Autauga County schools seek local partnership to fund new Prattville High School

Autauga County Schools put a major community decision in front of Prattville and county leaders during its May 6 State of Schools presentation: whether the City of Prattville, the Autauga County Commission and the district can strike a funding partnership for a new Prattville High School.

Superintendent Lyman Woodfin has said the current system cannot simply keep operating as it is, and that the district needs local partners before outside grant makers will seriously consider helping with a project of this size. The discussion has become less about one building and more about who will pay, how much they will pay and how soon families could realistically expect a new school to open.

Woodfin first carried that request to the Prattville City Council and the county commission on March 17, asking for a funding agreement tied to a new high school on the Central Alabama Community College campus. He said the district had spent about a year talking through the idea and that, if approved, construction would likely take about three years before students could walk through the doors.

The financial problem is stark. Woodfin said Autauga County Schools could qualify for only about $30 million to $50 million in bonds without additional tax revenue or a major increase in sales tax collections. The district’s earlier ask called for about $5 million to $6 million a year from public entities, with the school board contributing about $2 million to $3 million annually. Woodfin also said the district could not secure the debt on its own because it lacks the millage and collateral to do so.

Prattville officials have already begun testing the numbers. On April 2, Prattville Finance Committee Chairman Michael Whaley said the city’s first step was to study the request as a worst-case scenario. City Chief Finance Officer Daniel Oakley said the working model assumed a $150 million project cost and a $6 million annual city share, and he said a cooperative district structure would likely be needed. City leaders also raised the possibility of added infrastructure costs around Old Ridge Road and Fairview.

The debate lands against a difficult financial backdrop. Autauga County voters rejected a seven-mill property tax increase on Nov. 5, 2024, a proposal that would have raised about $7 million a year for local education and lost by about 61% to 39%, or 16,257 no votes to 10,390 yes votes. Autauga County Schools says its FY2026 budget includes about $110 million in revenues and $121 million in expenditures, with an October 2025 ADM count of 8,547 students. State funds make up about 75% of revenue, local funds about 24% and federal funds about 1%.

Woodfin has framed the proposal as a chance to solve several problems at once. He has pointed to growth in Pine Level and Marbury, aging Prattville campuses that date back to 1927 and the 1960s, and the possibility of tailoring a new high school to military families connected to Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter. He has also said the district could repurpose older buildings for other uses. With three years needed to build and the school board up for reelection in that same span, the next decisions by Prattville and county leaders will determine whether the project moves forward or stalls.