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Autauga County votes Tuesday on 7-mill tax hike to fund schools

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Autauga County residents vote Tuesday whether to raise local property taxes to fund their schools.

Officials in the school district that includes Prattville say the proposed 7-mill increase will bring in $7 million annually, allowing 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. 

If voters reject the proposal, officials have “hard decisions” to make down the line, Superintendent Lyman Woodfin said. 

Woodfin said he isn’t trying to “scare anyone,” but that could mean laying off employees and closing schools among other cuts. “I’m going to do my very best to not cut anything,” he said. 

But those kinds of cuts will be unavoidable without the additional funding raised through local property taxes.  

While most of the talk in the community has been positive about the hike, the local farmers federation has now publicly opposed it, sending a text message Tuesday evening to Autauga County Republicans urging a vote against the hike.

Rep. Van Smith, R-Billingsley, leads the Autauga County Farmers Federation, the organization that sent the message. Smith, a public educator for 37 years, said he personally supports the referendum and will vote yes, but the county federation’s board voted Oct. 21 to oppose the tax.

“I was outnumbered and outvoted,” Smith told Alabama Daily News. “I did try to discourage them from opposing it, but that did not turn out the way I would like for it to.”

Smith said local farmers generally oppose additional property tax because, while a business owner can raise prices to pass along the additional cost of the tax to customers, farmers deal in commodities and are subject to market prices. That means farmers pay more tax but can’t immediately recoup it from their farm products.

Harold Gaines is a local ALFA board member and  lifelong farmer in Autauga County. He told ADN that he isn’t opposed to funding education, but he is opposed to using property tax to do it. “I honestly believe property tax is a cruel tax for our government to put on its citizens,” he said. 

“The person paying the tax has no control whatsoever.”

“The sales tax and income tax is just fairer to the individual, and it automatically adjusts to their status of where they are in their life.”

Paying taxes for education is necessary, he said. “We just would like to see it be done in a fair and equitable way,” he said. “In the agricultural field, we are required to own larger acreage of land to be able to do our business. Whereas the McDonald’s just has a quarter of an acre on the corner down there – it’s not a massive amount of acreage. But just the nature of our business requires us to own larger acreages of land. And for that reason, we feel like we’re kind of being mistreated just because our lifestyle and our business dictates that we need to own more land than just a little quarter of an acre.”

Smith, also a farmer, plans to vote for the increase.

“I know the reason I’m going to vote for (the referendum) is because we need to have the best school system we can have in Autauga County,” Smith said. “I think when you enhance the school system, you enhance property values, enhance quality of life. I think you enhance your workforce.”

The list of things that could happen if the tax increase fails is long and includes closing schools, ending the district’s alternative school program, eliminating pre-K, ending the district’s participation in offering free student meals, reducing support for athletics and fine arts and, as Woodfin said, possibly laying off employees.

“This (new property tax) money has got to go toward improving our working conditions for our teachers and our staff members and improving the learning environment for our students,” Woodfin said. 

School districts receive state and federal funding, but that funding is typically earmarked for specific programs and uses.

Local property tax revenue is the only funding that schools can use to meet the specific needs of students. It gives officials flexibility in choosing resources that directly impact students and teachers, rather than being limited by restrictions that come with state funding.

All Alabama school districts must pledge 10 mills in local property tax to qualify for full state funding through the state’s Foundation Program, a formula for funding the basics of public education. While most districts exceed the minimum to expand academic offerings, some, like Autauga, only collect the minimum 10 mills.

Autauga County residents currently pay 10 mills of property tax to support schools, or about $300 on a  $300,000 home. A 7-mill increase would increase that tax by $210, giving the school district $510 for that $300,000 home. 

The district has spent a lot of time and energy putting together an informational campaign which included four community meetings at local schools, press conferences and town halls with school officials, city leaders and state lawmakers that represent the area. 

A late 2022 initiative to increase property tax in Prattville by 15 mills failed by just 71 votes. Woodfin, who became superintendent in mid-2023, said that vote led officials to reduce the request to 7 mills this time.

One of the pressures the district is facing is that Autauga County’s student enrollment has declined in recent years, Woodfin said. Public schools are now competing with other educational alternatives, like a new public charter school in Prattville and two state-funded private school choice programs, which draw students away from traditional public schools. 

Enrollment records show the district has 800 fewer students than it did 10 years earlier. 

The Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce publicly supports the tax on its website, calling the additional funding “an investment in both our children’s future and the economic success of our community.”

Woodfin said he’s waiting to see what happens before making long-term plans for the district. “Until we get this vote, we really don’t know what our total budget is going to be in the future,” he said.

While law allows a second try if the first vote fails, Woodfin said he doesn’t see the district trying a second time. 

“I want a clear decision from Autauga County people, and a presidential election is going to be the highest turnout.”

“So if it passes, that’s a good mandate from the people. If it gets voted down, that’s a mandate from the people, and at least we’ll turn this rock over,” he said. 

State Sen. Clyde Chambliss will also be a yes on Tuesday.

“I understand the opposition considering that we already pay too much in taxes,” he told ADN. “However, our tax is too much at the federal level. I would love to eliminate federal programs and reduce the overall tax burden. But, this is a local issue, a local question, a local tax, with local accountability.

“Our local funding for education ranks near the lowest in the state, and our state near the lowest in the nation. We need our young people to have the best opportunity to reach their full potential. I believe that we have the right leadership in place to use this additional money wisely for the betterment of our community.”

Gaines said he’s estimated his tax bill will increase by nearly a quarter.

“You’ll feel 24%,” he said. 

Recent school tax votes mostly unsuccessful

Prior to 2022, Alabama voters mostly approved property tax increases and renewals for improving local schools. Recently, however, voters have started rejecting both new tax proposals and even renewals. 

In many of the votes documented below, there was organized opposition, which has not been the case in Autauga County.

St. Clair County – November 2022 – There were two tax increases that would benefit local schools – one for 15 mills in Springville and one for 10 mills in Odenville – up for a vote. The Springville tax passed. The Odenville tax failed. 

Choctaw County, November 2022 – Voters rejected a renewal of a 5-mill property tax, taking them below the 10-mill minimum state requirement. Because of state law, the county commission then had to levy a new tax to bring the county up to the minimum 10 mills. 

City of Chelsea, July 2022 – Voters soundly rejected a new property tax that would have funded their own city school system. The city remains part of the Shelby County school district. 

City of Vestavia Hills, May 2023 – A bid to increase property taxes by 9.8 mills was defeated in a 4,100 to 3,200 vote. The bulk of the additional $8 million was slated to be used to improve buildings, arts and athletic facilities. The remainder would be used for school system operations and new academic programs. 

Limestone County, December 2023 –  Voters defeated a property tax renewal that had been in place since 2005.

Montgomery County, March 2024Voters approved a 3.5 mill property tax renewal, which is, so far, the only successful vote since 2022.  

Trussville City Schools, August 2024 – A proposed 12.9 mill property tax hike was defeated in a 3,100 to 2,200 vote.   

Tuscaloosa City Schools, September 2024 –  A proposal to raise property taxes by 11 mills was defeated in a 5,700 to 5,000 vote. 

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