Elementary school projects on hold due to funding dispute

Projects to add 14 new classrooms to Germantown and Macon Hall elementary schools are among a number of capital improvements on hold due to a funding dispute with the Shelby County Commission, Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said.

Shelby County Schools had to press pause on a total of $13 million in projects, including an eight-classroom addition at Newberry Elementary, a sixclassroom addition at Jackson Elementary and new gymnasiums for another six schools — some of which have never had a gym.

The commission, Hopson said, may try to “claw back” $13 million of funding that the county allocated to the school district over the last three years, saying the money has gone unused.

That’s not the case, Hopson said, as each dollar has a project attached to it. With a total of $116 million allocated between 2016 and 2018, he said, it took time to get through the full list.

“I raise this because I think you guys will start getting calls about why this isn’t happening,” Hopson told his board members Tuesday night about projects slated to begin in their districts.

The board previously approved each project, and the county commission approved the funding.

County Commissioner Michael Whaley, who chairs the commission’s education committee, said there’s “no intention that I’m aware of to take anything back.” But the commission’s policy, he said, dictates capital funding projects that are allocated for a particular fiscal year be spent in that year.

The commission is waiting on guidance from the county’s finance team, Whaley said, but would likely have to go through the process again to give the school district the money again.

“It’s just a matter of making sure it’s done properly,” Whaley said, adding he hoped it would be worked out by the end of the year.

Hopson said after Tuesday’s meeting he didn’t want to sound alarmist but wanted to warn the board of the possibility the money could disappear. He said he’s worried if the $13 million goes away, the district would have to dip into the current year’s capital funding allocation to pay for those projects. That could interfere with plans to build two new elementary schools, merging a total of five schools that are under-enrolled and falling apart.

The district also has over $500 million in deferred maintenance projects. Neglect of those projects over the last few decades, Hopson has said, led to a breakdown in several schools’ heating systems this month.

Next week, the school board will vote to spend over $1.1 million on HVAC work at 16 schools.

Beth Phalen, the district’s chief of business operations, said it’s been common practice for SCS to use leftover capital funding money to tackle additional projects on the deferred maintenance list, without having to go back to the county commission for approval.

“That money never goes to waste,” she said.

Board members said they planned to push the county to let the school district keep the funds.

Board member Billy Orgel, who chairs the board’s facilities committee, said students shouldn’t be punished because the district “couldn’t get shovels in the ground quick enough.”

“I would hope that the wisdom of the mayor and the county commission will shine through, which it always has,” Orgel said.

During the county commission’s meeting Tuesday, the issue was not discussed directly, but commissioners addressed the need for the school district to move projects along faster.

“Anything we can do to increase our effectiveness of project management and getting things done, I wholeheartedly support,” Commissioner Mark Billingsley said. “If there’s anything this commission can do to help move the needle or pressure the board members, we just want to see results sooner rather than later.”

Reporter Katherine Burgess contributed to this report.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer. pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.