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The Alamance-Burlington Board of Education is using most of its reserves, about $9.6 million, for a set of projects not covered by the $150 million education bond.
The capital reserve fund is made up of property and sales tax money dedicated to Alamance-Burlington Schools, but the school board still has to ask the Alamance County Board of Commissioners’ permission to tap into it.
In the past couple of years the fund has built up to about $10.5 million, said Jeremy Teetor, ABSS finance director, so this request will cut it down substantially.
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Ryan Bowden, one of the two board members to vote against using the money, said the district should prioritize projects to hold onto some of the reserve, “rather than blow all that money at one time.”
Board member Patsy Simpson said the school board had a job to do and criticized the county commissioners for not taking a “premium” on the $150 million in education bonds when they are sold next week. Because of low interest rates, the county had the option to take as much as another $20 million in loans without paying any more in financing costs than originally estimated. The commissioners instead chose to just bring in the $150 million voters approved in 2018 plus the cost of processing the loans.
Simpson, like others on the board, hoped the county would take the premium so ABSS could catch up on backlogged projects, saying the district never caught up from years of neglect.
“I’m quite disappointed in the decision they made because it was just a wonderful opportunity we had; we could have caught up on some things,” Simpson said. “That’s why we’re in the predicament we’re in. We keep having to put off things.”
Here's a breakdown of some of the spending:
$4 million in roofing projects
$1.8 million – Woodlawn Middle School – angling the roof so the water will run off
$1.2 million – Graham Middle School
$895,900 – Haw River Elementary School
$251,075 – Graham High School
Masonry
$317,750 – Haw River Elementary masonry repair
The brick façade of the school building is pulling away from the wall with crumbling mortar, said Assistant Superintendent Todd Thorpe. It has been ugly for years, but before long will become a hazard to anyone standing under it.
Crumbling brick facade is seen at Haw River Elementary.
Times-News
Isaac Groves
$2.2 million in road improvements
$1.7 million – Southern Alamance High School
$523,657 – New high school
N.C. Department of Transportation requires these, but will reimburse ABSS.
New high school alternatives
About $2.7 million in “alternatives” for the new high school; that is things that were originally in the plans for the biggest bond project, but were shifted to a sort of wish list to keep the new school under budget. The school board saw two sets of alternatives: one that would take things to $9.36 million and one that goes to $9.6 million. The board voted for the full package.
$1.3 million – vocational building – removed from the original plans because of spiking steel prices
$964,136 – tennis courts with lights
$197,817 – soccer field lights
$104,855 – additional student parking
$56,178 – polish concrete main floor
$56,137 – polish concrete second floor
$9,923 – fiberglass re-enforced polymer doors
$48,274 – PVC roofing
$264,975 additional alternatives for new high school, those are the extra features that take the cost from $9.36 to $9.6 million.
Simpson joined Bowden in voting against appropriating the $9.6 million, saying most of the work was necessary except for the second set of alternates for the new high school.
“Those are luxuries,” Simpson said. Those included:
$225,281 – LED lights for tennis courts, soccer and athletic fields
$19,310 soccer field irrigation
$20,384 motorized gym bleachers
Isaac Groves is the Alamance County government watchdog reporter for the Times-News and the USA Today Network. Call or text 919-998-8039 with tips and comments or follow on Twitter @TNIGroves.
