BCPSS Superintendent Addresses Loxley Elementary Immigration Raid

School System Addresses Illegal Immigration Raid at Construction Site

The recent illegal immigration raid at the Loxley Elementary School construction site has sparked a conversation about how taxpayer funds are being used and the role of school administrators in ensuring compliance with laws. The superintendent of the Baldwin County Public School System, Eddie Tyler, shared his perspective with FOX10 News, addressing concerns raised by the community.

According to Homeland Security Investigations, 11 individuals were arrested at the Loxley Elementary School construction site on July 23. This incident marks the second time in Baldwin County that a taxpayer-funded school project has been targeted by federal agents. The first occurrence was at the new Gulf Shores High School on June 24.

Despite multiple attempts to interview Superintendent Tyler, the request was declined. As a result, the questions were taken to a public meeting on July 29. During the meeting, reporter Natalie Williamson posed a direct question: “What do you say to taxpayers whose hard-earned money was being used to pay people who are in this country illegally?”

Tyler responded by stating that he does not have control over how money is allocated to individuals, regardless of their legal status. He emphasized that as a taxpayer himself, he would not want his contributions to be misused. “We follow all state and federal laws all the time. We are inspected constantly,” he said.

In addition, Tyler mentioned that the school system is collaborating with federal agents to prevent similar incidents in the future. “We’re going to continue our partnership with homeland security, which we’ve always had with our security in our schools,” he explained. “But we’ve reached out to them, and they’ve reached out to us. We’re in conversation and want to know what we can do better.”

When asked if he had spoken with the contractor or architect of the Loxley Elementary project after the Gulf Shores High School raid, Tyler stated he had “no reason to.” This response raised further questions about the level of oversight and communication between the school system and its contractors.

The reporter also attempted to reach out to April Bradley, the elected school board member for the Loxley Elementary district. When asked if she had any comments to share, Bradley replied, “We make policies. We don’t really get into the day-to-day stuff.”

The school board’s president, Cecil Christenberry, acknowledged the situation as unprecedented. “Natalie, we’re in unprecedented times. I mean in my young life I’ve never seen anything exactly like this. It’s very unfortunate. You learn from mistakes, I’m not saying we made a mistake, but something slipped somewhere, and we are going to pursue that and see what’s next,” he said.

FOX10 News has requested the names of sub-contractors affected by the raid at the Loxley Elementary project. In a previous case, Gulf Shores City Schools provided the company names after the high school raid. However, the general contractor for the Loxley Elementary project, Sharpe Inc., has not yet responded to inquiries.

This ongoing situation highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in public projects funded by taxpayer dollars. As the investigation continues, the community awaits further clarity on how such incidents can be prevented in the future.