October 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
The Board of Education’s proposal to move forward on preliminary plans for a new Pre-K through 2nd grade school to replace Smithville Elementary may have to wait a bit longer.
By a vote of 8-6, the county commission Monday night tabled a motion to support the board in proceeding with preliminary work until members of the commission can meet in a workshop with the school board to discuss the project in more detail and possibly other school construction options.
After months of trying to reach a consensus, the Board of Education earlier this month voted unanimously to make a recommendation to the county commission on a new multi phase school building plan which includes construction of a new elementary school for students in pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade to be built on the campus of Northside Elementary School.
The school board’s request Monday night was merely to seek the commission’s support in proceeding with preliminary work on this specific (Pre-K to 2nd grade) model without any commitment of funding at this time. The board wishes to contract with Upland Design Group Architects to gather more information on the cost of building a new 98,000 square feet school to accommodate 800 students on the Northside property and to determine whether additional land would be needed at this site. A TDOT study pertaining to traffic flow in and out of the proposed school campus would also be required.
Seventh District Commissioner Bruce Malone raised the question with County Attorney Hilton Conger why a vote from the commission was necessary at this time. “I would like a clarification on why we have to vote on this since we have been told it doesn’t involve us outlaying any money, any expenditure, or any approval of any funds. Why do we have to give the school board a wink and a nod to give them permission to go ahead?
“This right now is just a preliminary approval of a design and for them (school board) to do a study of the proposal they have made which is for a Pre-K through 2 (school),” answered Conger.
“This not only gives leeway for the school board to proceed to find out some additional things (about the project) but if we do this (plan) the budget committee, along with the school board, can meet and determine what kind of funding we’re going to need if we look at a $20 million school but we’re not approving that they (school board) spend $20 million tonight,” said County Mayor Tim Stribling.
“Then what are we approving?” asked Commissioner Malone.
Saying he thought it would answer 99% of Malone’s questions, First District member Dennis Slager made a motion and explained the reasons for it.
“All we’re trying to do is give these guys (school board) a go ahead to move forward. They have gone as far as they can go on somebody else’s dime. Now they are going to have to ante up a little money to get the remaining work done on this study. When they get this study done they are going to come back and present it to us and say hey guys here is what we found out. Here is what we found out from TDOT. Here is what the engineer says. We may or may not have to buy some additional land. We don’t know yet. But they (school board) don’t (know yet) either. The only way we’re going to find out is to hire the professionals who can make that decision and go forward and that’s what this motion does,” said Slager.
In his motion, Slager said “As the DeKalb County Board of Education has requested, by letter, permission to proceed with the preliminary work in providing a new K-2 elementary school located on the Northside Campus. The DeKalb County Commission gives approval that the Board of Education complete all preliminary work necessary, which includes hiring Upland Design Group, Engineers, TDOT study, and any necessary preliminary studies that would be required. The County Commission authorizes the Board of Education to pay all costs of preliminary work out of their appropriate designated funds. Upon completion of all preliminary work, the final reports will be submitted to the County Commission for final approval. A financing option will be presented by the Budget and Finance Committee for consideration and final County Commission approval”.
Second District Commissioner Myron Rhody offered a second to Slager’s motion.
Third District Commissioner Jenny Trapp then moved to table Slager’s motion saying she wanted to “bring this (issue) back to a workshop. We need more information. I would like the commission to consider this motion and schedule a workshop. It doesn’t hurt. I know we need schools. We needed some yesterday but I feel to go further on this we need to know more and I am just not at that point where I can make a decision tonight”.
Fifth District member Jerry Adcock offered a second to Trapp’s motion. The vote to table passed by a vote of 8 to 6. Those voting in favor of the table in addition to Trapp and Adcock were Bruce Malone, Matt Adcock, Julie Young, Bobby Johnson, Janice Fish-Stewart, and Scott Little. Those voting against tabling Slager’s motion in addition to Slager and Rhody were Sabrina Farler, Anita Puckett, Jeff Barnes, and Beth Pafford.
Malone said while he isn’t opposed to new school construction, he wants a joint workshop between the county commission and school board to determine if this specific proposal is the best for the county.
“This is only my opinion but why did you pick such a small building (elementary school)? Were you afraid the county commission would turn it down if you didn’t? I think we should get the biggest bang for the buck. Maybe the school board was too afraid to ask for much more. I would be inclined to spend more for more. I would like to have a workshop because I definitely agree that we do need schools. Something needs to be done but I don’t know if this is the right thing for DeKalb County or not. I would like to see a plan we could all go along with and make the citizens of DeKalb County happy and it be something we would all be proud of,” said Malone.
In September 2017, the Board of Education hired Upland Design Group for $19,500 to conduct a facilities study. Three months later Upland presented six options for the board to consider. The school board narrowed those options down to three by April and two by August before settling on the Pre-K through 2 plan. The estimated project cost is $19,464,500 but that figure does not include costs of site preparation or the purchase of additional land if needed.
COUNTY+COMMISSION+MEETING+(10-22-18).m4a | County Commission Meeting Audio