Over the past two years, we have seen a group of concerned citizens fight for the opportunity to have their own school system. As participants, we have been worried about the impact this new system would have on our children, as we live outside of the city of Fairhope.

Today, the parents of the children in the Fairhope feeder pattern know that the citizens of Fairhope do not support a city school at this time.  Good 2 Great has, at great effort and expense, defined this issue very well. In the process, the relationship that Fairhope has with Baldwin County Schools has obviously been damaged.

Good 2 Great met recently with Superintendent Alan Lee to talk about ways to find common ground and look for pathways in which the Fairhope community could make a direct investment in the five Fairhope schools. It is my understanding that the meeting was cordial and productive. It looks like G2G is playing both ends against the middle by meeting with Dr. Lee and, at the same time, criticizing the system, saying that Fairhope has different aspirations for our schools than people in the rest of the county.  Dr. Lee’s response on Notify Me made it very clear that he has high expectations for all of the schools in Baldwin County, and he is not going to allow misinformation to continue in the Fairhope discussion.  Where do we go from here?

In order to move forward, our community needs to face the fact that we will not have a city school system for at least the next couple of years and maybe longer.  We can either continue to fight among ourselves, or we can move forward.

Baldwin County has started a school campaign, Yes We Can, which is a great opportunity for Fairhope to move forward with building a positive relationship with the Baldwin County Board of Education. It is time to build bridges with Dr. Lee and the BCBE, not antagonize them.

We have one of the best school systems in the South here in Baldwin County, maybe not exactly what you want, but it is exceptional. If you want to improve it, now is the time to get involved.

Our schools will never meet everyone’s expectations. If you participate at your school, you will appreciate the efforts that are made every day by your staff that much more.

KRISTIE STREET

Fairhope