April 9, 2025
Yesterday, I traveled to and from Montgomery to testify for two minutes before the Senators of the Municipal and County Government Committee. I was grateful for the opportunity and would do it again upon request.
It is incredibly frustrating to hear people publicly testify as to what we allegedly agreed to in the separation negotiations over 6 years ago. What’s even more disturbing is that misleading recollections of the separation agreement are being accepted as Gospel.
I attended every negotiation session and meeting for approximately a year and a half. My signature rests atop the final agreement. I can assure you that we NEVER agreed to relinquish our right to this disputed tax! What we did agree upon was to disagree. I have a copy of a letter written in 2019 from the BCBE attorney to the State Superintendent making Dr. Eric Mackey aware of the tax dispute.
It was the BCBE that recommended the matter be litigated after the separation. Now we are being ridiculed for having done just that. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled it was not the court’s place to reapportion the funds equitably. That is the duty of the legislature! That’s where we are today.
In a statement just released, Superintendent Eddie Tyler condemned the senate committee proceedings that occurred yesterday and stated that BCBE would not allow the actions of the committee to “…harm public schools across Baldwin County.” Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are both IN Baldwin County! Orange Beach City Schools and Gulf Shores City Schools ARE public schools!
I would politely recommend that the three (3) senators and seven (7) representatives that form our local legislative delegation poll their constituents asking one simple question:
“Would you support a sales tax to be collected in your area for the benefit of public schools that does not support the public schools in your area?’
No names, no cities, no rhetoric, just one simple question. I am confident the results would be a resounding “NO”.
Kevin S. Corcoran
President Gulf Shores City Schools
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁
𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 270 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘺
Our position is simple: The money should follow the students. Every citizen in Baldwin County pays this tax, and every child who attends a public school in Baldwin County should benefit equitably from it -- or the tax should not be charged in an area where public school students don't receive any benefit. This concept is fair and straightforward. However, once again, we must endure a deliberate misinformation campaign from the Baldwin County Public Schools machine.
Instead of standing behind their word and doing what we all agreed to six years ago, they are resorting to the same misinformation and scare tactics they used during our attempt to separate and form Gulf Shores City Schools. They are more concerned about preserving their $750 million per year education bureaucracy than doing what is fair and equitable for all public school children in Baldwin County.
Instead of doing what is right, Baldwin County Public Schools CSFO John Wilson stood before the Senate committee yesterday, claiming their school system might default on their debt obligations if this legislation passed. The amount of money Gulf Shores students would see under this proposal is less than 0.005% of the Baldwin County Public School budget. Mr. Wilson’s claims that this legislation will cause them financial instability are absolutely false.
Instead of treating all public school students in our county fairly and teaching our kids the value of sharing, Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler says children in Gulf Shores don't deserve to benefit from this revenue because they are "wealthy." His statements ignore that all Gulf Shores schools are Title I eligible, meaning over 40% of our students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program.
This type of divisive rhetoric that continues to come from Mr. Tyler and Baldwin County Public Schools is creating friction across our entire county. I don't wish this fight on any other city or county in our state. That is why the legislature must pass Senator Weaver's statewide bill into law and stop this injustice from ever occurring again.