When Alabamians go to the polls on Tuesday, a statewide amendment will be on the ballot.

“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama, 2022, to grant and compensate certain school lands in the Sixteenth Section which are owned in fee simple by the Franklin County School System, are located in Fayette County and County of Walker and are for the exclusive use of the schools of the Franklin County School System at the Franklin County Board of Education; and provide for the distribution of all income and interest generated by this land.

A recent analysis from the Alabama Public Affairs Research Council reveals the reasoning behind putting the amendment on the ballot and its possible outcomes depending on how Alabamians vote.

This proposal would amend the 2022 Alabama Constitution so that the Franklin County School Board could manage lands in Fayette and Walker counties and receive 100% of its revenues.

According to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, this land is approximately 1,451 acres. Although the Franklin County School Board owns the property, it cannot manage leases or sell the property without approval from the state superintendent of education and the governor.

The land in question stems from an 18th century law in which the federal government designated land in each county to fund and support public education in that county. These lands are designated as lands of the sixteenth section.

In the late 19th century, the Alabama Legislature recognized that not all land in the Sixteenth Section was equally valuable and allocated more land to some school boards that did not earn as much revenue from their land . Some school boards have been allocated land outside of their county, land for compensation, and this is the case in Franklin County.

The lands of sixteen sections and the compensation lands are owned by the State of Alabama and the revenues are held in trust by the Department of Education of the State of Alabama. The ADCNR manages the land and retains a 10 percent management fee while leasing it for timber, hunting rights and mining. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the land generated $26,467 from hunting leases.

If the amendment were approved, the Franklin County School Board would be able to manage the land, receive all of the revenue it generates and do so without permission from the state superintendent of education and of the governor.

Currently, Fayette County, Fayette County Schools, Walker County, and Walker County Schools receive no revenue from these lands, and this will remain unchanged since these school systems own other properties.

Notably, approximately 225 acres of land in Franklin are located at the intersection of State Highway 13 and Interstate 22. However, if the Franklin County School Board sells the land along I-22 to a developer , Fayette County, Walker County and the Town of Eldridge in Walker County could benefit from annual property tax and sales tax revenues, depending on the type of future developments that will materialize.

If the amendment does not pass, the Franklin County School Board will continue to own the land and receive 90 percent of the revenue generated by the property. The Franklin County School Board would need approval from the state superintendent of education and the governor to sell the land, and the land would still be managed by ADCNR.