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Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
Signs for the Chelsea City Schools tax vote line the street at Chelsea City Hall as residents flocked to the polls to cast their votes in the special election July 12.
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Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
Voters arrive at Chelsea City Hall on July 12 to cast ballots on a property tax that would create a Chelsea City School System.
A record number of voters from the city of Chelsea (32%) turned out for the city’s special election on July 12. The results were overwhelmingly against a referendum to add 12.5 mills of property tax to form a city school system.
With a total of 3,685 people casting their ballots, the final numbers were 3,218 against vs. 467 for the property tax.
Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer sent out an email statement shortly after the polls closed that the referendum had failed to pass.
"As a Chelsea resident and a grandfather, I am disappointed that the vote has turned out as it has,” he said. “However, the people, my neighbors have spoken. As the Mayor of Chelsea, I will move forward with the decision that has been made by our citizens to continue in the Shelby County School System and to partner with the Shelby County Board of Education to make our Chelsea area schools the absolute best they can be by utilizing the one-cent sales tax that we currently collect for our schools. I look forward also to seeing the work of Councilman Casey Morris and Councilman Cody Sumners as they move forward with their alternative plan to improve the school facilities in our area."
280 Living reached out to all five members of the Chelsea City Council after the election.
Councilman Cody Sumners, who was against the proposition, said it was an impressive turnout by the citizens of Chelsea for a historic vote.
“The people have spoken and I look forward to working with the mayor and council to build a partnership with the SCBOE that will take our already great schools to the next level,” Sumners said. “With this divisive issue now behind us, I look forward to the citizens of Chelsea putting their best foot forward and showing that this community will emerge stronger than ever."
Councilman Chris Grace was the deciding vote for the election to take place. He said it was an important day for the city, and he was most impressed by the engagement of the citizens to come out and vote.
"This has always been about trying to do better; to improve our quality of life," Grace said. "The people have spoken. Now it is time for the council and the community to come back together and evaluate other options with the resources available."
Councilwoman Tiffany Bittner, who has supported the idea of a city school system from the beginning, said she is proud to say she was a part of a democratic process that allowed the citizens the ability to vote on such an important issue.
"I’m disappointed more people couldn’t see the potential benefits in having our own school system,” she said.
Councilman Casey Morris, who along with Sumners was against the plan, said that while the election is over, the work has just begun.
"I look forward to continuing our partnerships with the city of Westover, the Shelby County Commission and the Shelby County Board of Education as we address the issues that have been identified through this process," Morris said.
Councilman Scott Weygand, also a proponent of a city school system, said the people of Chelsea have spoken.
"I’m very proud to see the record-breaking turnout and I am glad the people of Chelsea got to choose," Weygand said. "I look forward to continuing to partner with the Shelby County Board of Education to make the Chelsea schools the best they can be."
Shelby County Superintendent Dr. Lewis Brooks released a statement saying he was pleased that the majority of Chelsea residents placed their trust in the Shelby County School District to continue to provide excellent educational opportunities for their children.
"While we understand the desire that some Chelsea city leaders and residents had to create their own district, we look forward to partnering with them again to make sure that our schools in Chelsea are the best that they can possibly be," Brooks said. "This includes our commitment to providing the very best instructional resources, hiring quality teachers, staff and administrators, as well as investing in future capital improvements."
The grassroots effort for the Vote No group was headed up by Cody Cothron. After the official numbers were counted, Cothron said that had this vote not taken place, he doesn't think many of the parents would have taken the time to dig in and know what's going on in the schools.
"I'm relieved the way the vote came out today and very proud of where we live, even more so than I was before this," Cothron said. "We were all running in different directions before the feasibility study. Now I believe the hornet's nest has been awakened and I'm excited about where we are going to move. It's all coming together at a perfect time to really unite our community and I'm really excited about that. There has been some division, but I don't think it outweighs the unity seen in our community today."
Moving forward
In May, the Shelby County Board of Education unanimously approved a rezoning plan to shift students zoned for the Mt Laurel Elementary attendance zone from Chelsea to Oak Mountain schools.
“This is an extremely complex issue,” SCBOE President Aubrey Miller said. “The information and the feelings brought forth by parents and grandparents in this district were important to us. We have approved this rezoning, but I want to let you know that because of the complexity of the matter, it is an issue that is going to continue under discussion."
The new plan will be implemented in two phases over the next two years.
Beginning with the new school year starting this month, students in grades K-5 will continue to attend Mt Laurel Elementary. Students entering grades 6-12 had the option to enroll in Oak Mountain Middle and Oak Mountain High School, but parents had to commit to provide transportation for the entire school year. Students continuing to attend Chelsea Middle and Chelsea High will have daily bus transportation for the entire school year.
For the 2023-24 school year, students in grades 6-11 will transition to Oak Mountain schools and the district will begin to provide bus transportation.
An exception for students currently enrolled at Chelsea Middle and Chelsea High School will be made for them to continue there until they graduate. Those who choose to continue in the Chelsea school attendance zone must commit to that option and will be required to provide their own transportation starting with the 2023-24 school year.
Brooks said that there will be three buses transporting to Oak Mountain Middle and High Schools. There are 95 students who signed up for bus transportation.
“We have three buses and have hired two bus drivers already,” he said. “Pick up and drop off will be at a centralized stop located at the 280 County Services Building on County Road 41. We’ve been working with the county manager and commission on that, so we’re excited about that partnership.”
David Calhoun, assistant superintendent of operations, said that out of the 160 surveys sent, there were 113 responses, resulting in the 95 students needing transportation.
“The majority of students needing transportation are in grades 6-10,” he said. “We will be communicating information to the parents soon.”
Meanwhile, bus service to Chelsea Middle and Chelsea High has not changed.
In moving forward, Brooks said he is pleased the citizens in the community seem to feel like what Shelby County Schools offer as a school district is worthwhile for their children, and that is something he sees as an honor.
“Serving our students is important to us, and we certainly want to continue to do it in the best way that we can,” Brooks said. “That community is important to us, and I look forward to working with city leaders as we have in the past to continue to do what’s best for the students in Chelsea.”
