The Jefferson County School Board recently announced sweeping cuts for the school system, which will include substantial layoffs.
The Board plans to cut $12.6 million from the system budget and to eliminate 162 positions. Other staff members will see their contracts shortened.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Pouncey says the system's budget had been running at a deficit of around $10 million a year. By that rate, he says, the county could have been in danger of not making payroll within 3 or 4 years.
The Alabama Education Association plans to challenge the measure in court when staff is laid off. The cuts will go into effect July 1.
The American Diabetes Association is issuing a wake-up call for Americans when it comes to their health.
Nearly thirty million people in the United States have diabetes, and around eight million of them don’t even know they have it.
Doctor David Marrero is the Director of Health and Education for the ADA. He says the numbers are particularly bad in Alabama.
“And in the great state of Alabama a shocking 14 and a half percent of the state has type two diabetes. That’s extremely high and a lot of that, I’m sure a lot of that is tied to lifestyle and weight factors.”
Marrero says an additional eighty-six million Americans have pre-diabetes. Older people, African-Americans and Latinos are all at higher risk of developing the disease.
Voters in Baldwin County head to the polls tomorrow to consider a measure that will impact their wallets and local classrooms.
Residents of Baldwin County will either vote yes or no tomorrow on an eight-mill increase on property taxes.
The school board has spent one hundred fifty-seven thousand dollars in public funds, encouraging residents to vote for the eight mill increase. This is expected to raise around $30 million per year over the next 30 years.
School officials say it would also fund the school system’s 10 year, $350 million capital campaign. If the vote passes as “yes,” the proposed eight mill tax increase would, on average, cost the citizens of Baldwin County approximately twelve dollars a month.
The increase in property taxes with Baldwin County schools would add new facilities, better maintenance, and instruction for investing through teachers for personal development.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for tonight at Alabama A & M University after a weekend shooting left three students wounded.
Police in Panama City Beach say the three Alabama A & M students were innocent bystanders when shots rang out on Saturday.
David Jamichael Daniels of Mobile was arrested for the attack which left seven people including the three students injured, some critically. He faces attempted murder charges.
The three students from Alabama A & M were on Spring Break when the gunfire began at a local party. The shooting left them all hospitalized for treatment.
A candlelight vigil for the students will be held on the quad tonight at the school near Huntsville.