LAURINBURG, N.C. — Scotland County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of applying for a loan not to exceed $27 million to finance several projects including the expansion of two schools.
The 20-year loan will cover expansions at Laurel Hill and Sycamore Lane Elementary Schools, renovations at the former Morgan Center nursing home which will allow Richmond Community College to expand to a full campus and the refinancing of a water bond to a lower interest rate.
Commissioners heard from eight speakers during a public hearing Tuesday. The hearing was attended by nearly 30 people.
The majority of arguments were made against the expansion of Sycamore Lane and Laurel Hill Elementary Schools as part of school consolidation. The expansions are phase II of a three phase plan to consolidate county schools.
Under phase II Covington Street and North Laurinburg Schools will close and students will be absorbed into Sycamore Lane and Laurel Hill.
Resident Linda Huntley spoke in opposition to closing the two schools.
"I'm here to protest the $16 million bond proposal, to close two neighborhood schools and bus children miles away from their homes," Huntley said.
According to Huntley, the current schools were "adequate" and "paid for." She reasserted the opinion held by many that the construction would mean an increase in taxes, and asked the board to consider the residents of the county who were struggling.
Laurinburg Mayor Matthew Block also addressed the board, saying that he believes that commissioners and the school board are deceiving the public on the cost of running schools and the cost for consolidation.
Block accused the commissioners of being "lackeys" for the school board.
"I don't understand why you all are bending over backwards to take on all this debt and take the heat for this extremely unpopular consolidation and not demanding anything in return," Block said.
The mayor said the county should use the consolidation as leverage to negotiate lowering the amount of money it gives the school board for operations. He also urged the county to have a voter referendum on consolidation, saying it would allow for a lower interest rate through general obligation bonds.
He also said that local jobs would be lost and the money used to pay a construction company outside of the county.
But school board member Jamie Southerland, who also addressed the commissioners, said the two board had worked closely for some time to figure out the best plan to consolidate the schools.
"The school board spent countless hours gathering information, seeking input from the community and meeting in order to determine what was the correct path forward for the entire district," he said. "Not just in the short term, but for thye long-term viability and success for Scotland County schools."
He added that it has been "vital to both boards" that county taxes not go up to pay for consolidation.
Several commissioners said that they would not go along with the plan if they did not think it would improve education and benefit the children of the county.
Commissioner Betty Blue Gholston had been the lone board holdout on the matter of consolidation. She was opposed the move for two year because she did not want the county to take on up to $40 million in debt.
Gholston said she changed her mind on the issue once she began to consider the children.
"I still have a lot of reservations about the county going into debt when we have the highest tax rate in North Carolina and it's because of the school floor," Gholston said. "But I began to think of the children of Scotland County. Do I want to be the one to vote against the children having this experience and have a new and better learning environment?
Commissioner Whit Gibson said he had reservations were the loss of neighborhood schools, but he changed his mind after researching the issue.
"We have a very diverse population in this area," he said. "Our schools have not reflected the overall diversity of our students," Gibson said. "Research shows students learn better in diverse schools; it also shows they are much better equipped in the world they go because of their diversity. I see it as a way to more efficiently run our school system."
County Manager Kevin Patterson presented a breakdown of what the debt would be used for and the terms of the loan.
The expansions are Phase II of a three-phase plan to consolidate county schools. Under Phase II, Covington Street and North Laurinburg Schools will close and students will be absorbed into Sycamore Lane and Laurel Hill.
The debt the county is taking on does not include phase III which will require building a new school to house students from I Ellis Johnson and South Scotland.
"This is only for expansion at Laurel Hill and Sycamore Lane," Patterson said. "This does not involve the building of the new school and the closure of IEJ and South."
The part of the loan that will finance the construction is estimated to cost $16 million but current bids are coming in under that amount.
"The bids were opened this afternoon and actually and came in about $2 million under construction estimates," Patterson said. "The combined low bids were at $12, 854,000, which was a pleasant surprise for the bid opening."
The estimated annual payment for school system's part of the debt will be $1,056,855 giving the system an estimated savings of just over $2 million which can be applied to the debit.
The county also has $1.3 million in "restricted revenue from sales tax and lottery funds that must be used for schools for debt service," Patterson said.
During construction the county will take possession of the two schools. The county will retain ownership of Sycamore Lane and used as collateral for the 20 year period of the loan, but Laurel Hill will revert to the school system once the expansion is complete.
The buildings will be leased back to the school system which will be responsible for operational costs.
RCC expansion
Part of the loan will be spent on the renovating the former Edwin Morgan Center Nursing Home so the building can be used used jointly by Richmond Community College and the county.
Refurbishing the building will cost the county between $2 million to $2.5 million and will be paid for out of future budgets, Patterson said.
"Primarily we would wind up moving the tax office out of the courthouse which would free up space in the courthouse for court needs, which has been an issue for quite some time," Patterson said. "But we are hitting some areas where we're likely to have some legal impasses if we do not address those concerns."
Renovating the building and taking over the empty Covington Street School facility will allow the college to expand its presence in the county and receive a full campus designation for the Laurinburg site.
RCC currently has a satellite campus on McLean Street, the F. Diane Honeycutt Center.
Chris English, executive director of the Laurinburg Scotland County Chamber of Commerce, read a letter in support of the college's expansion.
"Richmond's Honeycutt satellite campus has given our community improved access to educational opportunities in which many employers leveraged this valuable asset to provide employees with the education and skills needed for continued success. This investment has proven to be a major influence in economic development and business expansion for the Scotland County area," English said.
The letter went on to say that using the Covington Street location and Morgan Center was a logical and strategic move which would bring growth to the county and surrounding area.
"There are many challenges for education and workforce development in Scotland County," English continued. "The expansion of the Richmond campus addresses critical barriers like transportation, childcare and other issues and makes it easier for our citizens to have the availability for continued quality education and opportunities."
