MUMBLINGS May 18, 2006

Almost always in county political races, you’ll find that the sheriff, county commissioners, judges, and legislators attract the most attention among the voters. This is true in Baldwin County.

However, one of the most important political divisions and agencies of Baldwin or any county is that of education. Often, people do not pay much attention to the election of school board members but it is proving to be a little different this time because of recent events.

Board of Education President Denise Schmidt qualified for re-election in the District 2 race. This district is composed from Loxley, west to Daphne and Highway 59 to Little River.

However, after she had announced, Frank Trione, of Daphne decided to run and Mrs. Schmidt dropped out of the race. She was doubtful about running for re-election in the beginning and did not want to get into a hotly contested race.

So far as I know, she made a good board member and was certainly interested in the children of this great county.

Frank Trione is a popular ex vocational education teacher for 31 years before retiring.

From a prominent family, he has no opposition. He says he is anxious to serve in this important position. He loves students. He has a great reputation as a successful teacher.

The First District is composed of Bay Minette roughly from I-10 including a portion of Loxley, to Hwy 59 all the way to Little River. It juts out a little west in the Stapleton/Holly Hills area, however. The first to announce in this race was Margaret (Margo) Allen from the Stapleton/Holly Hills area. She has an interesting background, having served in the Air Force for 20 years before retiring as a chief master sergeant. She has her doctor’s degree and is teaching at the University of South Alabama and Springhill College in Education Administration.

It was generally assumed by people in this area that Bob Wills was not going to seek re-election. Wills, a successful Bay Minette lawyer, has served for 12 years and he was discussed as a possible candidate for county commission against Frank Burt, but decided to run for re-election to the school board.

There are seven districts in the county, each elected for a six-year term. Numbers one and two are the only ones up for renewal this year. This leaves only District two with two candidates opposing each other in the Republican Primary.

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Continued

Baldwin citizens are generally well pleased with their education system and consider it one of the best in the state. A recent national poll showed that Baldwin County was No. 2 in the state of Alabama which best serves their students. Mobile, for example, was No. 46.

A recent scientific poll of registered voters in Baldwin showed County Superintendent Dr. Farron Hollinger and his administration very popular. I am sure you will be interested in this poll:

Overall opinion of Baldwin County Schools:

67.3% favorable
19.5% unfavorable
13.3% no answer

How would you rate the performance of Baldwin County Schools in building new and advanced schools?

56.5% excellent or good
24% fair
6.8% poor
12.8% no answer

How would you rate the education students receive in Baldwin County?

61.3% excellent or good
43.3% fair
6.3% poor
8.3% no answer

How would you rate the Baldwin County School System in comparison to other systems in the area?

48% better
30.5% about the same
5.8% worse
15.8% no answer

How do you rate the performance of Baldwin County schools in responding to needs of the parents and students?

49.5% excellent or good
27.3% fair
7.3% poor
16% no answer

How do you rate Baldwin County’s performance in hiring the best-qualified teachers and personnel?

55.8% excellent or good
23.8% fair
6.3% poor
14% no answer

You will note that generally speaking, those who are opposed to our schools, the way they are run, etc…are those who oppose everything. They don’t like our roads or highways; in other words, they are against anything and are called “aginners”. The other 15% or so who did not vote obviously do not have children in school and so know little about them.

See you again soon, I hope.