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By Alexis Stafford | Contributing Writer

The renewal of the Chilton County trade school tax will be up for public vote on the Nov. 5 ballot, and the time is now for the public to get informed about the tax that has benefitted students for generations.

The three-mil, meaning 30 cents for every 100 dollars, ad valorem tax has been in place since 1964 when the Chilton County Career Technical Center opened three years earlier. The renewal was voted in favor twice in 1984 and 2004. On Dec. 31, the tax will expire unless it passes during the upcoming election.

The Chilton County Board of Education uses its portion of the money to aid funding for textbooks, school supplies and other materials needed for the programs offered. The LeCroy Career Technical Center is utilized by students attending six different high schools in the county. With courses in construction, cosmetology, health science and more, students have the ability to acquire skills needed to be successful in different career fields. Some courses offer the opportunity to become certified upon completion, and open doors for students right out of high school.

County leaders have expressed their support of the renewal of the trade school tax and have held town hall meetings at schools over the last few months to spread the word about the importance of voting for the renewal.

“The trade school is vital to the county … I’m a product of the trade school,” Allen Williams, Chilton County Commissioner, said. “I have plenty of friends who were products of the trade school back in the early 70s also. It teaches some very good life lessons, even if you do not go into the field that you get trained in.”

If the renewal fails to pass, Chilton County Schools Superintendent Corey Clements has said that the BOE will find ways to fund what they have, however, that will require taking funds from other programs to make it up.

The county also receives a cut under restrictions that the money be used for industrial and rural developments. According to Williams, the main resources to benefit from the county’s percentage are the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and the airport. Pushback of the tax renewal has been on the rise due to those who oppose what the county invests this money in. Other concerns are about the split of the tax and how much each party will get, which has been stated will be discussed if the tax is renewed. If it is not, there will not be a split to work out.

“You have got some people that have some hard feelings toward the commission, which you always have … They do not agree with how money is spent so forth and so on,” Randell Kelley, Chilton County Commission Chairman, said. “The commission has already agreed to get with the board of education and change this percentage once the tax passes.”

While it is unclear what the new rate will be, county leadership are encouraging citizens to vote in favor of the tax on Nov. 5 to continue supporting the next generation of workers in Chilton County for the next 20 years.