08/Jul/2009
Central Voters Approve
New Central School Tax
By Sean Griffin
A year after the original tax proposal for Central Schools was shot down by voters, the Central school tax was approved on May 2. This will provide funding for a projected $55 million building and renovating project for Central Schools.
Superintendent Michael Faulk said the school system expects Central to continue growing, and the system needs the extra funds to accommodate that growth. Central is already growing at a higher percentage than any other school district in the state.
Faulk said the initial tax that was voted on in 2008 was not favored by the voters because of the proposed Central school complex, which included multiple grades in one facility. But even though it was voted down a year ago, Faulk said the additional tax was necessary for Central Schools.
“We simply could not do what needed to be done within the budget we had,” Faulk said.
Faulk said the decision by the voters to pass the tax now means the city of Central will improve more than just its school system.
“People of the community were excited because they knew it was going to be a big boost not only for the school system, but also for property values in Central and the way Central is viewed all across the state,” he said. “It made a statement about the community.”
The New Taxes
There were three features that were approved during the May 2 vote.
A half-cent sales tax will pay for the building and equipping of a new middle school. And if needed, the tax would also provide funding to purchase land for the new school. The tax will be in place for the next 18-20 years. The tax was voted on with 64 percent for and 36 percent against.
A property tax to build and furnish an elementary school was approved 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent. The tax is a 14.4 mil tax
.
A 9.25 mil tax will pay for life safety code issues in the three existing schools. This tax was passed 58 percent to 42 percent, and it allows the school system to borrow up to $12 million and pay it off with taxes.
The projects total $55 million. Faulk said the middle school is budgeted around $23 million, the new elementary school around $21 million, and the life safety code issues around $12 million. Bellingrath Hills and Tanglewood elementary schools and Central High School will all remain operational in the school system.
What’s next?
Now that it has been approved, Faulk said planning is already underway. The school board has appointed an ad hoc building committee which is looking at hiring a construction manager who would be employed by the school system.
Faulk said he is pushing to begin accepting bids by architects to design the project. He hopes to begin taking applications in August and make a decision by September.
He plans to publicize the progress of the work so citizens will know what’s happening.
“We’re going to look at providing frequent updates to the community,” Faulk said. “We are also going to make sure that our taxpayers are comfortable and feel good about us managing the money that they allowed us to have with their vote. We’re going to do the best job that can be done to manage these public funds.”
School board
Sharon Browning, Central School Board president, said the initial vote was rejected because it was too much work done too quickly. She said the school system had to work hard to listen to the voters and show them why the propositions were necessary.
“We broke the tax down for them,” Browning said. “The sales tax would build a new middle school, we needed to address some needed renovations and the third part would get us a new elementary school. I think we tried to show them that and they ended up coming through with all three.”
Browning said the number of students is increasing so they needed to make some changes in order to keep up with that growth. The number of students enrolled in the Central School system is 3,660.
“We had already put in about 44 temporary trailers for classes, and then we were able to lease the old Starky Private School that had shut down,” Browning said. “We truly were bursting at the seams.”
Browning said the city of Central “is famous for being anti tax” so when all three taxes were approved she was thrilled that citizens had faith in their school system and school board.
“The people I talked with were excited. This will be a new beginning for Central,” Browning said.
By Sean Griffin
A year after the original tax proposal for Central Schools was shot down by voters, the Central school tax was approved on May 2. This will provide funding for a projected $55 million building and renovating project for Central Schools.
Superintendent Michael Faulk said the school system expects Central to continue growing, and the system needs the extra funds to accommodate that growth. Central is already growing at a higher percentage than any other school district in the state.
Faulk said the initial tax that was voted on in 2008 was not favored by the voters because of the proposed Central school complex, which included multiple grades in one facility. But even though it was voted down a year ago, Faulk said the additional tax was necessary for Central Schools.
“We simply could not do what needed to be done within the budget we had,” Faulk said.
Faulk said the decision by the voters to pass the tax now means the city of Central will improve more than just its school system.
“People of the community were excited because they knew it was going to be a big boost not only for the school system, but also for property values in Central and the way Central is viewed all across the state,” he said. “It made a statement about the community.”
The New Taxes
There were three features that were approved during the May 2 vote.
A half-cent sales tax will pay for the building and equipping of a new middle school. And if needed, the tax would also provide funding to purchase land for the new school. The tax will be in place for the next 18-20 years. The tax was voted on with 64 percent for and 36 percent against.
A property tax to build and furnish an elementary school was approved 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent. The tax is a 14.4 mil tax
.
A 9.25 mil tax will pay for life safety code issues in the three existing schools. This tax was passed 58 percent to 42 percent, and it allows the school system to borrow up to $12 million and pay it off with taxes.
The projects total $55 million. Faulk said the middle school is budgeted around $23 million, the new elementary school around $21 million, and the life safety code issues around $12 million. Bellingrath Hills and Tanglewood elementary schools and Central High School will all remain operational in the school system.
What’s next?
Now that it has been approved, Faulk said planning is already underway. The school board has appointed an ad hoc building committee which is looking at hiring a construction manager who would be employed by the school system.
Faulk said he is pushing to begin accepting bids by architects to design the project. He hopes to begin taking applications in August and make a decision by September.
He plans to publicize the progress of the work so citizens will know what’s happening.
“We’re going to look at providing frequent updates to the community,” Faulk said. “We are also going to make sure that our taxpayers are comfortable and feel good about us managing the money that they allowed us to have with their vote. We’re going to do the best job that can be done to manage these public funds.”
School board
Sharon Browning, Central School Board president, said the initial vote was rejected because it was too much work done too quickly. She said the school system had to work hard to listen to the voters and show them why the propositions were necessary.
“We broke the tax down for them,” Browning said. “The sales tax would build a new middle school, we needed to address some needed renovations and the third part would get us a new elementary school. I think we tried to show them that and they ended up coming through with all three.”
Browning said the number of students is increasing so they needed to make some changes in order to keep up with that growth. The number of students enrolled in the Central School system is 3,660.
“We had already put in about 44 temporary trailers for classes, and then we were able to lease the old Starky Private School that had shut down,” Browning said. “We truly were bursting at the seams.”
Browning said the city of Central “is famous for being anti tax” so when all three taxes were approved she was thrilled that citizens had faith in their school system and school board.
“The people I talked with were excited. This will be a new beginning for Central,” Browning said.
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