Careful consideration is being given to making decisions about a possible bond issue proposal for school construction from the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District, says the president of its board, Samantha Milton.
Milton
Since January, the school board has met for long amounts of time on four occasions in closed executive sessions to weigh the ramifications of a bond issue and what the next move might be in requesting the issue.
On Wednesday alone, the board met for more than three hours.
“Planning for building new schools is a decision that must be carefully planned and discussed. There are many factors involved in school bond planning,” Milton said in an email Friday. “The board will share its plans with the public when it is comfortable that all efforts to ensure the successful passing of a school bond have been explored.”
She said, “The GLCSD prides itself for being transparent.”
Milton also cited a state law that says a public board can close its meetings if the board is discussing the “transaction of business and discussion regarding the prospective purchase, sale or leasing of lands.”
The board has heard from three architectural firms during regular meetings and work sessions but has yet to set a formal amount or timeline for a bond issue proposal. It would have to be put to a countywide referendum and would require approval by 60% of the voters in order to pass.
Results of an online survey of what a bond issue might be used for were released in November.
Creating a new high school was the top choice of what to do with the money if a bond issue were approved.
Of the nearly 3,000 participants in the survey — students, parents and others in the community — 48% said that if they could choose only one new school to be built with bond money, they would opt for a new consolidated high school. A new elementary school received 21% of the vote, followed by 18% for a new middle school and 13% for a new primary school for kindergarten through second grade.
• Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. On Twitter at @AdamBakst_GWCW.
