Millage vote vital to county school system

Johnson hopeful construction on new facilities can begin as
soon as spring 2008 -- if voters approve extension

By Scott Wright

CENTRE — Superintendent of Schools Brian Johnson and other members of the Board of Education are cautiously optimistic heading into the county-wide vote to renew the school system's millage rate on Aug. 28.

“We want to make sure everyone is aware of what the extension of the 22 mills means to our school system,” Johnson said Thursday.

Johnson said the borrowing power of a 30-year extension will provide money to build a new middle school in Centre, a new gymnasium at Sand Rock, and major construction projects at all the county's other campuses.

But what sometimes gets lost in the talk of new projects, he said, is the simple fact that maintaining the current tax rate is necessary to ensure continued day-to-day operation of the schools.

“We've been receiving this for over 20 years and we're not asking for any more,” Johnson explained. “We just want to continue it uninterrupted for the next 30 years.”

Johnson said the money the school system currently receives pays for daily operating expenses such as maintenance and operations, utilities supplies, etc., along with a few extra teachers the state doesn't provide for. Johnson said the money also pays for a nurse at every school, additional support staff not provided for by the state, Internet access and other advanced technologies.

“All those costs, as well as supplements, are paid for with local money,” he said. “We need to continue receiving what we get now in order to provide our students with the best education possible.”

Johnson also pointed out that 10 of the 22 mills the county currently receives must, by state law, be sent directly to the state's Foundation Program.

“So we're really only talking about 12 mills that stay here in Cherokee County, and that's what we've had and that's what we're asking the people to continue giving us,” he said. “If you start thinking about what would happen if that gets taken away, then we can't even continue the education process that we've had in place for the last 20 years without the 22 mills. It's a must, really, for us to have the renewal.”

Board member Lynn Rochester agreed that the school system would be severely limited if voters turn down the 30-year extension.

“In the long run, if this doesn't pass we will lose nurses, support personnel, aides, and coaches,” she said. “We also fund several teachers with the money we receive.”

Johnson said another advantage of holding an election on Aug. 28 to renew and extend four separate millage rates at once is that the county government will save well over $150,000 over the next couple of years.

“The Board of Education is paying for the cost of this special election,” Johnson said. “So the taxpayers are being saved that amount, if this passes. Otherwise, the county will still have to hold four separate elections over the next two years to ask voters to renew the millage rates one at a time.”

Cautiously optimistic
Johnson said he is optimistic voters will agree to the extension because so far he hasn't heard anything negative from the public.

“I'm getting a lot of very positive feedback,” Johnson said. “I was so excited when we realized we could realign and extend our millage amounts for 30 years and give ourselves this power to borrow money and pay for these capital improvements that, honestly, we cannot pay for any other way.”

Johnson said the Board of Education is currently looking at borrowing around $15 million. He said that amount, combined with another $3.6 million the county should soon receive from a statewide bond issue recently passed by the Alabama Legislature, will allow for major projects at every campus in the county system.

“We have a plan for each school, a needs list,” Johnson said. “Of course, because of the costs, the two projects that stand out are the middle school in Centre and the gymnasium at Sand Rock.”

He said it's hard to get exact estimates from architects because of the volatility of the construction market, but he figures those two projects alone will run somewhere between $12 million and $15 million. Johnson said the “needs” list also calls for new classrooms and improvements at Gaylesville, Centre Elementary, Spring Garden, Cedar Bluff, Cherokee County High School, and the Career and Technology Center.

“And the longer we wait, the higher the prices go,” he said.

Board of Education member Don Stowe said he and the other members are in total agreement that voter approval of the millage extension is vital for so many long-needed improvements to the county school system.

"It would be a tremendous move forward," Stowe said. "A lot of good can come out of this if it passes."

Johnson said if voters approve the 30-year extension on Aug. 28, it won't be long before concrete trucks start rolling to new construction sites.

“If this passes we'll start shopping around for a bond company to borrow from and then sit down with architects to finalize the plans that we already have in place,” he said. “Once we finalize the plans we'll send those to the state architect for approval. We're looking at everything being approved by late fall and maybe starting construction as soon as spring 2008, if this 30-year extension passes.”

Johnson said the ballot voters see next Tuesday will ask them to signal that they are “for” or “against” four separate 30-year extensions of the current tax rate.

“Again, we are not asking for an increase. We only want to maintain our current level of funding in order to continue to provide our children with the best education possible,” Johnson stressed. “We need voters to mark 'for' on all four places on the ballot.”