A yes vote for amendment one in St. Clair County would make the elected Pell City school board appointed

October 22, 2024 – MOODY, AL – Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt implored the members of the St. Clair County Republican Party to vote in favor of constitutional amendment one. Amendment one is a local amendment on the back of the ballot in St. Clair County. This amendment will only appear on ballots for voters in St. Clair County.

The Pell City school system currently has an elected board of education, Mayor Pruitt wants voters to vote yes – abolishing the elected board and turning it into an appointed board.

"Local amendment one corrects a 42-year problem," Pruitt said.

Pruitt explained that only residents of Pell City currently can vote in Pell City school board elections; but the Pell City school district includes areas across southern St. Clair County that are not in the city limits, but live in the attendance zone for the Pell City school system.

"A significant portion of the children in the attendance zone do not live in the Pell City city limits," Pruitt explained. "54% of the students in Pell City don't have any influence in our school system."

Those residents of Cropwell, Riverside, Wolf Creek, Eden, Cook Springs, the Winnataska Road Community, Prescott, and Stewart's Crossroads can't vote in the Pell City school board elections; but do vote in elections for the St. Clair County school board – even though their children cannot attend St. Clair County. This has been an issue since Pell City broke off from St. Clair County and formed their own city school system.

A yes vote on Amendment One, "Will give those families the right to serve on the Pell City school board," Pruitt continued. "Amendment one requires that two members of the (five member) board are from the county portion."

The majority of the voters in the Pell City schools attendance zone still will not be able to vote in Pell City elections so still will have no influence on who is appointed to the new school board. Pruitt explained that instead of the city council appointing the members of the new appointed school board – they will appoint a steering committee that will recommend who is appointed to the new appointed school board.

Approval of amendment one would mean that the people in the attendance zone will lose their constitutional rights to vote in St. Clair County school board races.

Pruitt said that if Pell City had attempted to expand voting rights to all of the families in the attendance zone that would have meant expanding the elected board to 11 members. Pruitt claimed that an 11 member board would be unworkable.

"The Pell City school system unanimously passed a resolution supporting Amendment One as did the St. Clair County school board," Pruitt said.

Supporters claimed that it is difficult to find people who are willing to run for elected boards and that higher caliber people will be appointed.

"We will have the opportunity to appoint the most qualified people available rather than having to pick from the people that are willing to run," one supporter of the proposal told the members of the St. Clair County Republican Party.

The St. Clair County Republican Party was meeting at the Moody Civic Center in Moody. Moody children are zoned to the St. Clair County school system and won't be affected by Amendment One. People across St. Clair County will get to vote on this issue because it is a county wide amendment.

A number of Pell City residents have expressed their opposition to the proposal which means that they will no longer have a vote for school board positions.

The election will be on November 5. Voters must present a valid photo ID at the polls in order to participate in any Alabama election. There is still time to get an absentee ballot from your county circuit clerk's office if you are going to be out of town on election day or will have to work that day.

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