Mayor Tony Kennon had an instant response when the city school system announced it was no longer on the hook for $4.6 million to meet the 10-mill match requirement in the Alabama foundation program for funding schools.

“First, I need to say I told you so,” Kennon said.

Superintendent Randy Wilkes started a June 27 news conference by detailing the yearlong negotiations after being told by State Superintendent Dr. Greg Mackey in June of 2022 that Orange Beach was short in the 10-mill match and to please remit $4.6 million.

“Today we are pleased to announce that we’ve received a correspondence from (Dr. Mackey) that says the Orange Beach Board of Education does not owe money to the state in any form as a match for the foundation,” Wilkes said. “There will be no future financial requests made to the Orange Beach Board of Education relative to the foundation program.”

Kennon has been at the center of the dilemma since the beginning and he and other officials repeatedly said they couldn’t comment on the funding discrepancy while talks with state officials were ongoing. It led to accusations of backroom dealings and not being forthright about the negotiations with citizens.

“It means a lot in a way because to be vindicated from those who question our transparency and honesty,” Kennon said. “My cellphone is (Removed by Editor) if you’d like to call and apologize. Hopefully, this is no longer over our heads and we can move forward.”

Orange Beach is the only school system in the state to be upside down in the foundation program. School systems receive a certain amount of funding based on the number of students and other factors. The state calculates how much money the system will receive based on those factors then deducts the equivalent of 10-mills of property taxes from that amount and the system gets what’s left over.

Orange Beach qualified for about $7 million but with the high property values in the resort town 10 mills adds up to $11.7 million and Mackey asked the school board to pay the state the difference to meet the 10-mill match obligation.

“I am pleased to inform you that Orange Beach City School System will not owe any money to the state in any form as a match for the foundation program in either of the budget years as previously calculated,” Mackey’s letter states. “Moreover, in preparing the FY 2024 budget, the Legislative Fiscal Office made a programmatic change which we expect to be utilized in future budget cycles to correct any over or underpayment issues related to this matter in successive years.”

Wilkes’ and other city officials in attendance were noticeably relieved this major funding problem as been resolved.

“I think we’ll look back in 10 years and say this was a remarkable day in the history of Orange Beach,” Wilkes said.