Proposed Property Tax Increase For Tuscaloosa County Schools Fails At The Ballot Box

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Voters in Tuscaloosa County on Tuesday appear to have roundly rejected a proposed property tax increase that, if passed, would have seen the revenue given to the Tuscaloosa County School System.

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With 98% of the county's 52 precincts reporting, the measure failed by a wide margin, with 11,295 voting against the 5-mill increase, while 2,903 voted for the measure. On the other side of the ballot at this point in the counting, 11,110 voters opposed the 3-mill increase compared to 3,107 in favor.

At latest count, 14,306 of the 84,147 registered voters in the Tuscaloosa County School System districts cast ballots, showing turnout to be roughly 17%.

The proposed property tax increase allowed all Tuscaloosa County voters not zoned for Tuscaloosa City Schools to vote for or against a 5-mill increase and also for or against a 3-mill increase. The two separate measures appeared as such on the special election ballot due to the different amendments to the Constitution of Alabama 1901.

As Patch previously reported, the two-prong ballot measure was requested by TCSS officials, who said the funds would have been used to finance a series of capital improvements and the construction of new facilities for some of the county's fastest growing areas, such as Samantha, Lake View, Big Sandy and Northport.

The funding would have been used to fund additional school resource officers for the county schools, which currently employ 11. At present, this is made possible primarily through a partnership with the Tuscaloosa County Commission.

Tuesday's property tax referendum was primarily opposed by the Tuscaloosa County Farmers Federation — the nonprofit lobbying group responsible for putting up the maroon and white "Vote No" signs around the county that depicted the county in the crosshairs of a rifle.

Additional opposition presented itself Monday evening, when the Tuscaloosa branch of the NAACP formally expressed its opposition to the proposed tax increase after a walkout at Hillcrest High School last week due to the alleged censorship of the school's Black History Month program.

TCSS officials have said in the past that, if the measure failed, it would result in large classrooms, more students taking classes in portables, and no new money for facility improvements at some of the county schools that need the most attention.

Tuscaloosa Patch will have the full unofficial results once all of the counting is completed.