Bad news for school board
Governor's proposed budget for next year includes a bond package of $1.219 billion- but not one dollar of that would go to North Carolina' s school systems.
By Carla Gwaltney Owens Sentinel writer

Clay County School Board members were privileged to watch a detailed presentation by Padgett and Freeman Architects, PA out of Asheville Monday night showing some of the firm's work done for other Western North Carolina school systems, including a large K-12 campus the firm is currently constructing for the Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, N.C.

The architectural firm has done the recent projects at Clay County Schools, working on the addition to the high school most recently. Clay County Schools is looking to build a new primary school for grades pre-K through 2nd on land to be acquired by the county adjacent to the Clay County Veteran's Park.

But while the firm's representatives shared their slide show of impressive projects done for institutions including Western North Carolina University and the Mission Hospital in Asheville, Penland had bad news to share with board members concerning the hope of a statewide bond referendum to fund school construction needs like Clay's new primary school.

Following Padgett and Freeman's presentation, which concluded with the fact that the current average construction cost for a school is approximately $152 a square foot and total square foot cost including furniture and computers is closer to $200 per square foot, Penland shared the Governor's proposed budget for next year which includes a bond package of $1.219 billion but not one dollar of that would go to North Senator John Snow offered Carolina' s school systems. Penland said that this is not the final word on a bond referendum for school construction needs, as the North Carolina House of Representatives and the Senate have not yet submitted their budget proposals.

"I was very disappointed in the Governor's budget," Penland commented, adding that although it is not the final budget it is a very important. "There will be three budgets out there," Penland commented on the fact that the house and senate will each present a budget also. "I am hopeful that the legislative budget will include money for us." Penland said that his hope is that before all is said and done a school bond referendum will make it into the final budget.

Clay County School Board members asked what happened to the support for the bond referendum that was shown at forums held across the state when citizens joined with school board members, business leaders, county commissioners and legislators to discuss the needs of schools across the state.

Superintendent Penland and Chairman Charles Penland said that the legislature still has to propose their budget and hopefully they will not ignore the voices they heard which made know the needs for money to fund school construction. a ray of hope Tuesday following the discouraging news that the Governor's proposed budget and bond

package doesn't include funding for school construction.

"I am hopeful that we are going to see some bond money for schools," Snow told the Sentinel on Tuesday. Although he said he

could not guarantee it, he said he felt certain that budgets which are to be presented by the House of Representatives and

the Senate would both include bond money for North Carolina's schools.

Snow said that legislators from across the state recently attended public forums like the one he and members of the Clay County School Board attended in Asheville. At these meetings, legislators were made aware of the need for the state to provide money for school construction.

Snow commented that a bond referendum to provide additional classroom space is the most favored of all the bond referendums on the table, including water and sewer bonds and land conservation bonds.

Snow continued to assert that he feels that a bond for schools is a priority among the entire legislature. "It is definitely one of the most important to me," Snow said of a school bond. "And it looks like it is going to be a priority."

Snow said that there are three main groups looking for bond money this year, and all three he said are needed. In addition to

the $2 billion school bond which is being discussed, bond money is also currently needed for water and sewer infrastructure

improvements across the state, Snow stated. There is also a push for more money to help purchase land for conservation. Money

from a bond would allow for the purchase of large tracts of land which would then be placed in conservation trust funds to

preserve the land from future development.

Commenting on the Water and Sewer Bond, Snow said that there is a need throughout the state for major updating of municipal water and sewer systems. Clay County is one of many who are in need of major expansion of existing systems to keep up with growth.

Snow said that a $40,000 grant for a new pump station for Clay County was announced just last week. But more money is needed for Clay and other counties and it will be take a lot of money and many years to make the necessary infrastructure improvements, Snow commented.

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