County Commission Seeks More Specifics from Board of Education on Proposal for New Schools

January 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Don’t expect the county commission to act on funding for new schools anytime soon.

During a committee of the whole meeting Thursday night, the county commission made it clear that more specifics are needed from the Board of Education on its plan for new school construction before moving forward on a funding request.

Earlier this month Director of Schools Patrick Cripps delivered a letter on behalf of the school board to County Mayor Tim Stribling and the County Commission making a request for funding of at least a minimum of $48,685,000 to build 2 Pre K-8 schools and to make renovations to Northside Elementary converting it a Pre K-8. “ We are seeking your approval of funding to proceed with land purchase and the school building project,” said Cripps in the letter.

County Mayor Stribling placed the board’s request on the agenda for Monday night’s regular monthly county commission meeting.

“The reason I put this on the agenda is to see if the commission wants the budget committee to look at funding and determine exactly what it is going to cost for what they (school board) want,” said County Mayor Stribling at Thursday night’s meeting.

“My question is what is this? They (school board) need to come up with something official. They need to give us figures with a breakdown of what the schools are going to cost and where they are going to put them. They are asking us to make a decision for them,” said Commissioner Bruce Malone.

Although the board’s request is for a minimum of $48 million the actual cost could be exceedingly more.

“Our (county commission) only role is to decide whether we want to issue a bond. If we were to issue a bond of $52, 750,000 on 25 years our debt payment would be a minimum of about $3 million a year depending upon the interest rate at the time of issuance,” said County Mayor Stribling.

Available money or new revenue needed to pay off that debt is also something the county commission must consider.

The county is already paying debt on other bond issues including for expansion of DeKalb West School and for school energy conservation work done by Johnson Controls several years ago and for the purchase of the county complex and post closure of the landfill. Those debts are expected to be paid off by 2025 and 2029.

“It seems to me if we are to decide whether to issue a bond we need to know what we are issuing it for. We need more information than a one paragraph statement (from the school board) that says we are requesting $48 million dollars. My thought is let’s not rush anything. Let’s get together and talk,” said Commissioner Dr. Scott Little.

Commissioners Anita Puckett, Sabrina Farler, and Beth Pafford suggested that the board’s request should at least be sent to the budget committee for further study.

“We know schools are going to be coming when they (school board) find the land,” said Commissioner Puckett. “Should we not start looking at ways to raise revenue because we know it’s coming?”

“My concern is we have all (county commission and board of education) waited over a year and nothing has been done and (construction) prices have gone up,” said Commissioner Pafford. “I can’t tell you how much our county can afford to spend on schools. My concern with waiting is it continues to get pushed down the road. I wonder if referring this to the budget committee for them to study and find out what we can do is something that we should do”.

“The problem is this request is open ended. It is not specific enough. I think its in the county commission’s best interest and the school board’s best interest for it to be rejected for lack of information. That word “minimum” in reference to their request for $48 million is a big word. We don’t do open checkbooks. We do specific financing. For us (budget committee) to meet and discuss this would be a waste of time. If you send this back to them (school board) and let them know it is insufficient they will provide us with the details,” said Commissioner and Budget Committee Chairman Dennis Slager.

Commissioner Janice Fish-Stewart suggested  the commission send a letter to the Board of Education that is supportive but seeks more information.

“I think we need to be very specific in our response to the school board. I think we should draft a letter and tell them that the county commission stands ready and willing to entertain their request for funding but in order for us to do so we need a specific request for funding with a building plan and for land. If there is no land we have nothing to talk about. We need to know where the land is, where the schools are going to be built, what they are going to build, and how they are going to build them. We need a plan and a quote that says we need “x” number of dollars and then let the budget committee and county commission consider it. We don’t want to play games and we don’t want our constituents to believe or even think that we are not interested in schools. We need to get serious and we need to say nothing to them (school board) that indicates that we don’t have an interest in schools. That’s the worst thing we could do for ourselves and the image of this commission,” said Stewart.

January 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

After sweeping both games at home Tuesday night against Smith County, the DCHS Tigers and Lady Tigers will be hoping to do the same tonight (Friday) as the travel to Jamestown for a rematch with district foe York Institute.

In the earlier meeting on December 6 in Smithville the Lady Tigers lost 54 to 53 in overtime and the Tigers were defeated by the Dragons 69 to 57.

Tuesday night the Lady Tigers won in overtime beating Smith County 59 to 52 while the Tigers claimed an 80 to 54 victory over the Owls.

The Tigers have a record of 6-13 (3-4 in the district) while the Lady Tigers are now 10-10 and (3-4 in the district).

WJLE will have LIVE coverage of the games tonight (Friday) with the Voice of the Tigers and Lady Tigers John Pryor on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE Streaming at www.wjle.com.

Catch WJLE’s Tiger Talk program prior to the action at 5:30 p.m. featuring Tiger and Lady Tiger Coaches John Sanders and Danny Fish with players Megan Walker and Brayden Antoniak.

(Listen to WJLE’s Tiger Talk program by clicking the link below)

Tiger Talk January 24

The remainder of the 2020 schedule is as follows:
Friday, January 24: York Institute*-Away 6 p.m.
Monday, January 27: Warren County-Away 6 p.m.
Tuesday, January 28: Livingston Academy*-Away 6 p.m.
Friday, January 31: Watertown*-Home 6 p.m.
Tuesday, February 4: Cannon County- Away 6 p.m.
Friday, February 7: Upperman- Home 6 p.m..
Tuesday, February 11: Macon County*-Away 6 p.m.
Thursday, February 13: Smith County*-Away 6 p.m.

January 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

If you are in search of a great canine companion then come meet “Clyde” at the DeKalb Animal Shelter.

This two year old Heeler mix is now ready for adoption!

Emmaly Bennett, Megan Moore, and Maggie Turney with Clyde from dwayne page on Vimeo.

“Clyde was found as a stray. He has already been neutered. Clyde is goofy, outgoing, and a jumper. He loves to play especially with toys. Clyde needs to be in a home by himself. He prefers to be the only dog and have all the attention. He’s great so please come by and fill out an application for him,” said Shelter employee Emmaly Bennett.

Stop by the animal shelter, call 615-597-3647 (DOGS), or visit facebook. The shelter is currently open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12-4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 to 12 noon. Closed Wednesday.

Located at 186 Transfer Station Road behind Tenneco Automotive.

« First ‹ Previous 1 1423 1513 1521 1522 15231524 1525 1533 1623 2408 Next › Last »