Thus Lowder says the referendum next spring is to decide how the voters want to pay for the rest of the construction, not whether we have middle schools. The commissioners are alert, however, to removing any distractions to passing the referendum. Commissioner Sherrill Smith said Monday that reductions will be made. If a referendum were defeated, that might not end the push to build new schools or expand or renovate existing ones. There would remain another, more costly, way to fund construction-borrowing from a bank.
Bonds are the least expensive.
Smith says that the county might pay off the bonds at 5.5 percent over 20 years. Borrowing the money from a bank would be considerably more expensive than bonds and would require a higher property tax increase. What the commissioners seem to be saying is that this county must build new schools and the real question is whether the voters want to go the least expensive route. The school board, however, is not ready to truncate debate. Indeed, it views the vote last week as a way to tease out further discussion over the organizational structure of the school system.