Today is election day, a day that Americans have the opportunity to make important decisions through their vote. But in one part of Tuscaloosa County, when it comes to issues involving county and city school board elections and property taxes, residents are being denied that opportunity.

Local Amendment 1 was designed to restore that right to those citizens.

“There is a section of west/southwest Tuscaloosa County that currently is taxed by the Tuscaloosa City School System. However, these properties are located out in the County and not in the City Limits of Tuscaloosa,” State Rep. Ron Bolton (R-Northport) told Yellowhammer News on Monday.

“These residents are not allowed to vote in City School-related elections (School Board, Tax votes), nor are they allowed to vote in County School System elections for School Board or tax referendums due to being in this district. Local Amendment 1 will correct this, and those revenues will then go to the Tuscaloosa County School System. Students who reside in this area and currently attend city schools will complete their schooling in the city schools while future students will attend county schools.”

“Mainly, that the folks in that area can’t vote in either City School or County School elections. A yes vote will correct this,” Bolton said.

Lifelong local farmer, Grady Bobo, explained to Tuscaloosa Thread that the issue arose around 1947 when the Alabama Legislature passed a law that created a special tax district just west of Tuscaloosa between Sander’s Ferry Road and the Black Warrior River. Everyone living in that area was zoned to go to city schools even though they were outside the city limits of Tuscaloosa.

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“We’re in the county paying taxes to a city which we have no vote in because of a law no one can seem to locate,” Bobo told Yellowhammer News. 

A small number of children in the area attend city schools, and property owners there pay the city’s ad valorem property tax. The city tax rate is higher than the county tax rate that would go to fund the Tuscaloosa County School System. However, even though the 100 residents pay the city’s ad valorem tax, they are not allowed to vote on matters affecting either school system. For example, when Tuscaloosa County voted on whether or not to raise property taxes, those inside the special district were denied their right to vote on the issue, and when the city held a tax referendum, those same residents were not allowed to vote in that election either.

One solution to the problem would be to repeal the original legislation that created the special tax district. Still, according to Tuscaloosa Thread, no one has been able to pinpoint which piece of legislation created the special zone.

With Amendment 1, State Rep. Bolton and State Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) devised an alternative solution to correct the problem. Amendment 1 reads as follows:

“Relating to Tuscaloosa County, proposing an amendment to the constitution of Alabama of 2022, to provide, effective for the school year commencing in August 2025, that territory subject to the jurisdiction and control of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education would only include territory within the corporate limits of the City of Tuscaloosa, and territory outside of the corporate limits of the City of Tuscaloosa would be subject to the jurisdiction and control of the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education or any other city board of the city of Tuscaloosa, if applicable. (Proposed by Act 2024-163)”

Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270