UPDATE: The Board and Oxmoor Valley parents have signed off on a settlement, which still must be approved by the federal court.
Under the terms of an agreement approved by the school board, Oxmoor Valley students who were enrolled in Vestavia Hills schools last year may remain in the district through the 12th grade tuition-free, provided they remain residents of the area. Their siblings, too, may enroll in the district with no tuition charged.
The district will create up to 30 additional slots for new Oxmoor Valley students enrolling over the next six years. If the number of applications exceeds 30, students will be chosen by lottery. Those would be the last students admitted to the city schools from the Oxmoor Valley.
The district also has agreed to take steps to diversify its faculty.
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I’ll be very interested to hear what the settlement entails. Last year, our PTA Board discussed the proposal to end the desegregation order at length with our school superintendent, and IMO it’s the right thing to do. Currently, VH enrolls children from an area of Oxmoor Valley that was drawn on a map by a judge thirty-six years ago — in some cases, one end of an apartment complex might be in the VH zone, while the other end is zoned for Birmingham city schools.
When VH started its own school system, taking students from what was a primarily black, low-income area of unincorporated Jefferson County was part of the deal (residents voted to join the city of Birmingham back in the 1980s). And I don’t impart good motives to the citizens whose primary goal was to keep their kids out of the integrated Birmingham schools, but at least they didn’t go the Montgomery route and start a bunch of all-white private academies.
However, this area has become more affluent over the past decade, there’s been a good bit of higher-end residential development, and it’s now a selling point for real estate agents pushing McMansions that parents can send their kids to VH schools without paying VH property taxes. VH also provides buses to transport the children from that area, although it doesn’t have bus service for those of us who live in VH. The number of students coming from the Oxmoor Valley area increased from 75 in 2002-2003 to 132 in 2006-2007, and development continues apace.
Those numbers don’t sound like much, but they amount to two or three additional teachers and at least one additional bus and driver. And as the number of eligible students continues to grow, the need for additional teachers and transportation continues to grow – and VH still doesn’t get the property tax revenue to go with the students.
In the original proposal, kids who are already enrolled in VH schools would continue there, and their younger siblings could also attend if they like. At a community meeting last year, VH city attorneys offered to assist the citizens of the area through the process of annexation into VH, and I think that would be a great compromise. Yeah, it would raise their property taxes, and unfortunately it would take revenue away from the struggling Birmingham city system, but it would also ensure that people who were enticed to the area with the promise of good schools wouldn’t lose out on their investment.
BTW, my first reaction when I heard about this was, “Oh, no, I don’t want our system to become even whiter than it already is, and I don’t want the Oxmoor Valley kids to lose the opportunity for an excellent education.” However, of students currently enrolled, only 7% are black (not good, but much better than, say, Mountain Brook), and 70% of those students already live in Vestavia Hills, not in the Oxmoor Valley area. Keeping the kids who are currently enrolled, and their siblings, which VH most certainly should do, isn’t going to make much difference in terms of making our student population more diverse.
This is a tough issue, and it’s easy to paint the school board as racist, as Shelia Smoot attempted to do at a community meeting last year (links to the Birmingham News article no longer work). But I think it’s more about fairness.
[...] Birmingham Blues has an interesting post up that includes some of the nuances involved in this case. It would be interesting to hear from not only someone who currently lives in the Oxmoor Valley area but also about the affect that the influx of students would have on the city’s school system. [...]
There are some inaccuracies with the above posting.
1) “…— in some cases, one end of an apartment complex might be in the VH zone, while the other end is zoned for Birmingham city schools.”
The reality is that, despite what has been said, there are NO apartments in the affected area.
2) “VH also provides buses to transport the children from that area, although it doesn’t have bus service for those of us who live in VH. … at least one additional bus and driver”
While I have no specific details it was admitted during the meeting that the buses and drivers are not paid by the Vestavia system. In addition, with the annexation of Cahaba Heights VH does provide buses for their patrons as some Cahaba Heights buses do exist. It is the city of Vestavia that has chosen not to have school buses.
3) “VH city attorneys offered to assist the citizens of the area through the process of annexation into VH…”
At the meeting Vestavia Hills representatives made a statement that they would love to annex the Oxmoor Valley due to its commercial potential but they knew that was impossible. The discussion of annexation referred to the decision of residents about 20 years ago to AGREE to Birmingham’s request to annex them. Vestavia had the opportunity to annex the property but chose not to.
