BY JOHN MULLEN

jmullen@gulfcoastnewspapers.com

GULF SHORES, Ala. – Make no mistake about it. Yolanda Johnson is for Amendment 2 when election day comes on Nov. 6. Two times.

A controversial and hard-fought presidential election may be underway, but the Nov. 6 ballot will also contain an important decision for Baldwin County.

“On that ballot will be Amendment 2 for the state of Alabama,” Johnson said. “That has to do with economic develop and the Economic Developers Association of Alabama and other business entities are in support of that Amendment 2.

“I would like everyone to consider Amendment 2 as well because it is for the wellbeing of industrial and economic development and recruitment for the state of Alabama.”

But the other Amendment 2 is the one Johnson and her grassroots group “Invest in Progress” have the most interest in seeing passed.

“On Nov. 6 we have an opportunity to continue to support the schools,” Johnson told the Gulf Shores City Council on Monday.

Renewal of a 1-cent sales tax earmarked for schools is at stake in the vote for the other Amendment 2. It is the last item listed on the ballot in the vote.

“Amendment 2 under Baldwin County is the one I’m here to talk to you tonight about,” she said. “That is for the tax referendum to extend a 1-cent sales tax for Baldwin County Schools.”

Johnson, who is also chairman of the advocacy group Coastal Baldwin Educational Enrichment Foundation, wanted to make sure voters understand where money from the tax will be spent.

“This 1-cent does not to be confused with anything else,” she said. “This 1 cent stays within the county. Many times people think ‘oh, it’s going in the pot.’ It is not going in the pot.”

The pot being the general education fund that everyone in the state pays property tax to fund.

“The pot that is distributed for equitable funding throughout the state of Alabama is 10 mils that is required by the state of Alabama for every school system,” Johnson said. “Anything above 10 mils, with our county tax at 12 mils, anything above 10 stays within that district. This is a sales tax. We’ve had it for the last three years.”

Johnson’s group and several other county advocacy groups helped push the tax through.

“It’s for us to get a better handle on the funding for education in Baldwin County,” she said. “We have tried to do that.”

It will end this spring unless renewed on Nov. 6. Johnson said there are more than 28,000 students attending 47 schools in Baldwin County.

“It’s time for us to keep pushing forward,” she said. “What does the 1-cent sales tax mean to us? It means $27 million of a $234 million budget.

Just as a small example, Johnson pointed out what losing that money would mean in the accounting office.

“At the central office there are 15 people in accounting of a $234 million budget that are only for administering federal and state grants,” she said. “Those 15 people will be cut and the expense will be pushed out to our schools.”

Johnson said current school staffers are too busy now to take on the extra duties of administering grants.

“They are taking care of our children and their parents and don’t have time to learn a new accounting system,” she said. “We need people know what they are doing to take care of these so we do not get in trouble.”

Baldwin County, Johnson said, has already tightened its financial belt and there is no more room for cuts.

“Even with the penny, Baldwin County schools are already operating at $1,632 less per child than in 2008,” she said. “We need this 1-cent sales tax.”

Johnson thanked the council for its support of CBEE’s Learning for Life initiative. The city agreed to spend $988,000 for computers for elementary and middle school students and extra teaching units for foreign languages.

The amount would be paid in four payments with $387,757 for the first year, $236,977 for the second year and $181,977 for the third and fourth years and come from the city’s general fund.

“You have been one of the cornerstone supporters of our island schools and you never, ever stop,” Johnson said. “You understand the importance of education in the economic wellbeing of the community. We so appreciate that.”