With a legislative promise for school construction funds in tow, Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District administrators and trustees are now expected to begin discussions on moving forward with a local bond that will help build a grades 6-7 campus for all Oktibbeha County schoolchildren.
SOCSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway said school board members and the district’s bond attorneys will discuss the issue at the district’s May 10 board meeting.
A local bond package is needed after state lawmakers pledged $5 million this year toward the project. Another $5 million is pending next year, but the district must show proof of obtaining its portion of the estimated $30 million needed to build a partnership school at Mississippi State University’s campus.
MSU previously pledged $10 million toward the project, most of which was tied to the land donation that makes the project possible.
SOCSD’s bond package is expected to be tax neutral, meaning local taxes should not increase when an issuance is approved. If the district allocates 2.9 mills expiring in October toward the project — which would maintain the current tax levy — it can procure about $16 million in a 20-year financing package, Holloway said.
The additional funds would give the district financial wiggle room for the project and an avenue to continue school bus replacement, he said.
The bond proposal should be ready sometime this summer, well ahead of next year’s legislative session.
“The key is keeping taxes level. Even before we get anywhere close (to the next legislative session), we need to have this money in hand,” Holloway said. “Just because we can go after $16 million doesn’t mean we’ll issue the full amount. We think the $30 million estimate gets us the building, furnishings, technology and everything else where it needs to be. It’s a moving number, of course, at this point, before we’re actually building it.”
A new campus will allow SOCSD to deal with middle school overcrowding, which is the result of the Starkville School District absorbing the Oktibbeha County School District. It also gives MSU a showpiece for its statewide rural education efforts.
The idea to construct the school was developed by a local consolidation study committee comprised of city, county, university and Mississippi Department of Education representatives.
Former OCSD Conservator Margie Pulley made the first attempt to secure its funding last year, but a petition effort by county taxpayers calling for a ballot initiative led to her rescinding a $13.2 million bond intent notice.
More than 20 percent of OCSD residents demanded the referendum after the Legislature empowered Pulley to move forward with the issuance in previous consolidation bills.
Many petition signers alluded to not knowing how the bond money would be used, even though the issuance and its primary goal were both public knowledge since the topics were first pitched in open meetings and forums in 2013.
Historically, OCSD’s voter base has not supported school improvement bonds.
Since then, school board member Lee Brand said increased communication efforts and the district’s ability to offer more opportunities to county students have improved relations between the district and its new constituents.
He said he’s hopeful all Oktibbeha County residents will embrace the upcoming bond issuance since “educating children and not tending to adults” is the primary goal of the financial package and the district.
“My philosophy on everything that involves money for education is simple: have a patient urgency. Be as patient as you need to be, but move as urgently as you need to,” Brand said. “Our district has done a good job with keeping money in the classroom, but we’re at a point now where we have to handle capacity and future growth. It’s right for us to do it now. There’s a lot of positive energy now about it. Oktibbeha County covers everyone in and outside of Starkville. Our hearts should be focused on giving the best education for all of our children.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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