Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire-Part 2

What Bob Didn't Tell You--The $250,000,000 Deal

Part 2 of A Continuing Series. (Start here).

The voters knew who to hold responsible for the problems at Lee County High School. Friends of Lee County High School endorsed all the incumbent school board members and commented on two members special qualifications in construction. (click here to read) The commissioner's chair got defeated; the board of education chair, to the consternation of Robert Reives, got reelected to the school board.

But maybe the implication that the problem was the Board of Education will take some heat off the commissioners. The proposal that the Lee County schools turn over construction and maintenance to the county commissioners as is proposed in Wake County is hot air. There is absolutely no evidence that the county commissioners can build or maintain buildings better than the school board. Maybe the hope is to sell the public on the idea that it is the board of education that can't be trusted and the commissioners were wise to torpedo the sales tax. Yet, SanLee Middle School, a construction project handled by the current board of education came in ahead of schedule and under budget.

There is evidence that commissioners tend to replace buildings under control of the commissioners long before they get into the kind of condition of Lee County High School. Witness the priority given in the county's capital improvement plan to build a county administration building for the commissioners and the senior staff. Also, the county commissioners' bias is written right into their finance policy. The commissioners can borrow money for county buildings or community college buildings without a bond referendum, but any borrowing for the schools has to have a bond issue.

State law places the responsibility for the construction and maintenance of schools under the boards of education but gives the responsibility for meeting the costs of both to the county commissioners. Granted, not a real strong structure for accountability. The Board of Education claims that the commissioners have not appropriated enough money for maintenance--only about two-third of what was requested. Lee County High School is old and was subjected to significant overcrowding for many years. Lack of annual maintenance is a red herring.

Reading the "Chamber Chat" one could get the impression that this is pretty much a done deal in Wake County. Far from it? (Click here to read what is really going on) What would cause the Wake County School Board to contract away one of its legal responsibilities? After all, the structure of a school has a lot to do with the learning environment. The answer is money. Under the Wake school board proposal, the school board hopes to get as much as 80 percent more money from the county commissioners over the next six years. Under the formula, the county's spending on schools could increase from $300.7 million this fiscal year to $558.7 million by 2013-14. Maybe for $250,000,000 the Lee County School Board ought to consider it.

Coming next, Hiring A Gunslinger
(click here to go back to Part 1)