With officials hoping to make some progress on addressing a backlog of maintenance needs, Hamilton County commissioners are considering more than $3 million worth of school projects that include paving, security upgrades and more.
The request, which totals almost $3.7 million, would also cover boilers and chillers at several schools in addition to roof repairs. The panel will decide whether to fund those projects at its next meeting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on the fourth floor of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave. Commissioners discussed the item during a meeting Jan. 10, with plans to vote on it the following Wednesday, but the panel's meeting was delayed a week because of inclement weather.
The funding would come out of a $6 million pot commissioners withheld from the school budget last summer to lower ongoing funding obligations to the district. By state law, Hamilton County must maintain at least the same level of local funding for schools as it did in the prior year, a requirement called "maintenance of effort."
Hamilton Commission reviewing school projects
Hamilton County commissioners may decide Wednesday to fund the following school projects, which total almost $3.7 million:
— Bess T. Shepherd Elementary: Gym roof, $50,000.
— Central High: Paving repairs, $50,000.
— Clifton Hills Elementary: Gym, kitchen, library roof, $320,000.
— Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts: Athletic and band room improvements, $100,000.
— East Hamilton Middle: Softball field drainage, $50,000.
— East Ridge High: Boiler, $200,000.
— East Ridge Middle: Boiler, $100,000.
— East Side Elementary: Chiller, $380,000.
— Hardy Elementary: Chiller, $380,000.
— Hixson High School: Gym HVAC, $350,000.
— Lookout Valley High: Boiler, $150,000.
— Normal Park Lower: Security upgrade, $190,000.
— Normal Park Upper: Security upgrade, $120,000.
— Ooltewah High: Chiller, $380,000.
— Rivermont Elementary: Partial roof, $108,000.
— Sale Creek Middle High: Locker room and office roof, $200,000.
— Sequoyah High: Building A roof repair, $25,000.
— Soddy Daisy High: Paving, $245,000.
— Soddy Daisy High: Press box repair, $40,000.
— Soddy Daisy High old gym: Paving, $250,000.
Source: Hamilton County
As it was putting together a budget last spring, the school board had planned on setting aside $8 million for deferred maintenance, but county leaders said they could instead reduce that amount to $2 million and use a recurring $6 million to fund a more substantial bond issue. Although the move frustrated school board members, county officials said it would provide even more money for school facility needs. Those bonds have not yet been issued.
(READ MORE: Updated Hamilton County school facilities plan calls for campus closures and expansion)
"I did not expect to see the school system put projects forward to spend that money before we had an opportunity to bond it for larger projects," County Commissioner Ken Smith, R-Hixson, said in an interview after the board's meeting Jan. 10.
Smith said his preference would be to bond that money this year, the idea being officials could complete more projects at today's costs as opposed to completing smaller projects over a longer period. The more time it takes to complete those projects, the more expensive they'll be, Smith said.
"As of right now, I'm not favorable (about) the way this has been presented," he said Jan. 10 about the $3.7 million funding request, "but I'm going to do my due diligence over the next week before we have to vote on it."
In a text Friday, Smith said he has asked officials to reevaluate schools from his district because none were originally on the list, noting he finds it hard to believe those facilities don't have critical maintenance needs. The county has since added $350,000 for HVAC upgrades at Hixson High School to the resolution.
"It's my understanding that the timing to bond that money would take much longer at this point, so I am OK with taking care of these items," Smith said Friday, "but I expect to be bonding these dollars moving forward."
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp said in a phone call that officials made a commitment to the school system that if the $6 million did not go toward debt service on a bond issue in the current fiscal year, the county would still spend that money on building repairs.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County Schools get A-F letter grades from state, roughly half receive A or B)
The mayor expects the county will borrow that money at the same time it issues debt for a series of broader facilities upgrades at Hamilton County schools, which would be more efficient, he said.
"There's staff time and other costs associated with a bond issue," Wamp said. "For us, it just makes more sense to roll them up together and do them at one time."
In the meantime, he anticipates the remaining $2.3 million will be spent between now and the end of the fiscal year.
"The whole $6 million that we withheld in last year's budget for school maintenance we are going to spend as we promised," Wamp said Wednesday. "This ... is the first batch of investments, and I'm sure there will be more. In fact, we were in discussions today with the school system about adding school projects to cover more of the county."
Commission Chair Jeff Eversole, R-Ooltewah, said in a phone call he wants to be sure the county isn't unnecessarily spending money on schools that may be consolidated or closed in the coming years. At the same time, officials need to address immediate needs that can affect day-to-day learning, Eversole said.
"I want students to be in an environment where they can learn and also teachers to be in an environment where they can teach," he said. "If you have a leaky roof, obviously, that's going to impact a teacher's ability."
On Thursday, the Hamilton County school board approved its final list of facility priorities, which include building a new Clifton Hills Elementary School on its current campus and combining Alpine Crest, Rivermont and DuPont elementary schools into a new building at the DuPont site. Rivermont and Clifton Hills would both receive maintenance funding for roof work as part of the more than $3 million allocation -- $108,000 and $320,000, respectively.
In an email, district spokesperson Steve Doremus said Clifton Hills and Rivermont would still be in use for at least two more years as students wait for any new facilities to be constructed. Wamp said Rivermont is in a prime location, and school officials may continue to use it for some other purpose, possibly for early childhood education.
A 2020 report completed by MTG Consulting Group estimated it would cost just under $900 million to bring all of the school district's buildings up to new or like new status as well as avoid overcrowding and undercrowding at district schools.
"This is the first step of many that are coming imminently in terms of addressing deferred maintenance," Wamp said, adding there will be tens of millions of dollars invested into building repairs in the coming years. "We're just getting started."
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.
Staff photo / Principal Lindsay Starnes replaces a sign message at Clifton Hills Elementary School on July 27, 2019. It's one of multiple schools that would receive funding from an approximately $3.7 million allocation for school maintenance the County Commission will consider next week.