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Creating A Gardendale City School System
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Gardendale School System Development
Q1: Can you give a chronological update on the process used by our city leaders to determine that we can afford our own
school system? Beginning with the initial engagement with Dr. Harvey, please list examples of due diligence.
A: Due diligence:
• Financial Feasibility Report by Dr. Ira Harvey of Decision Resources, LLC
Dr. Ira Harvey is a leading expert on school feasibility assessment and an educational consultant
•
Carr, Riggs & Ingram, CPAs and Advisors, pro forma budget
•
Pre- and Post-Economic Analysis: Gardendale City School System by Dr. M. Keivan Deravi
Carr, Riggs & Ingram, CPAs and Advisors, were chosen to produce a pro forma budget because of their expertize in educational organizations
(School Systems)
(A pro forma budget projects an operating budget with anticipated income and expenses based on a combination of historical information, current
expectations, and allowances for unexpected expenditures). CRI web site: http://www.cricpa.com
M. Keivan Deravi, Ph.D., is a professor of economics and Special Assistant to the Chancellor at Auburn University Montgomery (AUM). He is the
architect of the Alabama Economic Forecasting Model, which is used to generate forecasts for the state’s major economic variables. Over the last 20
years, his forecasts have been utilized by every administration in developing the General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets, which are
presented to the Alabama Legislature annually.
•
Contact with multiple school systems and organizations including the State Department of Education, the CSFO’s
of the Vestavia, Trussville, Winfield, and Cullman City School Systems, and the Town of Pike Road, Alabama.
Q2: Do our leaders in Gardendale have an actual detailed plan for this school system? Please elaborate.
A: There is a very detailed plan.
• This is and will continue to be a public school system that follows the education criteria from the State of
Alabama.
• The projected budget provides all the services currently in place for the students in Gardendale schools. We
anticipate being able to add teachers and electives to the current curriculum within a short time of the creation of
an independent school system, and may be able to do so immediately. The state has a certain student to teacher
ratio that they use to determine the number of teachers per school. As a local school, we can add to that number
according to our budget allowances.
• The students will benefit by having their own Superintendent to provide effective leadership for the schools and
secure the best educational opportunities for Gardendale students. Responsible to obtain and develop quality staff,
secure and manage funds and facilities, encourage and maintain communication between the schools and the
public, the Superintendent is responsible for fulfilling the mission of the schools—improving student learning.
Q3: When will the Gardendale City School System be up and running?
A: Fall 2015 is the goal.
Q4: Will the separation agreement dictate when the city system begins? What is the plan if the separation agreement ends
up costing a far greater amount than anticipated? What if we can’t afford the city school system once we get into it? Can
we go back to the county system?
A:
• Yes, the separation agreement will dictate when the city system begins.
• Anytime during the negotiations and up until the final signing of an agreement with the Jefferson County Board
of Education, a resolution to repeal the enabling legislation can be passed by the City Council and the proposed
separation can be cancelled. In the unlikely occurrence of an impasse between the two boards, the State of
Alabama requires arbitration.
1 •
Once the Gardendale City School System and the Jefferson County School System are fiscally separated, if at any
time in the future the city wishes to reverse this action, the school system can be absorbed back into the Jeffco
system. Section 16-8-17 (School Code 1927, &;108-113; Acts 1935, No. 507, p. 1090, § 2; Code1940, T. 52,& 82.)
Gardendale School System Leadership
Q1: How will the board be determined? Must you live within the city limits to serve on the board? How will the terms be
established? Will there be pay for board members and if so, what will it be?
A: Regarding the School Board:
• Alabama state law determines the composition and terms of a city board of education.
§ 16-11-2: Applicability; composition of boards.
• Board members must be residents of the city, and cannot be members of the city council or commission.
•
Not all school systems pay board members. If paid, the guidelines are as follows: Section 16-1-26
(a) Members of city and county school boards are authorized to receive reasonable compensation for their services, not to exceed six
hundred dollars ($600) per month, unless set at a higher figure by a local act, upon approval by a majority vote of the members at the
board's annual meeting. Compensation shall be in addition to actual traveling and other necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings
and transacting business of the board.
(b) The compensation, actual traveling expenses and other necessary expenses incurred shall be paid as other ordinary and necessary
expenses of the board.
(c) Any individual school board member, at his or her option, may refuse to accept all or any portion of the approved compensation. (Acts
1983, No. 83-603, p. 941; Act 2000-123, p. 178, &sect)
FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY REPORT: page 8-9 Composition of the New City Board of Education § 16-11-2: Applicability; composition
of boards. & page 9 § 16-11-3: Election; terms of office; vacancies.
The City of Gardendale Mayor and City Council plan to hold town hall meetings for those interested in being on the
school board. Applications will be accepted at those meetings, via email, or delivered to city hall. Ten candidates will be
chosen and then vetted through a training program. At the end of that training, five will be appointed to the school board
and the other five will compose an advisory board to the board of education.
Q2: Who will determine who manages the school? Do they have someone in mind?
A: Alabama law determines public school management. No applications have been solicited for Superintendent of
Gardendale City Schools. The Gardendale School Board will choose the Superintendent.
