Lafayette School District to Hold Public Meeting on Bond Referendum

By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The Lafayette County School District wants the public’s input on a possible bond referendum that would give the district about $23 million to construct a new elementary school and make renovations at the other schools in the district.

To get that input, the district is holding a proposed school bond public meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Commons area of Lafayette High School.
The meeting will be held directly after the regular school board meeting.
“We will get through the board business and then move onto the meeting about the bond referendum,” said Superintendent Adam Pugh.
Representatives from the school administration, the school board, the bond steering committee, the architects, and construction building specialists will be in attendance to answer any questions the public has regarding the future long-range building plans for the district and ways to relieve the overcrowding of the schools now and into the future.
The district can only legally borrow 15 percent of the county’s assessed value, which is currently about $155 million.
“That allows us to borrow about $23 million,” Pugh said.
Pugh said school district officials want to talk with community members about the district’s needs.
“The board truly wants the input of community members and stakeholders,” he said.
County residents will have to vote on whether they approve of the bond if the district decides to move forward with the referendum.
Pugh said because of some debt rolling off this year, homeowners will only see a “slight” increase in their taxes, should the bond pass.
“It may not even be a full mill increase,” he said. “We don’t know that number exactly right now, but it will be a very small impact on homeowners.”
The proposed plan is to build a new elementary school and renovate the existing school, then move third grade over to help with overcrowding at the Upper Elementary School. Other plans include adding some classrooms at the middle school and adding a wing to the high school.
The district has hired Innovative Construction Management to help manage the projects.