Politics & Government
Council Hires Law Firm To Consider Northport City School System
The City Council voted unanimously on Monday to hire a law firm to help answer questions relating to starting a city school system.
NORTHPORT, AL — The City of Northport is one crucial step closer to breaking away from the Tuscaloosa County School System to form its own city school district.
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The Northport City Council on Monday voted unanimously in favor of hiring Chelsea-based law firm Boardman, Carr, Petelos, Watkins & Ogle, P.C., who will now work to give feedback on topics such as tax referendums and potential annexation of unincorporated areas of the county, as Patch previously reported.
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The total cost of the contract is not to exceed $15,000.
City Administrator Glenda Webb said city officials believe it is judicious to hire an outside attorney for the sake of due diligence. A representative from the firm has already met with some officials, she said, and was in attendance during Monday night's meeting.
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The law practice, which helped the City of Chelsea secede from its county school system in Shelby County, will also provide insight on what would happen to the students who currently attend schools within the city limits but do not reside in the city.
ALSO READ: Column: The Separatists & The School System
One of the biggest challenges will be in annexing into the city limits the numerous neighborhoods zoned in the area of Tuscaloosa County High School that are currently outside of the city's jurisdiction.
What's more, funding will be another hurdle all its own. As the feasibility study conducted earlier this year speculated, it could cost as much as $600,000 just to get the administrative functions of a new school district off the ground. The Council was also informed during the spring that the annual operating budget for a school system this size would be approximately $54 million.
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