The DeKalb County Commission approved a bond resolution last Monday night, at their regular monthly meeting, for up to $55 million in bonds over 30 years for the construction of a new Smithville Elementary School. The school will be funded only by revenues from local option sales tax local purpose/sinking fund, which is designated for school construction and operations.
All four municipalities within the county, Smithville, Dowelltown, Liberty, and Alexandria, voted to extend their sales tax agreement with the county an additional 18 years, to 2055, in order for the county to secure the bonds needed for the project. The City of Smithville’s agreement was with a stipulation that the county issue bonds within a year. With those agreements, county officials say there is no need for a property tax increase.
The new school is planned for 800 Pre-K through 2nd grade students, to be built on property already owned by the DeKalb County School System, adjacent to Northside Elementary on North Congress Boulevard. In May, 2020 the school board purchased 24.5 acres of property for $18,000 per acre for a total of $441,000.
According to DeKalb County Mayor Matt Adcock at the County’s Meeting of the Whole, the agreement is for up to $55 million in bonds, not that the full $55 will be needed. “If you put this out for bids and it comes in at $48 million, then that’s all you borrow. If it comes in at $56 million, they (Board of Education) will have to look at ways to cut costs to get it down to $55 million.”
Adcock also explained that this project differs from that of the jail issue. “School bonds are not subject to protest. There is only a detailed bond resolution. For a school the state has made it easier for a county to allocate money or issue bonds. This is a detailed bond resolution not to exceed $55 million and funds would go into a construction account and the schools would have it after that and its only supposed to be spent for construction of a school and that’s all.”
According to designs for the school by Upland Design Group, the new school would be 124,207 square feet in size and would be designed with room for future expansion to house up to 300 additional students (1,100) total. The school would be built with 11 classrooms for each grade level of kindergarten, first, and second grade (33 classrooms for 20 students each) along with seven Pre-K classrooms for 20 students each plus four CDC/SPED classrooms as needed. The future expansion would accommodate 15 new classrooms at 20 students each. There would be 189 parking spaces on the campus.
