Mobile County Public School System
| Mobile County Public School System | |
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| Address | |
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1 Magnum Pass Mobile, Alabama 36618 |
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| Information | |
| Founded | 1836 |
| Superintendent | Martha L. Peek |
| Enrollment | 60,946 (56th-largest in U.S.) |
| Area | Mobile County, Alabama |
| Teachers | 7,951 |
| Budget | $648.92 million |
| Schools | 89 |
| Website | www |
Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) is a school district based in Mobile County, Alabama United States. The system currently serves all areas of Mobile County, including the city of Mobile, with the exception of the cities of Saraland, Satsuma and Chickasaw. Saraland voted to separate its schools from Mobile County in 2006, with Satsuma and Chickasaw following suit in 2012. The system serves urban, suburban, and rural areas. All schools in the system are required to adopt school uniform policies. It is the largest school system in Alabama and the 56th largest school system in the United States.
The current Mobile County Public School System can trace its beginnings to the Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, created by the Alabama Legislature through an act passed on January 10, 1826. This was the first education board created in Alabama.
The act to establish the board was introduced by Willoughby Barton, a legislator from Mobile. The first school building built by the board, Barton Academy, was named in his honor. It was built in the block between Government, Cedar, Conti, and Lawrence Streets, which was purchased by this first board for $2750 in 1830. Lack of funding stalled progress on the project until an act was passed in the state legislature that allowed the commissioners to raise funds through a lottery. By early 1836 the board had managed to pull together $50,000 in lottery funds, a $15,000 municipal loan, and additional private donations with which to commence building a school. This included a large private donation from local millionaire Henry Hitchcock, who was also on the building committee. Construction commenced on February 13, 1836 and, after several delays, was finally completed in January 1839.
Following completion of Barton Academy, the Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County then allowed the building to be used for private and denominational schools, with some funding appropriated to them by the commissioners. An act in 1846 allowed for taxes to be collected for the establishment of a free Methodist school by the commission. The commission was behind another act on February 9, 1852 that would have allowed the commission to sell the building, which was now in need of maintenance and repairs, and distribute the proceeds among the existing schools, if approved by the voters. The electorate rejected this and subsequently elected a new board of commissioners.
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