4) “…of students currently enrolled, only 7% are black”
The actual percentage is 3-5%.
Also,
1) While VH gets no property tax revenue for the children, they do receive the government per child allotment.
2) Lets assume that the 7% black enrollment is correct (and not the 3-5% I submit) and that there are 70 black children who live in VH. I would submit that 40-50 of those kids live in apartments which means they also pay no taxes. A review of the U. S. Census tables support this. FYI-there are many, many instances throughout the metro area of children attending school systems they are not zoned to (using relatives’ addresses, getting apartments within the school district while maintaining a home elsewhere, etc) that cuts across racial and economic lines – but that’s another discussion.
3) While I am not defending Sheila Smoot or anyone who feels race is behind everything a couple of things should be said about this.
a. During the meeting it was revealed that someone from Sheila Smoot’s office called the VH Board of Education about a Birmingham student wanting to transfer from their low performing school to Vestavia (as is allowed by law if the school system has the room). This “parnet” was told Vestavia were no longer accepting any more transfer students – they were full. A short time later that day a white member of Sheila Smoot’s staff contacted the same employee at the VHBoE and indicated she was interested in transferring from Hoover to the Vestavia School System. She was not only told what to do, but was faxed information including contact numbers. The VHBoE employee that both parties spoke to was actually at the meeting representing VHBoE and actually admitted to the conversations but became speechless when notified of the “trick”. And so was the tone for the rest of the meeting.
b. Ms. Smoot has had previous run ins with the VHBoE concerning her own daughter. She and the VHBoE are not friends.
4) While the meeting was contentious it was only because of the way the proposal was presented:
a. Oxmoor Valley residents were notified via a note in their child’s backpack on Monday afternoon about a Tuesday, 4PM meeting.
i. The kids did not even know they.
ii. There a far fewer kids who ride the bus home compared to those who ride the bus to school. So, most parents had no idea of the meeting. Word of the meeting was passed from parent to parent and placed in home mailboxes by these parents. That is why the atmosphere was what it was.
b. When the meeting began the VHBoE representatives, already stunned by the attendance, said the decision had been made and there was nothing to talk about. It caught everyone by total surprise. Why call the meeting then?
The people of Oxmoor Valley are just folks who want the best for their children. The
I’m not sure why the end of your comment was cut off. I am well aware that there is more than one side to the story, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment in detail.
I do have to correct one assertion you made — people who live in apartments do indeed pay property taxes as part of their rent, and rental property is taxed at a higher rate than homesteads.
Let me add that, to my sorrow, I have seen Shelia Smoot play fast and loose with the facts in another “gotcha” attempt, this one from the dais of a County Commission meeting. And I also have some perspective on the problems she’s had w/r/t the VH school system, from the perspective of students in the classroom. When they support the actions of those in authority, it occurs to me that there was good reason for the system’s actions.
Let me say this as well: I am embarrassed at the lack of commitment to education in our state. We have ridiculously low state property taxes, and most of the funding depends on sales and income taxes that fluctuate with every economic up- or downturn. Our legislature refuses to address the issue of comprehensive tax reform that would put education funding (and funding for other state services) on a stable footing while no longer taxing the poor deeper into poverty.
And, sadly, I am sure there are some citizens of VH who wanted to see the desegregation order end because they just don’t give a damn about the education of children who don’t live in the city — I see the same opposition for the same reasons to tax reform. It’s incredibly short-sighted.
As I said in the post, my ideal solution would have been annexation if that’s what the Oxmoor Valley citizens wanted. It would have brought all the kids in the area into the system, and it would have, I hope, added at least a little more much needed diversity to our community.
Given that didn’t happen, I’ll continue my lobbying efforts for tax reform and my support for the work of Alabama Arise and others who push these issues all the time.
Hail
What do you think about this? When it happens?
Representation without taxation. Pay your fair portion to the city and I would not have any problems what so ever.
cw Says:
August 4th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I would submit that 40-50 of those kids live in apartments which means they also pay no taxes.
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While many believe that those who live in apartments do not pay taxes, they believe incorrectly. Those who live in apartments are helping the owner pay the property tax through the rent they pay. This has to be figured into the amount to charge for rent or the owners would not have enough money to pay the taxes. This is also true for those who rent houses. Mortgage, insurance, repairs and property taxes are considered when deciding on an amount to charge.