GREENWOOD, S.C. — Greenwood School District 50 will hold a second public town hall on its proposed $175 million school bond at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, at the Genesis Education Center, giving residents another chance to ask about the projects before the Nov. 3 vote.
At the first session earlier this week, Assistant Superintendent for Business Andrew Macke walked the audience through the plan. He put the cost of new buildings and renovations at roughly $155 million, with each of the two new elementary schools running close to $47 million.
One new school would replace Benjamin E. Mays Elementary, and the other would combine Lakeview and Pinecrest elementaries under one roof. Rice and Hodges elementary schools would get major renovations and additions, and Greenwood High would get an upgraded cafeteria. About $20 million more is set aside for work at every campus, such as technology, deferred maintenance, new activity buses, athletic turf and field lights, heating and air units, classroom furniture and signs.
Macke said a new school would take about 18 months to build, with renovations likely running longer, and the new Mays school would go up on its current campus while classes continue in the old building. He described the $175 million figure as a ceiling and said the district would borrow less if the work comes in under budget.
The district can borrow only about $22 million on its own, the 8% of assessed value allowed without a referendum, which is why the larger plan needs voter approval. District 50 is also still paying off bonds from construction in the 2000s of its middle schools and the Merrywood, Mathews and Woodfields elementaries, debt that runs through 2033.
The school board approved putting the question on the ballot after its June meeting. The district says the projects aim to make schools safer, upgrade transportation and get ready for more students in the coming years, and that its financial advisers do not expect the bond to require a tax increase. General obligation bonds are paid back over time under state law, and the money is limited to long-term facility work, so it cannot cover salaries or day-to-day operating costs. On Election Day, voting runs from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at regular polling places.
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