A group or residents in Anniston, Alabama, who are pushing for a referendum to split their city roughly in half need state legislation to make it happen. And they appear to have the ear of one of Alabama’s highest-ranking lawmakers, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh.
“De-annexation” as the pro-secession group Forward 4 All calls it, would separate about half of Anniston’s roughly 22,000 residents to form a new city, largely tracking along racial lines.
“I’m not looking at this as a black, white issue," said Sen. Marsh, R-Anniston, of the proposed breakup. "I’m looking at you’ve got an issue of deep concerns that the residents have that need to be addressed.”
Marsh says he is open to supporting legislation for a referendum to split the city of Anniston if he sees widespread support in public hearings and local polls. Forward 4 All has asked for a referendum for only the residents who would separate.
“It's my job to support the people I represent,” he said, adding that he doesn’t yet know how most of his constituents feel. “I think it's pretty early to make any assumptions.”
The Forward 4 All group says its primary concern is improving sluggish property values, driven by a school system that performs poorly compared to surrounding ones. They contend that joining a different school district would increase home prices.
Del Marsh says he’s frustrated with Anniston school leaders, whose approach he calls, “same old, same old.”
In the last two years, the Anniston City School system received a C, up from a D two years ago. The surrounding Calhoun County Schools and neighboring Oxford City Schools received a B.
“I have met with (school) board members in the past. I've asked what they're doing that may be more innovative to address problems in the system. I'm not seeing any anything innovative come out of the system,” he said.
Anniston’s schools are 95 percent black. Roughly half of the Anniston city population is African-American, but the proposed breakaway section is majority white.
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Spurring conversation
In recent decades, Anniston has also experienced troubling job loss and population decline. To Marsh, the push to separate is raising healthy conversations about the challenges facing Anniston.
“You know, these are the type of discussions that, for whatever reason, have not been real open. And I think this gives us a reason to talk about those issues,” he said.
Marsh points to the city’s police and fireman pension, which local leaders say risks default after the city failed for a number of years to make minimum investments in the fund.
The de-annexation effort in Anniston follows a similar referendum that failed last year in Stockbridge, Georgia. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this month a group of predominantly white residents in unincorporated suburbs recently voted in favor of forming their own separate city.
Alabama has long seen suburban enclaves, like Hoover and Madison, rise alongside older urban areas. And in recent years, the smaller community Pike Road formed within the larger Montgomery metro. But Alabama has yet to see an older city simply split in half.
Experts say legislation for an Anniston referendum could set off a chain of separation efforts in the state.
“I have not made a decision to support such venture,” said Marsh. “But I think they deserve to be heard and those issues need to be heard,” he said.
Updated. This story was updated on Oct. 23 at 3:00 p.m. to include that Anniston City Schools received a C on the latest state report card.
