Muscogee County School District SPLOST proposal includes $28 million for facility upgrades

At $28 million, facility upgrades are the third-most expensive of the 24 proposed capital projects -- totaling an estimated $192 million -- that the Muscogee County School District's administration wants to fund with a renewed Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

If voters approve the March 17 SPLOST referendum, the 1 percent sales tax that expired Dec. 31 would return July 1 for another five years.

The Ledger-Enquirer interviewed the school district's construction director Bobby Hecht to better understand the proposed facility projects.

Plants services employees inspected each facility to determine the needs for the next five years, Hecht said.

"Someone contacts the principal of the school to get their ideas," he said, "and then they make their own assessments."

The $28 million request comprises:

$11.5 million for finishes, such as carpeting, flooring, wall surfaces, ceilings, windows and doors.

$10 million for heating, ventillation and air conditioning.

$3.1 million for electrical systems.

$2 million for site issues, such as erosion, paving, parking, sidewalks and storm drains.

$1.5 million for disability code compliance.

$1.5 million for arts and humanities acoustical treatments.

$930,000 for plumbing.

That totals $30,530,000. Another 1.2 percent was added for architect fees and contingency expenses for an estimated need of $36 million. Hecht, however, requested only $28 million because these needs are part of a greater whole, he said.

"You can always make do for a little longer," he said. "We have a finite number, $192 million, for the SPLOST. It's unrealistic to think we can get a lot more."

To those who would argue the district should just better maintain its buildings, Hecht said, "Every time I've walked through a school, whether it's new or 30 years old, I always see it glistening."

The Ledger-Enquirer asked Muscogee County School District Superintendent David Lewis which facilities would receive which upgrades and for how much money.

He emailed this reply: "As for the facility upgrades, we identified district-wide categories of SPLOST appropriate expenditures from the overall and much larger 5-Year Facilities Plan. The 5-Year Plan is just that -- a plan for projected future needs. While all schools with the exception of new schools built in the last few years are included in the 5-Year Plan and project work will be guided by the Plan, we have not sought to prioritize the order of particular projects.

"We can identify current needs and anticipate future needs but facts and circumstances one, two, or three years down the road will influence the priority of those needs from the Facilities Plan. Plus, unforeseen or emergency facilities projects that are appropriate SPLOST facilities projects could demand attention and could take precedence."

If voters don't approve the SPLOST, Hecht said, the critical facility needs, such as clogged sewage or broken air conditioning, still would be addressed. But a little more than $1 million is all the money set aside for capital projects from the annual property tax revenue, he said. So more money from the general fund would have to be allocated to fixing facilities, he said.

"There's always a choice," he said. "I mean, I don't think everything will explode if we don't pass it. But considering all of the (state) cuts we've experienced, we need to pass this SPLOST. I'm not going to say education is going to end in Muscogee County if we don't, but it's just common sense to pass it."

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Muscogee County School District SPLOST proposal includes $28 million for facility upgrades."