Birmingham City Council president dissents from vote pledging financial support for BSC
It’s not about Birmingham-Southern College; it’s about the residents of Birmingham. That’s what Birmingham City Council President Wardine Alexander said Tuesday in her dissent from passage of a resolution pledging city dollars to support BSC.
By Lee Hedgepeth, Birmingham Watch
It’s not about Birmingham-Southern College; it’s about the residents of Birmingham.
That’s what Birmingham City Council President Wardine Alexander said Tuesday in her dissent from passage of a resolution pledging city dollars to support BSC, a private college, if the institution is able to obtain additional funding from the state.
In prepared remarks, Alexander said that her vote against the resolution reflected her legislative priorities.
“Birmingham-Southern is a private college. I would like to see if we get going to give aid to Birmingham-Southern that we think very closely about what we give to our neighborhoods,” Alexander said.
The councilor said she has yet to see data from the college related to the number of students or employees from the area immediately around BSC.
“If the next step is to provide Birmingham-Southern an amount between $2.5 (million) to $5 million, we are taking away nearly $600,000 from each of our council districts,” she said.
Alexander emphasized that tuition at Lawson State Community College, located near BSC, is less than half that of the private college.
“Let’s help Lawson State when they need help,” she added. “At this time, this particular resolution just does not fit into my legislative priorities. If $2.5 or $5 million is available for use, I would ask that we use it towards paving more streets, adding more grocery stores, helping our students overcome challenges posed by the Alabama Literacy Act and expanding broadband access to our citizens.
The average cost of attendance at BSC was about $37,470 for the 2020-2021 school year, according to federal data, just shy of the median household income in the Magic City.
Councilor J.T. Moore introduced and spoke in favor of the resolution, which states that “the Birmingham City Council of the City of Birmingham, with Mayor Randall L. Woodfin concurring, shall commit one-time funding to Birmingham Southern College.”
“I know that there are those who are the school of thought that, you know, this is not something that the city should have to support or should have to be involved in,” he said. “And then there are those who feel as though we don’t want to end up with another situation where we have another Caraway property – vacancy – in our city.”
Moore said conversations with the college’s staff had left him “reassured” that “we don’t have to worry about being back in this situation again.”
Moore said he hopes the college continues to invest in Birmingham and its students as it moves forward.
“We wanted to make sure that, you know, BSC continues to invest in our schools as well,” he said. “So having more service learning opportunities for their students, where they can, you know, help with, you know, our students in Birmingham City Schools.”
Gov. Kay Ivey had initially said she opposed a taxpayer-funded bailout of the private college but signed a law earlier this year setting up a loan program for “distressed” educational institutions.
BSC has requested $30 million from the state and $5 million each from the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County.
Birmingham-Southern College was formed in 1918 from the merger of two smaller Methodist schools, Birmingham College and Southern University. More than a thousand students attend the college, which is located in the Bush Hills neighborhood.
After years of financial setbacks, the college was on the verge of closing, but the board of trustees voted this spring to keep it open while pursuing government funding.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
‘It’s like feeling the arms of your creator just wrapped around you’: a visit to a special healing Shabbat
Members of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham gathered recently for their traditional Friday Shabbat service. But this particular service was different, as could be seen by all the people dressed in their finest pink.
Space Command is coming to Huntsville. What might that mean for first-time homebuyers
While Huntsville has been a more affordable market than other growing cities, what’s it been like for those looking for their first home?
Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting
The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.
Breaking down Alabama’s CHOOSE Act
It’s been a year since Alabama legislators passed the CHOOSE Act allowing families to apply for state funds to use towards homeschool expenses and tuition for participating private schools. The Alabama Daily News’ education reporter Trisha Powell Crain has been diving into how the funds are being used. WBHM’s Andrew Gelderman sat down with her to talk about what we’re seeing so far.
