THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603310057
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
One of two proposals that a North Carolina school construction panel will present to lawmakers this spring could provide Pasquotank County nearly $15 million for a new high school, a panel member said Friday.
The School Capital Construction Study Commission is putting together a report for the General Assembly that identifies some $6.2 billion in 10-year school building needs and recommends ways for Raleigh to share the burden with local districts.
Most of the 20 commissioners voted last week to promote a $950 million bond referendum for school construction, to be supplemented by a trust fund that would provide support for years to come.
But many officials, skeptical that a trust fund could be created from existing funds, have pushed to include a one-time, $1.8 billion referendum as a secondary choice in their proposal.
That bond issue, which would be distributed to districts in an undetermined formula based on size, wealth and growth, could pay for most of a new high school that Elizabeth City-Pasquotank officials say will be sorely needed by the turn of the century.
How the issue will shake out in the commission's April 15 report, and how lawmakers will respond, remain to be seen, said Joe Peel, a commission member and superintendent of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools.
The choices are like a shell game, Peel said. ``Which shell do you pick up, and where's the pea?''
In November and December, the School Capital Construction Study Commission traveled the state, collecting dollar figures and anecdotes from local officials who pleaded for help with building and renovating schools.
Paying for school buildings has long been considered a local responsibility, but projects are piling up in many districts faster than
officials can address them. Commission members have made clear their commitment to providing some relief from the state.
The option of a $950 million bond and a trust fund is preferred by many officials because it provides both short-term and future support to growing and disadvantaged districts, Peel said.
``One of the things we've heard everywhere we've gone is that we need an immediate shot in the arm, and we need a long-term stream,'' Peel said.
But some commission members last week were openly doubtful that a trust fund would materialize without any revenue to put in it. ``They're concerned that without raising any new taxes, that a trust fund will never come about,'' Peel said.
The option of a larger, one-time referendum would provide districts about twice as much money quickly, but it would send them back to the drawing board the next time needs arise, he said.
A $1.8 billion bond referendum would also carry a tremendous debt burden, said Theresa Kostrzewa, who works in the office of Republican state Rep. Leo Daughtry, a co-chairman of the commission. Paying off the debt would cost up to $247 million in its most expensive year, she said.
Commission members hope the lower cost of paying off a $950 million debt would leave money to set aside for the proposed trust fund.
Thursday, the panel will meet again in a final attempt to flesh out trust fund details, guidelines for doling out funds and requirements for local contributions, Kostrzewa said.
Most school districts getting money under the plans would be required to provide matching funds, Peel said. But the system would favor districts that have recently funded big-ticket projects on their own.
Districts like Pasquotank and Currituck, which in the past three years have borrowed tens of millions of dollars for major construction projects, will likely be able to count that spending as their match, Peel said.
The provision aims to reward districts that have proved willing to sacrifice for school facilities, and to make districts that haven't pay their share, Peel said.
Commissioners are still trying to decide how far back to go in allowing districts to count spending against their matching funds. For instance, a final plan needs to spell out whether a district that borrowed for building in 1991 could use that to reduce its matching requirement.
``We're in great shape,'' Peel said of Pasquotank's recent spending. ``I don't think we have anything to worry about.''
Peel said his role as an educator on the largely legislative panel helped members keep schools' true needs in perspective.
He said he ``spoke very loudly'' against a proposal to wipe out a pool of critical-needs money that has recently benefited Currituck County and is supposed to pump about $2 million into Pasquotank in about a year.
Those funds are still intact, Peel said.
Kostrzewa said commission members and staff were satisfied with their months of work.
``We have done the job that we were asked to do, and people feel like we've done it very well,'' she said. by CNB