Economy could slow plan to address Florence District 1 needs

The state of the economy could slow discussions of a financing plan to address Florence School District 1’s facility needs.

“Especially with the way the economy is right now, we will probably suspend any discussion about that until the economy stabilizes,” Superintendent Larry Jackson said. “... I suspect this discussion will be tabled for some length of time.”

Francis Marion University President Dr. Fred Carter, who is co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Panel, introduced the financing plan at the board of trustees’ Sept. 8 meeting.

The panel recommended financing a building plan through a “pay as you go” program.

The plan called for an increase in debt service millage to 32 mills beginning in 2009. That would allow the district to borrow about $21.5 million in 2009, and “the 32 mills levied in 2009 and 2010 to pay this amount would constitute about a 14-mill increase over current district debt service millage,” according to district officials.

Under this program, bonds would be repaid and reissued every two years to ensure flexibility for the district.

If the growth rate is 2 percent in assessed value each year, and net interest rates remained the same, the amount that could be borrowed for construction every two years and repaid from the 32-mill levy would increase from $21.5 million in 2007 to $37.6 million in 2038.

The total funding generated over 30 years is projected to be about $433 million.

If the board ever agreed to the financing plan, someone who owned a home with an assessed value of $100,000 would pay an additional $52 per year. If it was $50,0000, that person would pay an additional $26 a year.

School districts are limited by state law to a capital debt capacity of 8 percent of the assessed value of all taxable property in the district unless a higher amount has been approved by a referendum, according to the district.

Jackson said the “pay as you go” option would save Florence residents money, if that was what the board wants to pursue.

“I think ‘pay as go’ allows you to accelerate or decelerate the process as you go and, actually, the community would be saving a tremendous amount on the interest they would be paying,” he said.

The board has only received information on the plan and no projects have been determined or discussed, Jackson said. The Blue Ribbon Panel’s recommendations were for the board to review.

Carter said the Blue Ribbon Panel came up with a plan that would allow the district to build or complete projects on a consistent basis and stay ahead of anticipated growth in the district.

“I think we ultimately came up with a plan we could support,” he said.

Carter said panel members unanimously agreed the plan was a good way to finance the district’s needs.

Board member Pat Gibson-Hye said she doesn’t take issue with the plan, but thinks the public should have a say in what the district does in terms of addressing facility needs.

“I don’t have a problem with the plan because we definitely need the schools,” Gibson-Hye said. “We have to find a way to build schools. We’re overcrowded, we’re out of space, (and) we have too many portables.

“The problem I had at the time (of the Sept. 8 board meeting) and has since been resolved, is not informing the community, going out and having community meetings to get the community’s input, because they did reject our bond referendum,” she said. “I don’t want to back door them. They need to know what’s going on. We need their opinions and input.”

In 2007, Florence voters rejected the district’s $125 million bond referendum aimed at building seven schools and changing grade configurations for middle school students.

The passage of the bond referendum would have helped the district reduce the number of portable classrooms and class sizes, upgrade outdated facilities and meet the demands of growth in the district, particularly in the western part of Florence.