The retired military leaders were joined by Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean, City of Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, and Montgomery Public Schools leadership to encourage voters to flip their ballot over to vote for approval of the school funding proposition.
The Air Force is the largest employer in the Montgomery region. There are approximately 13,000 airmen and contractors working at Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex. At today’s briefing, the military and community leaders came together to express concern that underfunded, underperforming public schools are driving military families away from Montgomery.
Already, more than half of the men and women in the Air Force assigned to Maxwell move here without their families because of concerns with the school system’s performance. Additionally, the Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy have made it very clear that a community’s ability to support military families will weigh heavily in future base relocation and closure decisions. Although no Base Realignment and Closure process is scheduled, Montgomery’s current ranking on an internal military report card grading the community’s support of military families is alarming. The Air Force ranks Montgomery near the bottom of all 154 Air Force installations. The report specifically flags the school system’s academic performance as needing improvement, which the military and community leaders said would come if more school funding is approved.
Montgomery County currently collects for schools the lowest amount of property tax revenue allowed by the state, ten mills. Of the state’s five largest communities, Montgomery is the only one that levies the state minimum. Schools in neighboring Pike Road and Auburn collect twice as many mills.
If the referendum is approved by voters, beginning in 2023, Montgomery would increase the number of mills levied on property in Montgomery County for schools from 10 to 22 mills. This amounts to only a $12.75 increase for the average property owner each month. Properties located in the City of Pike Road will not be affected.
The proposed millage increase will raise an additional $33 million annually. MPS has said the new funding would help MPS, among other goals:
- Rehabilitate school facilities;
- Provide more professional development for educators;
- Increase resources for students and teachers;
- Add pre-k, AP, art, and music classes;
- Strengthen STEM programs; and,
- Hire more social and emotional and trauma-informed staff.
Longleaf Strategies advises on communications strategy, leads media outreach, and develops messaging for the Vote FOR Montgomery Public Schools campaign.
*photo courtesy of the Montgomery Advertiser.