Madison City Schools and Town of Triana Tax Agreement
The Town of Triana attends Madison City Schools due to an agreement which was entered into between the Madison City School Board and the Town of Triana on April 30th, 1998. The agreement can be read at the link below.
The Madison City Schools system was created in 1998 after separating from the Madison County School System and including neighboring Triana in the school district. The split was driven by high expectations and demands within the community to take education to a higher level. The citizens willingly taxed themselves to build the framework. At that time, the late former Mayor Clyde Foster negotiated on behalf of the Town of Triana and then entered into an agreement with the Madison City Schools, primarily regarding Ad Valorem Property Taxes.
Agreement By and Between the Town of Triana and the City of Madison Board of Education
The key points of the agreement are summarized below:
- Students residing in the Town of Triana Corporate Limits as they existed then, or may expand to in the future may attend MCS without tuition
- MCS agrees to provide transportation to Triana students subject to MCS rules regarding student conduct aboard MCS provided transportation
- The Town of Triana agrees to direct the Madison County Tax Collector to remit the schools portion of Ad Valorem taxes (real property and personal property) to the MCS Board
- The Agreement can only be terminated under the following conditions
- Triana elects to form its own school district or to attend Madison County School District
- Triana does not pay the agreed to Ad Valorem taxes to MCS
- The City of Madison votes to increase their school portion of their Ad Valorem Taxes and the Town of Triana does not vote to match within one year
- The Agreement is determined to violate state or federal law or a court order of a court of competent jurisdiction
Prior to the official formation of Madison City Schools, the Town of Triana voted for a 9 mil Tax Levy for the schools and the City of Madison voted for an 11 mil Tax Levy for the schools. Subsequently, in 2019, the City of Madison and the Town of Triana voted to each levy an addition 12 mils of Ad Valorem Property Taxes to fund the construction of Midtown Elementary, Journey Middle School, and expansions to Bob Jones and James Clemens High School. The Town of Triana voted over 80% in favor of the Tax Levy.
Current Schools:
Refer to the Madison City Schools page for the current zoning maps. As of the 2024-2025 School Year students in Triana attend the following schools. This zoning is subject to change by the MCS Board as required as new schools such as the new Russell Branch Elementary school is constructed and built out:
- Madison Elementary (Crossings at Rivers Landing neighborhood only)
- Midtown Elementary (northern part of Triana and areas West of Wall-Triana Hwy)
- Horizon Elementary (southern part of Triana)
- Journey Middle School (Madison and Midtown feeder)
- Discovery Middle School (Horizon feeder)
- Bob Jones High School (all Triana)
Facts
Student Population
- Triana only sends a small portion of the overall student population to MCS. As of the 2024-2025 school year, Triana sent just under 1,100 out of the nearly 14,000 MCS students (less than 8% of the overall population).
- As of the 2025 the Town estimates the entire population of the Town to only be around 5,500
Municipal Growth
- Triana enacted a Planning and Zoning Commission in 2019 and passed a Zoning Ordinance and several subsequent amendments. The current Zoning Ordinance strictly limits multifamily housing. Furthermore, the Zoning Ordinance limits the density of any new single family home subdivisions.
- The Town instituted a Subdivision Moratorium in 2021 to halt any new subdivision applications.
- As of 2025, there are approximately 600 single family and 50 Townhome parcels that could be constructed. The Town of Triana limits builders to no more than 50 homes per year per subdivision.
- Over the last 10 years, Triana averages around 200 new homes per year. In 2024 there were less than 100 new occupancy permits issued.
- The Planning and Zoning Chairman and Mayors Office provide monthly updates to the MCS Central Office regarding growth
- There are large apartment complexes near the Town of Triana that are frequently mistaken for being in Triana, they are within the City of Huntsville and zoned for Huntsville City Schools. Additionally, a significant portion of the River Landing Subdivision adjacent to the Town of Triana is also zoned for Huntsville City Schools.
School Board Liaison & School Board Members:
- The Mayor and Town Council appoints a non-voting Liaison to the MCS Board per the 2012 Madison City School Board By Laws. Current state law does not allow for Triana to appoint a voting School Board Member.
- The Madison City Council appoints the five voting members of the MCS Board from the populace of the City of Madison consistent with the Alabama Code (see Alabama Code 11-16-2B).
Demographics
- When the agreement was originally entered into the 2000 US Census showed that the Town of Triana was 86.5% African American and 11.35% White
- The 2020 US Census showed the Town of Triana was 46.6% African American, 44.2% White, 4.5% Asian
- In summary – the racial demographics within the Town of Triana has shifted over time. The demographic shift however, has no bearing on the 1998 Agreement.
FAQ's
- Could the Madison City Council or Madison City School Board vote to remove Triana from MCS?Only if the City of Madison passes another Tax Levy and the Town of Triana does not do the same within 1 year.
- Can Triana students attend Madison County Schools? Yes, if they so choose and contact the Madison County Schools Central Office.
- Could Triana be rezoned within Madison City Schools? Yes, the MCS may choose to rezone Triana students to different schools within the MCS system.
- I heard the Town of Triana is building lots of Apartments. As of 2025, this is incorrect. There are large apartments in Huntsville and projected rental properties north of Beadle Ln near Triana that are often assumed to be in Triana.
- I heard the Town of Triana could annex additional land. Yes, there is land adjacent to the Town that could be annexed and zoned for residential. However there is a growth moratorium in place currently and each of the adjacent annexable parcels presents unique (i.e. expensive) infrastructure challenges to develop.