganizes

One side calls it assault, the other calls it horse play. The question is, what “did” happen on a Baldwin County school bus earlier this week? A bus ride home stops first at Elberta Middle School, then Foley High School. On board a 12 year old girl and three high school boys.

What allegedly happened on that bus attorney Robert Stankoski calls, sickening. “My understanding is that these three men basically ganged up on this young lady. Twisted her arm, began punching her arm. It was told to me that someone removed her shoe and actually hit her in the face with her shoe.”

The young girl was taken to an emergency room where she was treated for a severely sprained arm. A police report filed by the alleged victims mother details the incident. What’s not mentioned, it may have been racially motivated according to Stankoski. “It’s not kids on a bus having a good time. It’s sickening and it’s gone to the point where their were racial slurs used President-Elect Obama’s name was used in context when the assault occurred. It’s absolutely unacceptable behavior in today’s society.”

School system spokesman Terry Wilhite says a videotape of the bus ride shows the young girl and three high school boys horsing around. “When they reviewed this tape they reviewed it very thoroughly and what they saw was children on the bus horse playing but nothing out of the ordinary than teenagers horse playing.”

Girl Attacked On School Bus

The Baldwin County Board of Education is prepared to take out a $25 million line of credit at its meeting today to pay teachers before the holidays and cover funding shortfalls from the state.

It is a yearly tradition for the school system to pay its employees before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays instead of at the end of the month, and board members gave the loan verbal approval at a meeting Tuesday night.

The board may choose not to use the entire amount immediately, but borrow funds as needed each month from Regions Bank to accommodate cash flow shortages, according to schools finance chief Jean McCutchen.

School board set to OK $25M loan tonight

State of Alabama to schools: Checks not in the mail

Baldwin County school officials say that a state law that moves tax money from wealthy districts to poorer ones is shortchanging local campuses.

The school board met Monday in Daphne with its chief financial officer and attorneys to discuss equity funding, a program that requires school systems statewide to contribute a certain amount of property tax revenue to receive funding from the Alabama Department of Education.

After the meeting, board member Robert Wills, who also works as an attorney in Bay Minette, said the board could pursue three different options to lower its contribution amounts: A lawsuit, help from the Legislature or regulatory assistance from the state department of education.

Board says equity rule hurts local education

The Baldwin County Board of Education may soon have to a find new top administrator. Schools Superintendent Faron Hollinger has been named as one of three finalists for the same position in Muscogee County, Ga. The school district, which includes the city of Columbus, educates a similar number of students as Baldwin County but has a larger staff.

Hollinger, who was hired by Baldwin County schools in 2002, said the Broad Superintendents Academy notified him of the opening. The selective academy, which puts about a dozen applicants through a 10-month training program every year, prepares administrators for superintendent positions in urban communities.

“I’ve always had a career interest in the challenges of urban school districts,” Hollinger said. “When they invited me to apply, it seemed to fit right.”

Superintendent Hollinger interested in Georgia position

Baldwin County sends almost $30 million in property taxes to the state, to help other, smaller school systems.

But because of these tough economic times, Baldwin schools says it needs a cut of those funds as well. The school board plans to challenge the state’s equitable funding law. They met with legal council Monday to look at their options.

By next year, Baldwin School officials say the county will pay close to $40 million in equitable funding without seeing a penny. The board plans to make a decision on what plan of action to take before the next legislative session scheduled for February.

Baldwin County School Money

Gulf Shores football coach Duane Davis has been fired less than two weeks after the Dolphins made their first playoff appearance in school history.

Baldwin County Public Schools spokesman Terry Wilhite confirmed Monday afternoon that Davis has been relieved of his coaching duties by first-year principal Ernie Rosado.

Davis served as the school’s athletic director, head football coach and head track coach. The Dolphins finished the 2008 season with a 7-4 record, losing 41-13 to Valley in the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A playoffs.

Gulf Shores’ Duane Davis relieved of coaching duties

A reader forwarded us this statement sent out by Terry Wilhite:

Press-Register sports reporter Josh Bean is working on a story about an announcement earlier today from Gulf Shores High School Principal Ernie Rosado which stated that coach Duane Davis has been relieved of all coaching responsibilities at the high school. In his statement, Dr. Rosado said he was taking the sports program in another direction. Davis’ contract goes through June 30, 2008. He has been reassigned other duties at the school. This story will appear in the sports section of the paper tomorrow.

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

Baldwin communities honor veterans

Local schools host Veterans Day programs

Spanish Fort park dedication honors fallen hero

Two men’s war stories

The Baldwin County Board of Education’s lawsuit against a Loxley couple continues to move forward, despite filings from the defendants to have the case dismissed from Circuit Court.

On Oct. 24, Orlando and Glynis Bethel, who represent themselves, filed two motions for dismissal. The couple asked the court to place sanctions on the school board and its attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit against them.

The Baldwin County Board of Education’s lawsuit against a Loxley couple continues to move forward, despite filings from the defendants to have the case dismissed from Circuit Court.

On Oct. 24, Orlando and Glynis Bethel, who represent themselves, filed two motions for dismissal. The couple asked the court to place sanctions on the school board and its attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit against them.

Bethal case to move forward

Flashback: School system sued for religious intolerance and repression

A week late, Mobile County public schools Friday received its remaining funds for October from the Alabama Department of Education.

Baldwin County, though, still had not received its funds as of Friday afternoon. Others, including Baldwin County, used money from their savings accounts to cover paychecks.

Baldwin school system finally sees October money

School officials in Mobile and Baldwin counties breathed a collective sigh of relief Wednesday over the passage of an amendment that will allow the state to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars for education, thus lessening the blow of expected budget cuts.

State schools Superintendent Joe Morton said he has no doubt that Gov. Bob Riley will declare the budget cuts, known as proration, possibly in December, and borrow the now-allowed $437 million from the Rainy Day Fund for schools.

The state would then have six years to pay that money back.

Baldwin school officials relieved by vote

On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Baldwin County Schools’ Communications Director sent out an email to his “key communicators” list with the subject line shouting, “BALDWIN SCHOOLS TO MEET PAYROLL WITHOUT BORROWING MONEY.”

Now the Press-Register says:

Baldwin County school officials maintain that system employees should receive paychecks as normal Friday and in November and December for the holidays. The school board may vote to take out a multi-million dollar loan to make the holiday payroll, officials said.

The board will vote in November to approve a loan that could amount to as much as $25 million. The details of the line of credit have not yet been determined.

Either they have money for payroll or they don’t. Which is it?

With the state only sending 75% of the money owed to the schools even a Mobile County student could do the math and determine they’ll be 25% short somewhere.

Where does all the money go? Where can the school system cut costs to save money?

An area principal has been temporarily relieved of his duties while the school board completes an internal investigation, education officials said Wednesday.

Baldwin County Alternative School Principal Donald Lee Johnson, who has worked for the public school system since 1993, was put on paid administrative leave Oct. 20. Baldwin County schools spokesman Terry Wilhite said the district’s human resources department is conducting a “review of operations” and that Assistant Principal Pat Malisham will run the school in Johnson’s absence.

The Alternative School is in Fairhope and serves students who have posed behavioral problems or faced disciplinary action from the school system.

Principal put on administrative leave