Baldwin Co. drops elem. expansion plans

BALDWIN CO., Ala. (WALA) - A proposal to convert the Intermediate and K-3 schools in Baldwin County to Kindergarten through sixth grade schools is being dropped.

Baldwin County Superintendent Dr. Allen Lee released his decision early Friday morning. He said the input that he's received fromt he community in public meetings and online comments shows there just isn't enough interest in the plan. Therefore, no changes will be made.

The last community meeting was held in Elberta Thursday night.

In a statement to the media, Dr. Lee said he wants to thank everyone who provided input on the subject.

He had proposed the plan as a way to help reduce class sizes. Dr. Lee encourages the community to work together to come up with a way to add additional teachers in the core enrichment and arts classes and programs.

See Dr. Lee's statement below:

Good morning,

Last night in Elberta, we completed the fifth and final community meeting to seek input about converting our Intermediate and K-3 schools to K-6 (kindergarten through 6th grade). After reading input online and listening to parents, teachers and other stakeholders at our community meetings, it is clear to me that there is no resounding interest to move this idea forward; it will be put to rest, no change will be made.

I want to thank each of you who provided insight. Perhaps this was a new approach in that I brought to you an idea, not a plan, and asked for your advice on whether you thought it was worthy to pursue.

If this is not the solution to reducing class sizes, we as a county-wide community need to develop a response to solve this problem, to add additional teachers in the core enrichment and arts classes and programs.  

I welcome you to join me in positioning our schools to be the best in the world.  By working together on this goal, Baldwin County will become the model for the best education possible.

Please refer to www.bcbe.org/feedback for basic answers to the questions you asked; We'll be adding additional answers as soon as we can. Thank you for your participation.

Alan T. Lee
Superintendent