Rockingham school board wants $60 million from commissioners

By: From staff reports | GoDanRiver.com
Published: April 10, 2008

EDEN – The Rockingham County school board will ask the county commissioners to borrow $60 million to rebuild or renovate four schools.

The school board called a special meeting to discuss board members’ opinions to either demolish historic Douglass and Draper Elementary schools and rebuild, or spend about $2 million extra to renovate the oldest school buildings.

The school district has an estimated $45 million budget to improve school buildings. Four schools, Douglass, Draper and Stoneville elementary schools and Reidsville High School, are in poor condition. The school board believes $45 million will not be enough to cover cost of new construction or renovation.

Instead of pushing ahead, members found there was no majority favoring either option. Board members Celeste DePriest, Tim Scales, Wayne Kirkman and Steve Smith proposed the school board ask the Board of Commissioners to borrow $60 million to improve all four schools simultaneously.

County commissioners plan to cut $1 million from the 2008-09 budget to compensate for a growing deficit, and put a quarter percent sales tax on the May 6 ballot. Revenue would go toward the school capitol fund.

Though the tax would generate an estimated $1.67 million the first year, possibly growing in time, it would provide a revenue stream the county would use for debt payments. The school board decided to ask for the $60 million loan, assuming the sales tax would not pass.

Without the sales tax, the county has no revenue stream to make annual payments against a $60 million balance. In that case, the county would raise property taxes, a measure commissioners and county administration hoped to avoid by proposing a vote on the sales tax.

Kirkman began the motion to ask for the $60 million, but it was amended several times. Steve Smith and DePriest moved to approve. The motion passed by an 11-2 vote, with Smith, DePriest, John Smith, Tim Scales, Herman Hines, Steve Austin, Amanda Bell, Reida Drum and Ron Price voting in favor. Nell Rose and Elaine McCollum were opposed.