CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The Bradley County Board of Education has asked the county commission to increase the county's $12 million commitment to a long-awaited makeover for Lake Forest Middle School by another $2.5 million.
The request follows a recent reassessment of costs associated with the construction of a two-story academic building - now estimated at $17.1 million - that will replace a dozen 40-year-old classroom pods spread across the school's 75-acre campus. The school system will fund the remaining $2.6 million of the construction expense, more than doubling the school board's prior $1 million commitment to the capital project.
On Monday, the Bradley County Education Committee voted 4-0 to have the county's finance committee seek revenue sources for the additional funding request. The Bradley County Finance Committee will review the matter on March 7.
Commissioner Milan Blake, who is chairman of the Finance Committee, voiced approval of the project's cost reassessment.
"We want to make sure we have good numbers and can build a good product," said Blake, citing his ongoing concerns that earlier funding commitments by the county commission and school board might have been inadequate for the task.
Education Committee member Commissioner Bill Winters praised the school board's willingness to put so much of the school system's money into the comprehensive overhaul of Lake Forest Middle School.
"The school board has put quite a bit of money into this and that's unheard of in a major construction like this," Winters said. "I think we should put as much as we can into this project."
The proposed academic building is not extravagant, but is very attractive and functional, said Dr. Linda Cash, director of Bradley County Schools.
The central academic building will include 64 classrooms and bring all the school's students under one roof, she said.
A key feature of the U-shaped facility is that the school's music programs will be encompassed within the building's center, while the quieter wings will be composed of academic classrooms, Cash said.
Funding the debt service for the middle school makeover has involved recurring calls for more taxes over the last four years, all of which have faced stiff opposition within the county commission and by the public.
"It's a matter of allocation," said Commissioner Thomas Crye, Education Committee chairman, citing conservative revenue growth projections made by Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis.
Between April and July 2015, the Bradley County Commission shot down three calls by Crye for a property tax hike to fund the school overhaul. Crye last proposed a 10-cent tax hike, which failed to reach the floor for a vote due to a lack of a second motion.
In a 2012 referendum, Bradley County voters overwhelmingly voted against a proposed $35 wheel tax intended to fund educational debt service.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.