FCS moving forward with ELOST plans
After the vote, now system officials have to further develop plans to get going on the projects.
A master plan on the projects to be funded through an extension of the 1-cent education local option sales tax is expected to go before the Floyd County Board of Education during a work session at the start of next year.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the ELOST extension during Nov. 7’s election. Collections for this ELOST won’t begin until April 1, 2019, a day after collections for the current ELOST run out. But officials with Floyd County Schools have hit the ground running to establish the steps that need to be taken going forward.
The presentation of the master plan to board members is being planned for Jan. 2, and is aimed at acquainting them on the decisions they will have to make to get the projects rolling, said Superintendent John Jackson.
The two marquee projects for the system under ELOST 5 are the modernization of Armuchee High, estimated to cost around $25 million, and the building of a new Pepperell Middle, which will run the system approximately $20 million.
Jackson said one of the first things that need to be addressed is figuring out which ELOST 4 projects still need to be completed, as promised to the tax payers, and which of these can be carried over to ELOST 5.
An example is replacing the air-conditioning system at the Armuchee High auxiliary gym, an ELOST 4 project. But that has changed as part of the ELOST 5 plans, where the auxiliary gym will undergo work to be outfitted as a field house. John Jackson
Sticking with Armuchee High, officials have to decide which pieces of the modernization project they want to do first. The system has already applied for state capital outlay funding for redoing the roof and replacing the HVAC system at the school. The system is eligible to receive $2,038,568 in reimbursement funds from the state.
Work on athletic facilities, including building a new gym, is not eligible for this type of funding. A focus is to get the projects that won’t get this funding going, Jackson said.
So it has to be determined exactly how much the system will need to borrow to get the gym built. This early on the system doesn’t want to borrow the total amount for the modernization project, since interest on the loan will be accruing before ELOST 5 collections even start coming in.
Jackson said the system doesn’t want to pay any unnecessary interest, and officials are working with a financial advisor to nail down the options they have.
A big piece to figure out for modernization is planning projects out so construction doesn’t disrupt the learning process of students during the year. Jackson said building a new gym, converting the auxiliary gym into a field house, and changes to the football stadium and track won’t affect students. Work on the inside of the building isn’t expected to begin until 2019 or 2020.
It will be a long, drawn out process, like the building of a new Coosa High under ELOST 4, but Jackson said he thinks the community will be pleased with the results.