School board votes to build downtown central office

By Sarah Campbell

scampbell@salisburypost.com

EAST SPENCER — The 23-year debate about the location of a central office for the Rowan-Salisbury School System came to an end Monday after less than 10 minutes of discussion by the Board of Education.

Board members voted 6-1 to build in downtown Salisbury on land donated by the city. It remains to be seen whether school system officials will have to make do with a scaled-down version of the facility they wanted on that site or can raise enough money to fulfill the original plan.

“Since the initiation of discussions that identified the need for an education center … almost two generations of students have come through our schools,” board member Kay Wright Norman said before making the motion. “The time has come for this elected Board of Education to make the decisions that only we can make for our system, our current and future employees, our community and those who will visit our community.”

The Rowan County Board of Commissioners approved a letter of commitment to borrow $6 million for a central office Monday. The district plans to pay back that money through the portion of sales tax revenues it receives for capital projects each year.

The school board had originally requested commissioners’ approval to enter a lease-purchase agreement with a private developer to construct a three-story, 62,000 square-foot building downtown. The price tag for that project, with financing costs, comes in at nearly $9.4 million.

“What we want to do is build a 62,000 square-foot building, but we don’t have the money to do that,” school board Chairman Dr. Jim Emerson said after Monday’s meeting. “What we really need now is some of the movers and shakers in this county to step foward and maybe help us out.”

Norman said she’s in favor of doing some type of fundraising to see the building be constructed as planned.

“I’m of the opinion that we should build what we need and not let ourselves get to a place where we cannot expand,” she said.

School board Vice-Chairwoman Jean Kennedy said she’s not interested in fundraising, but wouldn’t be opposed to any gifts people are willing to make toward the project.

Gene Miller, the district’s assistant superintendent of operations, right now the school system can only hire an architect to design a $6 million building.

“We have authority for $6 million and that’s all, but we can design it with expansion in mind and that’s certainly what we’ll do,” he said. “However, there are going to be some efforts pretty quickly, I hope, to start raising some private money.”

But Miller said if that doesn’t happen, the district will find a way to build a $6 million facility that meets its needs.

“Obviously, if we have to cut it down, we will,” he said. “We’ll look at, can we do with less storage, can we do with less conference space?”

‘Time to move on’

Although Monday’s meeting had been touted as an opportunity to discuss various options such as the downtown property offered by Post Publishing Co. and the former MI Window and Doors location on Heilig Road, Norman’s motion to build downtown was made and approved almost immediately.

“To be honest, I was surprised it went down the way it did,” school board member Mike Caskey said after the meeting. “I thought we were there to discuss options and try to put a plan together for the future, but apparently everyone had already made their minds up before we had the meeting.”

Caskey cast the lone dissenting vote, requesting the board take 30 days to consider other options.

“I would prefer that we at least hear what’s out there,” he said. “I’ve been getting emails from people with lots of different proposals, I just got one today from someone who is offering us reduced-priced land near the hospital.”

But board members quickly cut Caskey off.

“Is it free?” Emerson asked.

Norman interjected, saying, “this is not a discussion that just started last month, this is a discussion that has been going on for years.

“I think it is our duty not to prolong this anymore, we need to do it,” she said.

Kennedy seconded Norman’s motion.

“I completely agree with her,” she said after the meeting. “It is time for us to move on. There are other areas that we need to focus on.”

School board member Dr. Richard Miller said he voted in favor of building downtown because he feels school board members have done their due diligence on the subject, looking into various options throughout the years.

“I think it’s time,” he said. “The county commissioner indicated the level of funding they would support, and we need to see how much of our needs can be developed through that.”

Building a new facility seemed like the best option to school board member Bryce Beard.

“You can’t renovate a building, you have to gut it if you want it to run the way you want,” he said.

Two more years

Gene Miller said he’ll be checking with the school system’s lawyer today to find out if the district is required by law to advertise for an architect.

“Especially in light of all the work Mr. (Bill) Burgin has already done,” he said.

Burgin did a space study of the district’s administrative offices in 2007 to determine how much space would be needed in a new facility. He has also drafted floor plans of what a 62,000 square-foot building might look like.

When the architectural planning is complete, the school system will have to go back to county commissioners to make a final presentation including details about the location, plans and budget before an application for financing is submitted to the Local Government Commission.

Gene Miller said it will likely be four to six months before the construction can begin on the building. That time period includes working with an architect and bidding out the project.

He said it will take another 12 to 15 months to actually construct the building.

“That’s pretty much eating up two years,” Miller said.

Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.

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