Gardendale School System Educators
Q: What will happen to the teaching staff currently at Gardendale schools?
A: There will be no job change to tenured teaching staff with the exception that they will have a Gardendale
Superintendent rather than a Jefferson County Superintendent and school board. “No employee with continuous
employment status — tenured teachers — can lose their job as a result of a city forming its own school system. Period,”
said Dr. Ira Harvey at the financial feasibility public hearing. “You’re still a teacher. All that’s changed is you report to a
different board.”
Quality of Education
Q: How will the quality of education and each individual classroom be different? Using the same teachers and same
curriculum, how will test scores be higher for the kids that stay in the system, not those that leave?
Local control makes the difference in the classroom. What are the benefits of local control?
A:
• Increased financial flexibility for curriculum electives to ensure our students are skilled in technology for the 21st
century workplace
• Opportunities for innovation in encouraging students to pursue the study of mathematics and science
• The goal of every student having strong educators through excellence in hiring practices
• Adding teachers who specialize in equipping students with the skills to learn to read for comprehension of content
in a variety of genres, how to write with meaning and how to think deeply and critically
• Place higher value on community service and civic participation
• Reduce student to teacher ratios to improve individual student instruction
• Policy development and outcomes that benefit the student
• A greater community feel makes parents more comfortable when interacting with teachers and administrators
2 • Closer student-faculty relationships result in improved student performance
• Focus on incentives with local businesses to encourage our students to pursue healthy, active adult lives
These are some of the benefits of local control. Countless studies have shown that goal setting can improve performance
by increasing self-regulation, effort, persistence, and efficiency. Goal setting by our Superintendent who can monitor
progress in our local schools can be one of the most powerful tools to help students get the most out of their education.
The flexibility of a locally controlled school system allows our educators to better meet the needs of our students.
Programs and Transportation
Q: Will there be special needs classes? What about buses? How will the sports programs be affected? What about career
tech?
A: The projected budget provides financing for all the services currently in place for the students in Gardendale schools
including special education, which is mandated by law.
The separation agreement between Jefferson County and the yet-to-be-appointed Gardendale School Board will
determine the details for some of these programs.
Gardendale School System Transition
Q: What may happen with the students currently going to GHS that do not live in Gardendale? If out of city students can
pay to attend the school, what would they be charged and when would these charges be assessed?
A: The issue of students living outside of Gardendale that are currently attending Gardendale schools, or those living
outside the city limits that wish to attend the new school system will be determined in the separation agreement between
Jefferson County and the yet-to-be-appointed Gardendale School Board. City leaders are committed to appointing people
to the board that will make compassionate, informed decisions regarding students now attending Gardendale schools and
those that desire to attend in the future. City leaders care about the children in Mt. Olive and other communities who are
attending Gardendale schools and want the Gardendale School Board to make the best decisions possible for all the
children served by the Gardendale school system.
Gardendale School System Financial Feasibility
Q1: Saraland - 52 mils, Trussville - 55 mils, Hoover - 72 mils. How can Gardendale operate on 40.1 mils? If the answer is
the amount of debt and debt payments, can you give examples?
A: The milage rates stated above are total milage rates for each of those cities, not all of which is dedicated to education.
Gardendale’s total milage rate will be 60.1 mils upon approval of the referendum on 11.12.13, with 40.1 mils dedicated to
our school system. Current numbers for Birmingham area schools list the Number of Mils dedicated (or to be dedicated)
to each school system as follows:
• Gardendale
40.10
• Jefferson
30.10
• Birmingham
30.80
• Homewood
37.52
• Hoover
46.10
• Leeds
30.10
• Mt. Brook
52.90
• Trussville
30.10
• Vestavia Hills 52.05
Only the mature school systems of Vestavia Hills, Mt. Brook, and Hoover are operating on more mills than a new
Gardendale School System would have to educate our students. Gardendale would be ranked as the 11th best funded city
school system in the state.
“I’ve tried to sell you the idea that the numbers would work,” said Dr. Ira Harvey at the financial feasibility public
hearing. “You have an exceptional opportunity”, said Harvey, “You have an opportunity to control your destiny.”
Q2: How can we afford a school system? Look at Hoover and Trussville – always needing to raise taxes to fund schools.
A: These systems teach us some great lessons. Both are heavily dependent on sales tax dollars for their school budgets.
That is why the stable ad valorem dollars are being utilized to fund the Gardendale school system, along with the 30.1
mills received from Jefferson County. All the research shows the City of Gardendale can support its own school system.
3 Q3: Will Gardendale have to pay for the new high school, or any of the other school property?
A: In accordance with the provisions of § 16-13-199, the newly formed city school system receives the school property of
the county located within the city boundaries without cost to the newly formed city board of education. Gardendale High
School is a debt of the Jefferson County Commission for whom debt is serviced by the pledged one-cent sales/use tax
levy. FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY REPORT: page 117. Debt which has been created by the parent county board of education due
to the sale of revenue warrants and for which proceeds have been used for capital outlay at school sites of the city
constitute a debt to be assumed by the new city board of education. FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY REPORT: page 4-5. The debt to
be assumed by the proposed Gardendale City School System is extremely small. Debt payments are included in ADM.
FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY REPORT: pages 113-117.
"Nobody else I've ever worked with has ever been in that kind of situation. It's totally remarkable," said Dr. Ira Harvey
regarding the amount of debt to be assumed. He stated that Gardendale is in an "unprecedented" situation, referencing the
“very good condition” of the school sites.
Future of the Gardendale School System
Q1: How do we know that 3-4 years from now they won’t be asking for another 10-mills?
A:
• Any additional proposed property tax can only be enacted if approved through a referendum vote by the citizens
of Gardendale. The city council has no additional taxing authority beyond the first 5 mills of property taxes. The
citizens of Gardendale would vote on any increase in the future. In preparing for that future, Gardendale citizens
need to be aware that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average Gardendale resident is older than the
average Jefferson County resident, the average Alabama resident, and the average United States resident.
• Gardendale needs to provide the services young families with children require in order to choose our community
as their home. Since an excellent school system is one of the top priorities for families with children, a
Gardendale City School system is best for our community as well as our children.
• In the case of population, the economic study found that the municipality would most likely have an additional
900 people residing within the Gardendale city limits within six years of the establishment of an independent
school system. PRE- AND POST-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: GARDENDALE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM, M. KEIVAN DERAVI PH.D., PAGE 4
FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY REPORT: page 19-According to these data, the City of Gardendale has a population in median age somewhat older
than Jefferson County, the State of Alabama, and the United States. In fact, the percentage of residents of the City of Gardendale 65 and older is
higher than all comparisons, a significantly large 18.4% compared to a normative 13 to 14%. This population profile with a relatively lower
incidence of children in all age groups, from below five to 15 to 19, further supports the conclusion that the proposed Gardendale City School System
would have a relatively lower incidence of student enrollment based upon family size and population distribution. While this may appear as a
possible indication of an older population less likely to support the creation of a Gardendale City School System, it may also be an indication of the
growing imperative to create the most attractive environment possible for families to settle and raise their families.
Q2: If families with children move into our community immediately to go to the new school system will we have room
for them in our existing schools?
A: The school sites presently existing in the City of Gardendale appear adequate for the immediate future to accommodate
resident students. There should be excess capacity to allow for growth in the future, whether by new housing or
annexation. FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY REPORT: page 40
Q3: Will there be tax limits imposed to protect the homeowners in Gardendale if the system costs more than expected?
A:
• Any additional ad valorem tax would require a vote by the citizens of Gardendale. All the research shows that the
City of Gardendale can afford an independent school system.
• The development of a city school system will benefit homeowners. Economic analysis shows an additional gain in
average housing prices of approximately $21,000 over a period of six years. This price hike they argue could be
solely contributable to the creation of a Gardendale City School system.
PRE- AND POST-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: GARDENDALE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM, M. KEIVAN DERAVI PH.D., PAGE 4
Q4: Why should I vote to increase taxes when I don’t have any kids in the schools?
A:
• When we were in school, our neighbors helped pay for our education if we went to a public school. Whether we
use the public schools or not, most of the children in our community are publically educated. Caring for and
investing in the next generation is a wise use of our resources.
4 •
• Homeowners will benefit because of the increase in property value.
Additional reoccurring annual sales tax revenues by the sixth year from the school establishment are projected to
increase by $700,000.
PRE- AND POST-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: GARDENDALE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM, M. KEIVAN DERAVI PH.D., PAGE 5
"In every case that we observed, without any question, good schools led to good economics," said Dr. Keivan Deravi,
professor of economics and Special Assistant to the Chancellor at Auburn University Montgomery (AUM).
Allocation of Tax Dollars
Q: How will our tax dollars be allocated?
A:
• Current allocation of the total 50.1 mills: 6.5 mills goes to the State of Alabama, 13.5 mills goes to Jefferson
County, 30.1 mills goes to the Jefferson County Board of Education.
• Future allocation of the proposed total of 60.1 mills: 6.5 mills goes to the State of Alabama, 13.5 mills goes to
Jefferson County, 30.1 mills would go to the Gardendale Board of Education, the additional 10.0 mills would also
go to the Gardendale Board of Education for a total of 40.1 mills for the Gardendale school system.
Property Tax Exemption
Q: What are the exemptions for people who do not pay property taxes? Please answer simply and precisely.
A: Homeowners age 65 and over are exempt from property tax on their principal residence if their taxable income is
$12,000 or less.
Taxable income is your adjusted gross income less your standard deduction (itemized deductions if greater than the
standard) and personal exemption(s) and is found on page 2, line 43 of your 2012 Form 1040.
Kevin Green, CPA 631-2640
http://jeffconline.jccal.org/home/news/photo/1538168919/
City of Gardendale Financial Stability
Q: Other than a consultant study, what else has been done to make sure a school system won’t lead the city to bankruptcy
five years down the road?
A: The reason the city invested in the study, the budget, the economic analysis, and contacted multiple school systems
who have been through this process, was to determine up front if a city school system was financially feasible and ensure
it is the best decision for the city’s students. The city budget and the school budget are completely separate. City leaders
are not going to sacrifice needed services.
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