BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Autauga County school officials have some hard decisions to make after the county’s voters shot down a property tax increase that would have raised $7 million a year for the district.
“Obviously, we are disappointed,” Superintendent Lyman Woodfin said in a statement from the district on Wednesday. “We set out to get a mandate from the people, one way or another, and based on the results, our citizens have spoken. Property taxes are not on the table, so it’s back to square one to give our students and teachers what they need.”
That additional funding would have allowed the district to keep staff hired with short-term pandemic relief funding, offer teachers incentives for improving achievement, enhance security, update facilities and reduce debt.
School officials now have to balance their budget by reducing expenses, meaning school closures and employee layoffs are on the table.
In the prepared statement, school officials said the defeat “is another in a long line” of proposed property tax increases. The last time voters approved a property tax for schools was more than 100 years ago, when the school system began.
Autauga County’s rejection of increasing funding for its schools is just the latest of similar defeats in communities across Alabama. Since 2021, voters have rejected all new tax proposals.
Unofficial results posted on the Alabama Secretary of State’s website show that 16,257, or 61% of the 26,647 voters rejected the tax. The county currently provides no local property tax for the schools beyond the state-required 10-mill minimum.
The Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce backed the tax, while the local chapter of ALFA did not.
The county board of education has a retreat scheduled Friday and will discuss what’s next, according to the district’s statement.
“Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as the task ahead will be difficult but absolutely necessary,” said board member Kyle Glover. “Thank you for your support. The system works. The people have spoken. Let’s go to work.”