“We need a school.” → ✅ True.

“But what are YOU doing about it?” → Let’s talk about that.

Let’s start with the truth we all need to understand:

👉 City officials – including the mayor and council – have no authority over school construction.

👉 Only the school board can decide if – and when – Margaret gets a new school.

City Council members are no more influential than any parent when it comes to school building decisions. So… when was the last time you asked the school board about Margaret’s future?

They don’t check Facebook – but they do see who shows up.

Despite that, here’s what I’ve been doing.

Before I ever entered politics, I sat down with the superintendent to ask what was planned for Margaret. He told me there was a 10-year plan to build one school for grades 6–12. After I was elected to council, I followed up – and he repeated the same promise.

When I asked the new superintendent about the plan…he was not aware of a plan for a Margaret School. So, I started pushing again, and feel free to check with him about my persistence. But he could not make any commitments.

So, I went to a school board meeting (they’re held the same night as our Council meetings) in January 2025, I stood before the full board and said:

Margaret has land set aside. We’re ready. We’re waiting on you. I wanted to make sure they all knew that we were at the table.

Recently, I’ve met with the interim superintendent to talk honestly – not about promises, but about the facts:

Since then, I’ve met with the interim superintendent to talk honestly – not about promises, but about the facts:

➡️ $40+ million – That’s the current cost of building a new school.

➡️ The SCCBOE capital plan is a wishlist, not a contract and not a promise.

➡️ Margaret was not promised a school in either of the millage increases.

➡️ Even though the 2021 vote failed in our district, we still got four new classrooms – because the need is real.

➡️ If we called for and passed a millage in Margaret today that would not change our situation.

➡️ The funding in the Springville School Zone of Margaret is committed to the building of the new middle school at Springville not the entire area of Margaret. 

➡️ And one of the most painful truths: Margaret was locked into a 30-year shared school district with Odenville under Mike Howard. That move may have cost us our chance at a Margaret school district – and contributed to the millage vote failing both times.

That decision matters. Because as long as we’re in a shared school district, our votes are diluted. Margaret supported both school board plans, but the overall votes failed.

I wasn’t on council in 2018 when a new wing was offered to be added to the elementary school – when what we truly needed was a new school. Some of the same folks making promises now were on council then.

But I was involved the vote in 2021, I was pushing the superintendent. But the promises got smaller – and the results came even after a failed vote. Not because the district had the money – but because Margaret’s need was undeniable.

➡️ Read more here: https://newsaegis.com/2022/11/17/election-results-springville-millage-tax-passes-by-slim-margin

I’ve heard the concerns – and seen the consequences. Families are moving to find schools that match their standards and expectations set by Margaret Elementary.

That’s why I met again with leadership to ask the hard questions. And I was encouraged by what I heard. Changes are happening. We just need time to see the results – and I’ll share updates as soon as they’re available.

But here’s what we’re facing right now:

Middle school is tough anywhere.

In Margaret, it’s worse – because we split our students into unfamiliar peer groups when they leave MES.

And every year, hundreds of new homes are added to our communities exacerbating the issue.

That’s not just challenging – it’s destabilizing.

Yes, change is happening. And yes, I believe we’ll start to see the Positive Impact.

So… is there anything a council member or mayor can do?

Yes – but this is the hard part. And we’re already behind the 8-ball on it:

We have to slow unchecked growth.

The last superintendent warned me: at this pace, we’re less than two years away from losing the 5th grade at Margaret Elementary – pushed to Odenville due to overcrowding.

Letting the water run out is not a realistic plan to stop new development, because it hurts everyone and will lead to legal repercussions. We need a strategy – to protect our homes, our kids, and our future.

I’ve made it my mission to ensure every agency, every board, and every leader in this region hears our name, Margaret – again and again.

These groups are not our enemies. They are our partners. But if we’re not at the table, we’re going without. If we don’t show up, our city will end up in the same situation as our schools – overcrowded without enough resources to sustain it.

We matter.

We deserve to be seen.

We deserve to be heard.

And we deserve leadership that does more than wish – it works.

#FactCheckFriday #SchoolsMatter #MargaretDeservesBetter #ShowUpSpeakUp #DoWhatsRight