School board working to create list of capital needs
List will show why 1% sales tax deserves voter approval in Nov.
By MIKE WILLIAMS
Patriot Publishing
Pulaski County Public Schools will compile a list in September of maintenance and renovation work county schools need as evidence for the need to pass a new 1 percent sales tax on the November ballot.
Voters in Pulaski County will decide whether or not to enact a 1 percent increase in sales tax locally, with money raised by the tax going strictly for capital improvements in the school system.
One school board member said last week she is getting questions from citizens about whether the new tax is needed, and what exactly the money from it can be used for.
“I’ve been getting some questions since it was announced that there will be a referendum put on the ballot in November,” said Ingles District representative Gina Paine.
“The questions I get generally from citizens, first of all, correcting they think that money, if granted, would only be earmarked for new school construction, and I explained to them, no,” she said explaining that the money would be utilized for modification and upgrading – or modernizing which she said is greatly needed.
Paine expressed the need to “lay out for the public what we’re actually facing with a 50-year-old high school, with some of our older schools to modernize, what would we be looking at in terms of a price tag to accomplish all that” in explaining the necessity of a 1 percent sales tax.
Jess Shull, Facilities Manager for the school system pointed to just two projects – a parking lot at Dublin Elementary School and the roof at Pulaski County High School – and the high cost of just those two projects.
The parking lot at DES has a price tag of $745,000, Shull said, while the remaining roof in need of replacement at PCHS will cost $3.9 million.
“That’s something nobody will ever see. Won’t change the look of the building, but it needs a new roof,” Shull said.
“Well, I think most citizens understand if you get into constructing new schools, they generally come with a pretty hefty price tag. They don’t realize the cost of maintaining schools year-over-year as they get older,” Paine added.
“I mean, just modernizing, being able to stay in tune with the educational needs of our students, what our staff are using. Are we ready for the onset of AI at the high school, can we wire that? There’s a lot.”
Paine said board members need details.
Paine noted that, “If you got into having to rebuild a high school the magnitude of which we have, the price tag on a school like that right now would be somewhere between $150 and $200 million dollars.”
“Absolutely, the square foot price right now for an average school in the state of Virginia is about $460 to $480 a square foot,” Shull responded.
“And to give you an example, we built Pulaski County Middle School for $247 a square foot. It’s doubled,” he added.
“Yep. And it would take 50-plus years to pay it off,” Paine added.
“Exactly,” Shull responded.
“So, we have great buildings, we have great schools, but boy, they need some TLC, and that has a price tag with it,” Paine said.
“And realistically, being if the citizenry is so generous to allow for it, it would also allow for us to address not just items on the list one at a time. We could look at taking on major projects bonded because there would be a source of revenue to pay the bond,” Shull said.
He added that if the sales tax passes in November, the school system could probably complete its 10-year capital improvement plan in “probably two years.”