The Henry County Board of Education is preparing for a referendum March 17 in which voters will be asked to approve the sale of $265.5 million of general obligation bonds.
The 20-year debt would be used to finance the construction of seven new schools and improve existing buildings; purchase buses, technology, and land; and make capital improvements.
“These projects would provide 386 classrooms in new buildings alone, while renovations to existing buildings would further increase classroom space,” the school board said in a release. The district’s last GO referendum was approved in 2004 to build seven schools.
Currently, 26 of 45 schools are over capacity and the district has nearly 400 modular classrooms at 32 schools serving 7,400 students.
If the bonds are approved, the school board plans to issue the debt in two series with $150 million being sold in May. The remainder of the authorization, $106.5 million, would be sold in May 2011.
