Save the date: Monday, February 23.

That is the day, or perhaps a little beforehand, that State Supt. Dr. Tommy Bice will make his final ruling on the issues the divide the Jefferson County and Gardendale City school systems in the latter’s effort to break away and form its own system.

It’s exactly 90 days from when the two sides presented Bice with the issues that they haven’t been able to settle between themselves in the negotiations leading to Gardendale’s schools separating from Jefferson County.

Gardendale Board of Education President Chris Segroves announced the timeline for the decision by Bice during the board’s monthly meeting Tuesday night.

Reading from a prepared statement, Segroves said that the Alabama Board of Education has informed them that a preliminary decision will come later this week. After that, the two sides have 10 days to give their input; no public announcement will be made regarding details of the preliminary ruling.

The final decision will then come no later that the 23rd.

“Again, it is firmly understood by the Gardendale Board of Education that this process of separation has produced anxiety, concern, and unanswered questions for all families currently in the Gardendale Zone,” Segroves said in his statement. “We sympathize with all individuals impacted and ask for your continued patience as we proceed in working with the State Department and Jefferson County Schools’ leadership in finalizing a Separation Agreement.”

Attorneys and superintendents for both systems met last Friday at the state department’s office in Montgomery to argue their cases.

Sticking to a gentlemen’s agreement with his JefCoEd counterpart, Gardendale Supt. Dr. Patrick Martin declined to say if one of the issues to be decided is an attendance policy for out-of-district students — whether or not children from neighboring Mt. Olive who have attended Gardendale’s schools so far will continue to do so, or be switched to remaining schools in the JefCoEd system.

“That’s because that’s the probably the most sensitive issue — we didn’t want people to have to ride the same roller coaster of emotion that he [JefCoEd Supt. Dr. Craig Pouncey] and I have been riding in this process,” Martin said.

After Bice’s ruling is handed down, the two sides will then finalize their arrangements for handing the system over to Gardendale officials.

Tuesday’s meeting attracted several parents, some of whom had been involved in the failed attempt to get Mt. Olive annexed into Gardendale. They peppered board members and Martin with several questions, including whether the U.S. Department of Justice would be involved in the separation process.

Traci Calvert, one of the leaders in the “MO Matters” pro-annexation group, asked Martin when a calendar for the coming school year would be released, and whether it would differ from the one announced by JefCoEd days ago.

Martin said the calendar is in place, and there would be “variances” from the JefCoEd calendar.

Lori Parsons, who described herself as “a non-resident of Gardendale” with a child at Bragg Middle School, expressed her concerns about the clock ticking down to the separation without knowledge about where out-of-district students would attend school.

“We’re just five months away, and my children are asking every single day where they are going to school at,” she said. “It impacts our grades, athletics, and extracurricular activities.”

Martin said that he is prepared to move forward with the system’s staff, no matter which way Bice rules on out-of-district students.

“I have had my agenda for my first meeting with staff ready for weeks,” he said.

The timeline issues have frustrated parents like Calvert.

“We’re concerned about when we’re going to have answers, because we’re getting to the point in the year where lots of things are being pushed back,” Calvert said. “We have things like tryouts for the middle school that have already been postponed, and kids are going to start registering for school and pre-school, and we have to plan. We’re getting to the time of year where that’s a crunch.”

The next regularly-scheduled meeting of the Gardendale Board of Education is March 3 at the Civic Center.