At least $600,000 left over from the construction of the new Gainesville Middle School can be applied to fix leaky roofs at five Gainesville school buildings, the Gainesville school board learned Monday night.
The board will consider allocating those remaining special purpose sales tax, or SPLOST, funds for roof repairs or partial replacements at the board’s Nov. 2 work session, said David Syfan, the board’s chairman.
The funds are left over from the $33 million middle school that was completed under budget. Gainesville Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said the roughly $600,000 cannot be applied to the system’s general fund to help reduce its $780,000, but must be spent on school building renovations.
Keith Vincent, director of maintenance and operations for Gainesville schools, estimates fixing all roofs will cost about $3.1 million. Fair Street IB World School, Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy, Wood’s Mill Academy, Centennial Arts Academy and the old gym at Gainesville High all need roof work.
Dyer said the board delayed action on allocating the remaining SPLOST funds for roof repairs because there are still many unanswered questions on the issue.
"We’re trying to decide whether to go to alternate sources like a tax anticipatory note ... or hold fast for our capital outlay funds," she said. "The board is unified in wanting to do what we can for our students as fast as we can."
On Monday, the board discussed taking out a tax anticipation note in the spring to fund partial roof replacements at Fair Street. The school’s roof has severe leaks that affect the most students.
The board also is trying to determine if it might be more financially prudent to rebuild Fair Street altogether using SPLOST funds available in 2012 pending voter approval in 2011. The school is the system’s oldest, and has waterproofing problems aside from the roof, as well as plumbing problems.
"The issue is do you keep patching and keep patching or does it make more economic sense to build a new school in the same location," Syfan said. "If that’s the best course to go, then you don’t want to spend $1 million on a roof."
Dyer said Gainesville schools has built up about $15 million in capital outlay funds, but the system must eliminate its deficit to access the funds to replace or repair roofs. The system must also contribute 20 percent to any capital outlay funding requests, she said, making it crucial for the system to have as large of a fund balance as possible at the end of this fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The board expects to be able to eliminate its deficit before July 1. The capital outlay funds would not be available for use until one year after the school system requests them, Dyer said.
"We have entitled $15 million, but that’s subject to appropriation by the legislature each year. That’s not certain money," Dyer said of the capital outlay funds.
The capital outlay funds also have funds earmarked for two new elementary schools, Dyer said.
In other news, the board approved a nontraditional high school program that will begin operating from Wood’s Mill Academy, otherwise known as the old middle school, in January. Dyer said the computer-based program will fast-track about 50 students to graduation.