The advent of federal COVID-relief funds into the Sunflower County Consolidated School District has apparently brought new life to an old question, whether or not to move forward with floating a bond issue to fund a new high school in Sunflower County.
Although the bond discussion is not new, the SCCSD board has still yet to determine definitely if that is the route they will take.
Board President Edward Thomas asserted that the subject has been on the table before, most recently in 2019 prior to the onset of the pandemic, but was put back on the shelf to address that more pressing concern.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, Superintendent Miskia Davis, several members of the SCCSD board and architect, Gary Bailey, Dale/Bailey Architects, hosted a public conversation with a handpicked sampling of community representatives.
The intended purpose was to get feedback regarding the possibility of using a bond and over $25 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to upgrade the educational facilities in the district.
The ESSER monies must be used in compliance with federal and Mississippi Department of Education guidelines.
Davis told the group, "This is our first of several meetings. We wanted to start with a small demographic of community members and we're going to branch out, but we wanted to hear from you all first."
During a recent forum, hosted by the Sunflower County chapter of the NAACP, Second Congressional District Congressman Bennie Thompson had stated that the school district was approved to receive the substantial influx of revenue. Davis said, "And it is only fair that we share this information with some of our constituents."
The gathering was an opportunity to inform the public about the ESSER money and discuss the opportunities, restrictions and share what the SCCSD board has in mind for the county’s schools. Bailey said, "The board has expressed some dreams (about) how do we take our facilities to the next level. Because you're greatly improving your educational system."
The focus of the presentation was on using bond money and federal COVID-relief funds to make changes and upgrades to the existing school buildings, primarily Gentry High School and Thomas Edwards High School that would transform them into "absolutely wonderful" facilities, said Bailey.
Although the district reportedly has more than $34 million coming its way in federal proceeds, a portion of those monies can only be used for non-building related activities, which is why a supplemental bond issue is also needed to accomplish the full scope of the proposed project.
Bailey said, "Here's my challenge, I've got to provide you the best possible buildings to enclose great education and give your kids the best opportunities that you can afford in this community."
He said it would take a bond issue to complete all of the proposed changes and to successfully float a bond requires a 60% majority vote from county residents. The approved and available funding through the ESSER II and ESSER III categories is about $26 million, according to Bailey. If the bond is not successful, they will proceed with just that portion of the project.
Bailey said the scope of the work would go to MDE first for approval. “And we'll go design that, bid it and implement that. It doesn't require a vote, it doesn't require anything else to happen, it's just going to happen and your buildings are going to be much better. You are going to get $26 million worth of improvements to your existing building without having to pay any additional taxes to do it."
Bailey said that even though their hands are tied in a lot of ways, it is still a great opportunity. "It's a rare moment to where we have really over $25 million in federal funds that can go towards buildings." He said the federal funds offer the district an opportunity to use monies to pay for improvements that normally would have had to come out of bond money.
The county apparently has a bonding capacity of only around $33 million, if they decide to vote to move ahead with the project, but nothing has been decided at this point.
The preliminary, but not-definite, impact of a bond issue for county residents is projected to be an approximate $116 annual increase for a house valued at $100,000 and about a $34 annual increase for a vehicle valued at $10,000, over a 20-year period.
Bailey stated that the whole goal of the ESSER money is to deal with COVID-related issues. He asserted, "The way they define those COVID issues is to improve life safety, health issues (and) the environment in which your schools exists."
He said the number one item on the district’s list of improvements is improving the heating and cooling systems in the buildings and he spelled out what that meant for each individual student and facilities.
He said the heating and cooling system replacements would bring about the replacement of ceilings and lighting because the majority of the ductwork is located in the ceilings. Another element of the project includes installing touch-less toilet fixtures, which means renovating all of the toilets.
A third component would be replacing or restoring old windows to improve energy efficiency. He said keeping safety as a top priority, they would be able to get a good bit of the work done during school hours and other major work after school. Davis added that Bailey has personally done a full assessment in each of the buildings and is basing his investigation results on those inspections.
Bailey said they are prioritizing the work that has to be done. "We are touching almost all of your schools.” The schools that will not receive any major work are James Rosser Elementary, Moorhead Middle School, Inverness Elementary and East Sunflower Elementary and he said it was because those schools have reportedly had major overhauls already.
He said major renovations would be done at the two high schools if a bond issue is passed in addition to the renovations being done with the ESSER money. Bailey said Gentry High School has the greatest need, so its work will involve tearing down some structures and replacing them.
The preliminary plan at Gentry calls for eliminating all of the existing exterior-access classrooms and replacing them with classrooms that open onto interior hallways that lead—in a star-shaped pattern—towards a centralized administration area. The students would no longer have to brave the elements to exchange classes and all of the drainage issues at both Gentry and Thomas Edwards would be addressed.
Both high school projects also include radically changing the appearance of the front of the campuses. He said although they don't have unlimited funds there are adequate funds to do great things. "It's not luxury, it's not gold plated, but it is wonderful," he said.
The notion of having just one centralized county high school was also raised. "Financially, it cannot be done. We do not have the bonding capacity to do it. We've studied it backwards and forwards and you would end up spending almost twice as much money as you have the capacity to get, to create one comprehensive consolidated high school," Bailey said.
He said if the board did decide to go through with the bond, they anticipate the election being in September. The school board has to submit a vote of intent by the end of July.
The ESSER funds portion of the renovation can start as early as August 2021 and the work would continue for 12 to 16 months. If the bond issue is approved in September, then work could start as soon as early 2022 and the schools would be ready for occupancy by August of 2024.
Several questions were raised from the audience including what happens if the school decides not to seek a bond issue or if the bond issue doesn't pass. He said if the bond does not go through they will have to get the best use out of the money they have. "You're going to have to fix what you got, with what you got. And you'll keep doing what you're doing in putting Band-Aids onto problems."
Also, to squelch any rumors floating around that the money is only going to be used for Gentry, Davis reassured that the money would be used for all schools. "It's going to take more than Indianola to pass a bond and that's why we have to stop saying we are going to build one school because we can't focus on one community. We have 15 sites in this district and everybody loves their site," Davis said.
She said they have plans to reach out to each community because each community needs to see the needs of the other. More community meetings are being planned and the board will hopefully take action in July to proceed and then a second vote in August by the board and the bond issue in September, if they choose to proceed.
Davis said the district has hired a bond attorney to guide them through the process and Thomas added, "The bond lawyer is telling us every step we need to take."
Thomas also stated that he and Davis along with board member Debra Johnson had traveled to Vicksburg to observe how they were handling things and how the students have reacted to all of the constructions and disruptions to their regular schedule because that district is in a similar situation.
Bailey said everything would be done in phases and that everything would not be torn down at one time. Bailey said he has spent more than 42 years designing schools in Mississippi.
Cass Pennington, PhD., and District 31 Representative Otis Anthony II were also on hand to share their expertise about the process. Both asserted that timing and public notice are essential.
