Council, school board and growth committee to meet

MADISON – Madison Schools Growth Impact Committee has finalized its findings and will report its recommendations to Madison City Council and Madison Board of Education in a joint work session.

The three groups will conduct a joint meeting on March 22 at 7 p.m. in Madison City School’s Central Office board room, 211 Celtic Drive in Madison. This meeting is open to all citizens, press and other interested parties.

The purpose of this work session will be to review the findings of the Madison Schools Growth Impact Committee.

The growth committee held its first meeting in August 2017. Its mission has been to develop a plan to sustain Madison City Schools “as the best K-12 value in the State of Alabama,” Mayor Paul Finley said at the committee’s first meeting. “We must understand the impact our growth is having on our schools and the needs our schools will have over the next 10-20 years.”

“(Madison Schools Growth Impact Committee) will report its findings and recommendations to guide Madison leaders in their growth decisions to ensure that school quality isn’t compromised,” Finley said.

The growth committee released its interim report in October 2017. In an update to City Council in December 2017, committee co-chairs Dr. Terri Johnson and Mike Potter explained their study with three case scenarios:

* Case 1 — Uses approved development with no additional annexations or new subdivisions. In this scenario, MCS will exceed capacity in middle schools by 2025 and all schools before 2040.

* Case 2 — Case 2 as the most likely scenario, which uses points in Case 1 but allows additional subdivision developments for properties in the city. Development is based on the city’s West Side Master Plan.

* Case 3 — Uses points in Case 1 and West Side Master Plan. Madison annexes more lands to extent of vision map with West Side Master Plan. The only constraints are the city limits of Huntsville and Athens. However, MCS cannot finance a new construction bond before 2029, due to current debt of approximately $165 million.

Other members of the growth committee are Steve Haraway, David Hergenroeder, Alice Lessmann, Larry Miles, Valerie Miles, Shaquinta Morgan, Bebe Oetjen, Dr. Sandy Patel, Steve Ryder, Greg Shaw, Dr. Sheila Nash-Stevenson and Al Sullivan.

For more information, visit www.madisonal.gov/schoolgrowth.