Right Opposition

Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Lee should be applauded for demonstrating solid leadership of the local school system. After years of malaise it’s nice to see someone taking charge. Of course leadership comes with headaches and Lee has a few.
His decision to close the K-1 center in Fairhope angered many parents and they will likely not soon forget it. K-1 is a historical landmark that means a lot to the people of the colony but it is proving expensive. It’s disappointing that it needs to close but not surprising. Lee could have ignored K-1 but then that wouldn’t be leadership.

His next big project seems to be a reconfiguring of the elementary and intermediate schools in the county to drop student/teacher ratios. In some cases class sizes for a single teacher would drop from 35 to 22. That’s a 37% drop in the ratio. He deserves much praise if it pulls it off. It will take a year and you can bet there will be extreme controversy over the plan. Attendance zones will have to be reconfigured. Watch for loud complaints about this one. But in the end, Lee’s plan should be approved.
Leadership is never easy and it always brings trouble. We think Lee is to be applauded for his work.