A possible change in Autauga County Schools could affect Elmore County Schools, especially when it comes to funding.
At its Tuesday meeting, the Autauga Board of Education engaged Criterion Consulting to conduct a study looking at possibilities of the City of Prattville creating its own school system or a hybrid county/city system.
The study comes on the heels of a failed ad valorem referendum for Autauga County Schools to help fund education that would have generated about $5 million a year for Autauga schools.
Portions of Prattville — including the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course and much of the retail development and hotels near Interstate 65 — are in Elmore County, which is also home to residences and apartments. There are many homes under construction in the Elmore County portion of the Prattville city limits.
“I estimate more than 200 students are in the Elmore County portion of Prattville,” Elmore County Schools superintendent Richard Dennis said.
Autauga County superintendent Lyman Woodfin told the Autauga County Board of Education at its Tuesday meeting the system must create funding to help its 9,000 students.
“At the end of the day with the property tax failing, our citizens have challenged us to find other funding sources,” Woodfin said. “That is what this study is going to look at.”
Creating a city system would require approval from the City of Prattville.
A city system would cause property tax collected in the area to go to the city system.
This is similar to what happens with Tallassee City Schools, as Tallassee collects a portion of the two cents of sales tax levied for education in Tallapoosa County. It also collects a portion of the internet sales tax collected in Elmore County. Both counties share with Tallassee on a per-student basis.
There are no hybrid city/county systems in Alabama.
Woodfin told the Autauga County Board of Education, under a hybrid system, tax funds collected in Elmore County would have to be used at the Prattville feeder schools.
Any change would require the Alabama legislature to act.
Woodfin suggested a new Prattville High School with elementary students possibly going to a renovated old Prattville High School.
Portions of the meeting surrounded a decline in student population at Autaugaville and Prattville schools and growth in the Marbury schools.
“We have no way to get loans to fix Prattville or Marbury’s problems,” Woodfin said. “If a subdivision goes in at Pine Level and there are 300 houses, we are going to have to redraw the lines. We will have to send (students) from that area towards Prattville.”
Woodfin said the study would look at where revenue comes from and goes especially in the Elmore County portion of Prattville. It would also look at the impact potential changes to a city or hybrid system would have on the City of Prattville and Autauga County.
“There is no agreement with the city or anybody,” Woodfin said. “This is us trying to get information.”
A potential loss of students from Elmore County Schools would happen under either scenario. The students would be from the Millbrook community schools Coosada Elementary, Airport Road Intermediate, Millbrook Middle and Stanhope Elmore schools.
“Early estimates put the loss in funding in the neighborhood of $3-5 million per year if something like this happens,” Dennis said. “This is something that will not happen overnight but is something we will have to keep watch on. If we lose students and funding, Elmore County Schools would have to adjust.”