Partnership school funding clears final hurdle

With the approval of a $16 million local bond resolution Friday, all funds needed for a new sixth and seventh grade school on the Mississippi State University campus have been pledged.
The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the bond issue, which gives the final piece needed to fund the estimated $30 million school. It has an anticipated opening date of August 2018.
School district officials said the bonds will not cause a net tax increase from current rates because 2.9 mills are scheduled to come off the district’s rates this year. They do not expect it to take over 2.9 mills to service the debt.
“As far as I know, there was no opposition in the community at all,” Holloway said. “I think there would have been if we raised taxes, but the taxes stay level. It’s a great day.”
The state legislation that consolidated the Starkville and Oktibbeha County School District gives the school board the authority to issue bonds for the school through a reverse referendum. No petitions to bring the bond issue to a countywide vote came in ahead of Friday’s deadline. At a public hearing last week, the only citizens who made comments spoke in favor of the bond issue.
Last month, the Mississippi Legislature approved a bond bill that included $10 million for the school over two years. MSU has pledged $10 million, including $5 million in land, to the project. Conceptual plans have the school located just west of the Highway 182 and George Perry Street intersection.
The school will serve all SOCSD sixth and seventh graders while also functioning as a demonstration site for student teachers and a research center for rural teaching and education.
Holloway said architects for the school met with SOCSD and MSU personnel on Wednesday and Thursday and will do so again in July. Assistant Superintendent Jody Woodrum said she was glad to see the architects meet with Armstrong Middle School teachers.
“About 45 people met with the architects yesterday,” Woodrum said. “There were teachers, administrators, MSU faculty coming over to share what education situations need to look like, what science classrooms need to look like. They got lots of input yesterday that I think will help with the renderings.”
At the school board’s regular June meeting, trustees will decide how much of the debt to issue at this time. Approximately $10 million is needed for help constructing the school, while other funds could go to other repairs in the district and preparing Overstreet Elementary to house the school district’s fifth grade students.
Once trustees affirm the amount of money to be raised by the bond sale, bond counsel Jim Young will advertise for bids. He said he hopes bids come in in time to be approved at the July meeting. The money could be in the school’s bank accounts by August, according to Young.
“This is a historic day not only for our school district but for our whole state,” school board president Jenny Turner said. “We’ll have a partnership school that will be unique not just to use but also the whole state of Mississippi.”
Board member Keith Coble thanked those who supported the reverse referendum bond to build the school and helped spread the message of why it was needed.