School board approves capital projects wish list for County Commission
Projects could be completed without additional burden on county's taxpayers, school board says
HUNTSVILLE | The Scott County Board of Education has officially adopted what it calls a “Foundation for the Future,” a list of capital improvement projects that it will forward to Scott County Commission for funding consideration.
The list was approved by a 5-2 vote near the end of Thursday’s regular session. “Areas of great need … throughout the school system” is how the resolution adopted by the board described the list of projects, which would be paid for using the school system’s rural school debt fund, pending approval of both County Commission and the school board.
Perhaps the flashiest item on the list is a video board for Highlander Stadium at Scott High School, but the list includes projects at all seven of the county’s schools.
The vote came only after a lengthy discussion about whether it would cost the taxpayers of Scott County and a failed effort to table the measure until a later date.
That motion to table, which was made by 7th District board member Tressa Murphy and seconded by 5th District board member Angela King, failed by a 4-3 vote, with 4th District board member Kim Kidd joining the minority.
Following the failed motion to table, the original motion to adopt the list of projects — which was made by 3rd District board member Chris Shelton and seconded by 1st District board member Tommy Silcox — passed by a 5-2 vote. Sixth District board member Llew Stanley and 2nd District board member Diane Smith joined Shelton and Silcox, as did Kidd. Voting against the measure were Murphy and King.
The list includes:
• Scott High School: The removal and replacement of fascia boards containing asbestos; the video board; flooring; and a concrete entrance.
• Robbins School: Converting the old library and cafeteria into tutoring and intervention spaces.
• Huntsville Elementary School: New flooring to remove asbestos.
• Huntsville Middle School: New flooring and bleachers.
• Burchfield School: Bleachers, sidewalks at the football field and bus ramp, fencing around the playground, new playground equipment, and possibly converting the area where mobile classrooms are currently located into a covered shelter with picnic areas and a small basketball court for middle school students.
• Winfield School: Playground equipment.
• Fairview School: Additional parking and outside lighting.
The total cost of the list of projects would be just over $1.5 million. As Hall explained it, part of that total would complete the new playroom at Huntsville Elementary School, the bids for which are to be opened at a meeting of the Scott County Finance Committee on Monday. County Commission has approved $1.4 million for the playroom using the same rural school debt funding vehicle. Hall indicated that $600,000 of the new total could go into that, leaving $900,000 to be spent on other projects, which would be prioritized once it is known exactly how much money remains after the play room project.
Murphy objected to borrowing money, saying, “We do not know how much money we’re going to have to borrow, for how long it’s going to be, and how much it’s going to cost us to borrow, is that a true statement?”
But Shelton disagreed with that assessment.
“We’ve talked about this several times,” he said. “We had this conversation at our Budget Committee. We went and had this conversation with the Finance Committee at County Commission. This gives them the approval they need to get that process going.”
As explained by county attorney John Beaty, the measure approved by the school board Thursday does nothing more than provide County Commission a mechanism through which they can begin the borrowing process. Any project, Beaty said, would “still require action by this board and the county board to move forward.”
In response to whether the proposed projects could result in an increased burden on the county’s taxpayers, Shelton said the answer is “no.”
“This is a mechanism that’s already in place through rural school funding, so there’s no need to increase taxes,” he said. “It’s earmarked for county schools … for capital projects.”
Smith said it was indicated in a work session with county commissioners last week that the issuance of $1.5 million in capital improvement bonds could be paid off in three years’ time.