Nov 3, 2013 4 min read

Jefferson-Morgan School District might be the third school district in Greene County to take on a school renovation project.

The school board initiated the process earlier this year by hiring an architect to prepare a feasibility study for improvements to the building that houses the middle school and the high school. Though the study is not completed, the board last month indicated it has begun talking about financing a project and mentioned the need to raise taxes to fund it. Though the contours of the project are unclear, we can see it will involve several challenges.

The building was constructed in 1955 and was last renovated about 28 years ago. The full extent of its deficiencies, as we said, will not be revealed until the feasibility study is finished. The board, however, did find it necessary to address one aspect of the building’s condition immediately – the replacement of the roofs over the auditorium and gymnasium. At one board meeting, it was noted the district recently moved a volleyball game to the elementary school because of water leaking onto the high school gym floor.

Two other districts in the county are now involved in renovation projects. West Greene School District is finishing renovations to its middle and senior high school building. It also recently started the construction of a new elementary center as an addition to the middle and senior high. The Carmichaels district is planning to renovate all three of its buildings and expects work to begin in the spring. Both districts expect to receive state reimbursement to cover a portion of their costs. Carmichaels, for instance, has estimated it will receive about $7 million from the state for a project costing about $25 million.

It remains to be seen whether state reimbursement will be available for Jefferson-Morgan. The state last year instituted a moratorium on reimbursements for school construction projects and whether the moratorium will be lifted, or the program changed completely, is anyone’s guess.

Jefferson-Morgan’s financial condition may be another issue. The district does not appear to have the reserves of the other two districts. In January, its auditor indicated the district had ended the 2012 fiscal year with an unassigned fund balance lower than recommended for a district of its size.

West Greene, in preparing its elementary school project, indicated it would use about $7.4 million out of $9.5 million it had saved in a capital reserve fund just for such projects. Carmichaels did raise taxes in June to fund the renovations, but it kept the increase to the amount established by the inflationary index set by the Taxpayers Relief Act.

The Jefferson-Morgan board has indicated it will probably have to exceed the inflationary index in order to fund a project. That will require the board to approve a budget in January and either receive an exception from the state Department of Education to increase taxes above the index or to have the increase approved in a voter referendum. Because the exceptions permitted by the law are few, and none address financing for new construction, this could leave the entire matter in the hands of the voters.

We should note that neither of the projects that have gotten underway in West Greene or Carmichaels have stirred opposition from the public, but none have required their boards to propose tax hikes exceeding the index approved by ballot.

Jefferson-Morgan board members had talked at their last meeting about getting the public behind the project. It is a worthy one, but it will require the board to do a good job in explaining why the project is necessary not only for aesthetic considerations, but also for its educational benefits and the future of the district.