Amanda Pevey
Elmore Autauga News
For the first time in years, elected leaders from across Autauga County gathered on stage Monday evening, July 13, at the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Roundtable at Central Alabama Community College to publicly discuss one of the most consequential decisions facing the community: the future of public education.
Hosted at the Central Alabama Community College Event Center, the nearly two-hour discussion brought together the Prattville City Council, Mayor Bill Gillespie, the Autauga County Board of Education, Autauga County Commission, Alabama House Representatives Jerry Starnes and Kelvin Lawrence, and Central Alabama Community College President Jeff Lynn.
No decisions were made Monday night, but residents heard the most detailed public discussion to date about the challenges facing Autauga County Schools, including aging facilities, rapid growth and whether Prattville should eventually establish its own city school system or enter into a long-term funding partnership with the county school system.
Throughout the evening, one message remained consistent: leaders agreed the discussion is not about the quality of education taking place inside Autauga County classrooms.
“It is not the responsibility of one board, one governing body or one group of stakeholders alone,” Lynn said. “It’s a community issue, a workforce issue, an economic development issue and a quality-of-life issue for every family and every citizen that lives in this community.”
Lynn said strong public schools remain one of the biggest factors businesses and families consider when deciding where to invest and live.
“When a school system reaches a point where it cannot move forward without additional support, that is not simply an education problem,” he said. “It becomes a countywide issue that touches every part of the community.”
Autauga County Superintendent Lyman Woodfin echoed that message, stressing that academics are not driving the current conversation.
“I need the public to understand a couple things,” Woodfin said. “Our education system is strong, but we see problems coming.”
Woodfin said the district recently earned its second-highest state report card score in history and expects another strong year academically.
“The education part is solid,” he said. “The two things we cannot solve because of the way state law is written is how to fund facilities.”
Woodfin emphasized the Board of Education is not seeking assistance for everyday operating expenses.
Instead, he said the challenge is maintaining and replacing aging school buildings while accommodating continued enrollment growth across the county.
Many of Prattville’s schools were built decades ago, including Prattville Primary School in 1927, Prattville Intermediate and Prattville Junior High in 1961, Prattville Elementary in 1966 and Prattville High School in 1977. Daniel Pratt Elementary School, which opened in 1997, is the newest major campus in Prattville.
Meanwhile, enrollment continues to increase not only in Prattville but also in Pine Level, Marbury and Billingsley.
Woodfin warned that under the current funding structure, the district has limited options.
“If there’s no partnership moving forward, we can only do one project for the next 30 years,” he said.
That reality has prompted Prattville city leaders to evaluate whether investing in a city school system could better position the community for long-term growth.
Prattville City Council President Michael Whaley said the council’s focus extends far beyond today’s students.
“The question that we have is what is going to impact education for students that live in the City of Prattville for the next 25 or 30 years,” Whaley said.
He said discussions originally centered on helping fund construction of a new high school before expanding into a broader conversation about Prattville’s long-term educational future.
“The council has got a decision to make,” Whaley said. “Do we want to pursue the formation of a city school system or are we going to enter into a long-term financial agreement with the county Board of Education?”
Whaley said that if Prattville eventually pursues a city school system, educational professionals, not elected officials, would be responsible for building and operating it.
“I don’t know anything about building a school system,” he said. “We would have to put qualified people in place and allow them to build the system.”
One concern repeatedly raised throughout the evening involved teachers and school employees.
Councilman Marcus Jackson said protecting educators would remain a priority during any transition. “Our teachers need to have confidence that we are going to support them,” Jackson said.
Woodfin said uncertainty surrounding Prattville’s future is already making it more difficult to recruit teachers. “The longer this drags out, the system that I would be handing over to you is not nearly as strong as what it is now,” Woodfin said.
He urged city leaders to establish a timeline if they intend to pursue a city school system.
“If you’re going to do this, it’s got to be top to bottom,” he said. “The uncertainty is going to absolutely cripple you guys moving forward.”
While much of the conversation focused on Prattville, speakers repeatedly stressed that any long-term solution would require regional cooperation.
Autauga County Commission Chairman Jay Thompson said county leaders remain committed to working with the city regardless of which direction is ultimately chosen.
“We’re willing to work with the city and the school system to work out what’s best for the students,” Thompson said.
Mayor Bill Gillespie said the issue extends beyond city limits.
“This was a very important topic. A lot of good points were brought up tonight,” Gillespie said. “It’s going to take all of us and a few more because Prattville is in two counties. We’re in Autauga County and we’re in Elmore County.”
Gillespie said creating a sustainable funding solution will require cooperation among local governments, neighboring communities and the state Legislature.
“At the end of the day, for all of these entities to perform the services that we are tasked to perform, it’s going to take funding,” Gillespie said. “That’s why we need to bring Pine Level to the table because they are up and coming. We also need to bring our Elmore County folks to the table, and we need to make sure that we are all on the same page because, for us to create additional funding, it’s going to take our legislative delegation at the state level to help provide that pathway as well.”
Representative Kelvin Lawrence said successful communities place education above politics. “When you make something a priority, I think we have leaders who can come together, put aside politics, feelings, personal ambition, and accomplish what needs to be accomplished,” Lawrence said.
Autauga County Board of Education District 5 representative Kyle Glover said the discussion is ultimately about preserving Prattville’s future.
“We do not have an education problem. What we do have is a problem with facilities inside a rapidly growing city,” Glover said. “It is also about the livability of our community that we call home in Prattville.”
Before concluding the meeting, Whaley announced the City of Prattville will launch a public survey to gather resident feedback before moving forward.
“We were elected to represent you,” Whaley said. “We need to know your thoughts.”
City officials plan to use the survey responses, along with a future public input meeting, as they determine the next steps.
Residents are encouraged to complete the education survey at https://tinyurl.com/PrattvilleEducationSurvey and share their thoughts on the future of public education in Prattville.
