Autauga County residents have voted down ad valorem increases for school multiple times. It has forced the Autauga County Board of Education to make decisions such as closing Autaugaville schools. Leaders have also had to look at possibilities of other funding including collecting taxes from the Elmore County portion of Prattville. Many of those funds currently go to Elmore County Schools.
“Several months ago I was approached by members of (the Autauga) County Commission, the Prattville City Council and our local delegation to look into what is called a hybrid school system,” Autauga County superintendent Lyman Woodfin said. “This model would have ACBOE taking in all of Prattville, including the portion in Elmore County. Theoretically it would help funding for Autauga County education.”
Autauga school officials hired Criterion Consultants to study the matter and determine if and how a hybrid system would work and what would happen if Prattville formed a city school system encompassing all of its city limits — including those in Elmore County.
The consultants are former education superintendents, chief school finance officers and others with educational administration experience.
Currently there are 212 students attending Elmore County Schools who live in the Elmore County portion of Prattville. There are nine students from the same area who attend Autauga County Schools. The 212 students account for nearly 2% of the Elmore County Schools average daily membership.
The study quickly nixed the hybrid model because all of the taxes collected in the Elmore County portion of Prattville are not allocated to education. Most are split in multiple ways.
Criterion presented only the option of splitting Prattville off into a city system.
More than 5,200 students or 60% of the Autauga County student population attend Prattville schools. In Autauga County, nearly 700 students outside the Prattville city limits attend Prattville schools. A split would mean a decision would need to be made and funds would follow the students.
Criterion presented the board with all of the costs and what it would take to form a city system.
First the City of Prattville would have to approve the measure. In the process it would assume any Autauga County schools buildings in the city limits and the debt associated with them. They would also have to come up with one month’s operating expenses to meet state law.
Planning for something on this scale would take an estimated 15 months and require forming a board of education with a superintendent, then adding central office staff.
Criterion said it would take about $8.2 million to get started before a student ever walked into a City of Prattville school. About $1 million would come from sales tax collected during planning but $7.2 million would need to be found. The city system would need to come up with an estimated 8 to 9 mils in additional ad valorem taxes to cover the operating cost deficit. Then it would also have to save $4.6 million to create the required one month’s operating reserve.
The Autauga County Board of Education would see some savings due to decreased enrollment, but it loses revenue in the city of Prattville.
Woodfin said unless intentions change, the organization of Autauga County Schools would likely stay the same. The system would have to make tough choices like it did closing schools in Autaugaville where enrollment in the K-12 school had dipped below 270 students.
“We aren’t advocating for a split,” Woodfin said. “Rather, we needed to know the possible ramifications of a split since a large portion of the public has voiced that they would like to see it split. This study gives us the analytical data we need to move forward in the best interest of our kids.”
Woodfin said Autauga County Schools would have to continue to look at cost-saving measures while advocating for more funding for education.
The creation of a Prattville city system is not a likely possibility in the near future, it is still on the radar for Elmore County Schools as nearly $4 million in revenue is at stake.
“We are keeping an eye on what is happening,” Elmore County Schools superintendent Richard Dennis said. “At this time we are hoping things will remain the same as it relates to Elmore County Schools.”
