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Editorial |
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Schools should budget repairs, maintenance Nov. 26 - It was less than two years ago when voters approved a $36 million bond issue for new school construction and other improvements with our existing schools. But today, we are already hearing talk of the need for another bond issue to pay for a long list of repairs and additions. It would seem to have made a lot more sense to have all of these costs rolled into one package. It could turn into a difficult sell for voters to OK another bond issue when they thought they had just footed the bill for capital improvements. But there is little doubt more improvements are needed. Lincolnton High reports $1 million in renovations are needed. The School of Technology has a leaking roof, and other renovations are needed totaling $600,000. Battleground Elementary needs five to eight additional classrooms, and a gymnasium. North Brook Elementary is two classrooms over capacity and will soon add an additional second grade will have to be added next year. Catawba Spring Elementary needs a gymnasium air conditioning and an updated Intercom system. At Union School, four additional classroom and four smaller resource rooms are needed. Iron Station needs a full size gym. The list goes on and on. It will be up to the Lincoln County School Board to determine exactly how to pay for these needs, which could easily rise to $5 million or higher. If a bond issue is needed, the school board better be prepared to make their case to voters. They may also have to do a sales job on the Board of Commissioners first. When school officials first considered the last bond issue, the focus was on new construction. The lion’s share of the $36 million approved by voters is going toward the new high school and elementary school in east Lincoln. Construction has already begun on a new high school in Pumpkin Center. The rising populations in existing schools may have been overlooked at that time. Lincoln County schools are in a growth spurt that has been accelerating for the past five years. A lot of the needs cited in the recent tour of Lincoln County schools are related to repair and maintenance. Roofs need patching or replacing, air condition and heating systems new upgrading. These are the kinds of expenses that are best handled by a recurring maintenance budget instead of bond issues. Maybe it’s time for the school board to take a look at its maintenance and capital improvement budgets and consider expanding them to reflect today’s rising costs and the growing wear and tear on existing classrooms. A few years from now the school district will probably find the need for still more new schools and once again the voters will be asked to approve a bond issue. In the mean time, school officials should work on a plan to pay as you go on maintenance and repairs. |
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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