WINNSBORO – Fairfield County school board members are taking out another line of credit, one of many the district has sought to help pay for building and facilities projects.
At its July meeting, the board voted 6-1 to borrow $2.2 million to fund a variety of building and facilities projects. Board member Paul Hartman cast the lone dissenting vote.
Hartman asked for the record to show that she favored using alternative funding sources as opposed to seeking a loan.
“I feel like we should use the remainder of what’s left over from the calendar year, finishing up than borrowing money,” she said.
Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green said the bond was necessary because the district has recurring capital needs.
“You still have to put roofs on buildings. Air conditioners do not last forever,” Green said. “We’ve not had one single year where we’ve not done things to upgrade our facilities. We’re in a much better place but we aren’t where we need to be yet.”
Borrowing has become a common theme as of late for the Fairfield County School District.
In June, the board approved a $5.4 million loan in the form of a tax anticipation note, a short-term
loan to help the district cover temporary shortfalls until tax revenue starts rolling in beginning in January 2019.
The board took out a similar note worth $5 million in 2017, according to district documents.
Two years ago, they approved a $2 million general obligation bond to renovate Kelly Miller Elementary School.
And in 2013, the board approved a $20 million bond to help build a new career center, resulting in a tax increase from 24 mils up to 34 mils that the district, at the time, said would only be for two years.
The loan included $15.6 million for the building, with the remaining $4.4 million diverted to finance other facility and equipment needs in the district.
All told, the sampling of loans totals about $29.6 million, according to district documents and reporting by The Voice.
The most recently approved bond includes a laundry list of various facility projects, with line items ranging from $16,000 to $300,000.
Interior and exterior LED lighting and bathroom renovations led the list at $300,000 each, followed by $250,000 from bleacher renovations.
Also included within the $2.2 million is a district-wide contingency fund of $274,000, school board documents show.
A breakdown of what contingency funds would cover was not available, and Green couldn’t be reached for follow-up comment as of press time.
The bond itself would take about a year to repay, and debt millage would remain constant at 20.6 mils, according to district documents.
The interest rate wasn’t immediately available, though board documents state the district could receive a competitive rate through the S.C. Association of Governmental Organizations (SCAGO), which the district is utilizing to issue the bond.
“The SCAGO program pools other school district bond issuances, which results in lower issuance costs and potentially better interest rates due to increased competition for the purchase,” board documents state.
In addition to quizzing Green about identifying funding sources other than borrowing, Hartman also asked for the amount of the district’s current outstanding debts.
Kevin Robinson, the district’s director of finance, said he couldn’t provide an exact amount.
“I don’t know the exact amount. We are still paying on the career center,” Robinson said. “That debt has not been extinguished as of yet. And that’s per the schedule that was initially approved.”