New school complex 'no longer viable;' taxes still rise
By KIP BURKE

After hearing from the public and looking at the numbers, the Wilkes County Board of Education has postponed the construction of a new high school and middle school. But a reduction in the millage rate still allowed for an increase in taxes, after property revaluation, necessary to pay for shortfalls in state education funding.

"After looking at all the costs of that project, I think we all agree it's no longer a viable plan," said Superintendent of Schools Joyce Williams at Thursday's called meeting. "We have amended the budget to a lower millage rate. The new budget reflects backing out of construction costs."

The board passed a millage rate of 14.69 mills, much lower than the 16.33 mills that had been published as a proposed rate. The board was unable to bring the millage rate back to the 13.469 rollback rate due to an expected decrease in state equalization money that would be paid to Wilkes County.

Chief Financial Officer Dean Ware said that, in addition to reduced state funding, the smaller increase was necessary because of much higher fuel prices for school buses plus a state-mandated salary and benefits increase for teachers .

School board members agreed with the members of the public attending the hearings that a new school facility was needed, but that the $24 million price tag was too much of a burden to put on homeowners who would pay the increased property taxes.

The board started the construction project with a cost estimate of $16 million, Ware said, which would be repaid from state funding and a 2004 bond referendum that brought in $11.2 million. After building a much-needed new wing on the primary school, there is some $9 million in bond money in the bank, and Ware and Williams say they are working with state Board of Education experts to see what the school system's options are with that money.

Buying bonds back is a complicated procedure that can take years, Ware said.

Board members are also going to examine the existing high school and middle school buildings to address the 50-year-old complex's worst problems - moisture damage and mold from extreme condensation, old plumbing and electrical systems, and roof leaks.

Now that the new school project is postponed, Ware said, the board had the chance to go back and look at other options to build the needed school facility in the future.

Rep. Mickey Channell attended a Thursday hearing to listen to members of the public and to consult with Williams. "While the state would like to see this facility built," he said afterward, "I think the board did the right thing, to put this on hold for now."

He pointed out that although Wilkes County's overall population

is growing, the state BOE assumes that Wilkes County's student population will continue to decline through 2010, and that the state board's facilities director says the county only needs 49 classrooms, rather than the 61 classrooms on the present plan. State funding, Channell said, is based on that assumption.

"I believe the board is right to put it on hold," Channell said. "If they go back to the drawing board and figure what it is they - and the state - can afford, they can get it done. And it's important to get it done - there's no question we need a new facility here in Wilkes County."

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