The Macon County Board of Education will ask its principals to prioritize their capital outlay requests after an Oct. 18 special meeting where the board made a preliminary list.
The Oct. 18 special meeting started around 12:30 p.m., following the groundbreaking for the new Franklin High School. The board didn’t make concrete decisions in the hour-long meeting on spending the $1.25 million in capital outlay but made a wish list of what they felt were top priority items, which could change. The plan is to vote at the earliest on the capital outlay requests at the board’s Monday, Nov. 4 meeting.
After discussing the different requests, board member Hilary Wilkes wanted a priority list from principals, which Superintendent Josh Lynch said they could do. Later, it was mentioned to possibly wait until Dec. 16 as the board will then know if the quarter-of-a-cent sales tax referendum passes.
The initial list includes $1.25 million in capital outlay appropriations, an increase from $1.15 million last year. MCS Grounds and Facilities Director Todd Gibbs informed the board the $100,000 increase is earmarked for the purchase of bi-directional amplifiers for Mountain View Intermediate.
MVI is where on Jan. 16, students called 911 and made a shooting threat, resulting in a school lockdown and a law enforcement sweep of the building. Law enforcement found two-way radio communication difficult in MVI during the sweep. Afterward, the county and the school system prioritized additions of bi-directional amplifiers to enhance radio communication in all MCS buildings.
Board members were surprised by Gibbs saying he was told by county officials that the $100,000 was allocated with an earmark in mind.
Earlier in the meeting, IT Director Tim Burrell said he’s applying for the same safety grant the school system got in February and would need the $100,000 to cover the remaining expenses to install the bi-directional amplifiers plus security camera door swipes.
Out of the remaining $1.15 million, $600,000 is specifically for “technology” purchases, leaving $550,000 for dozens of requests.
The penciled-in capital outlay projects the school board wants to prioritize are as follows: a mobile meal serving line at Macon Early College ($15,000), a food warming unit at Macon Early College ($5,000), a reach-in cooler at Macon Early College ($6,000), two double stack ovens at Cartoogechaye Elementary and South Macon Elementary ($80,000), fencing at Nantahala School ($31,363), two milk coolers at Franklin High ($10,200), a swing set at Nantahala School ($3,500), resurfacing the Mountain View Intermediate parking lot (unknown cost) and a new maintenance truck for the maintenance staff ($59,980).
The board also talked about the Macon Middle School tile floors that need repairs. Gibbs said it’s a trip hazard. MCS Maintenance Director Tracy Tallent said carpet might be a fix to buy MCS more time.
The FHS milk cooler is the worst cooler, and Tallent said once the new FHS is built, those newer milk coolers can be moved to another school with the oldest milk coolers.
Board member Stephanie Laseter said she would like to see MCS tackle one repaving project each year. When asked which parking lots were the worst, Tallent said Mountain View Intermediate’s parking lot is the worst, followed by Macon Middle School’s bus parking lot.
Wilkes said chronic issues with playgrounds and parking lots need to be capital projects funded by the county commissioners. Board member Diedre Breeden brought up having solid information when presenting to the commissioners. Wilkes said the school board shouldn’t feel bad about asking for handouts from the commissioners since they can’t raise their own money.