TOPIC: $14 million school improvements Take advantage of interest rates for all improvements
When the Warren County Commission meets Monday, a proposed $14 million schools improvements plan is sure to be a main topic of discussion. For the sake of both county children and county taxpayers, commissioners would be wise to adopt this plan.
Simply put, this plan would fund all of the school system’s needed improvements for years to come without a tax increase.
While not all of items on the school system’s wish list are desperately needed today, a majority are, including the renovations of the aging Nunley Stadium and the decrepit middle school auditorium. The replacement of Centertown School and Warren Academy, built in the 1940s and 1950s, respectively, are also included, as are the replacement of assorted HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems at many county schools.
The fact is that these and other stated needs are improvements which the commission should have undertaken years ago. While this is certainly not the fault of the current commission, today’s members do have the opportunity, nay the responsibility, to right these past wrongs. And the ability to do so without having to raise taxes should be a no-brainer.
Under the proposed plan, the commission would pay only the principal of any school improvements bond floated, while the school board would pay any and all interest. For the school system to share a good part of the burden is only fair, and the commission would be hard pressed to get a better deal.
As Commissioner David Hill pointed out, the proposed plan is a win-win situation. With it, the school system can get the improvements it so desperately needs while interest rates and construction costs are at all-time lows and county taxpayers will see no new taxes. Everybody wins.