Brunswick County Commissioners approve $349.6 million bond referendum for education facilities
BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — On Monday evening, the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners approved a big bond referendum for next November’s ballot meant to fund education facilities.
The Board of Education wanted the bond to be on the ballot for the primary election next March.
Commissioners decided to move the bond referendum to later in the year to give the district more time to get feedback from residents.
The vote was 4 to 1, with Pat Sykes voting against it.
She supports the bond, but wanted to go with the school board’s timeline.
“That’s what the Board of Education voted on and requested us do,” Sykes said. “Since they are an elected board, I felt like we should uphold their vote as, they have a part in this too.”
Superintendent Dale Cole said moving the vote back has it’s positives and negatives.
“I understand their concern about a marketing campaign time to be able to do it to the best of our ability,” Cole said. “Moving it to the November ballot does give us more time. But it also makes it a little more high risk because in North Carolina, state law says you can only have bond referendums on the ballot in even years. So if we have it on the November ballot and it doesn’t pass, we can’t put it on the ballot for two years.”
More than 90% of the bond would be used to cover the construction of a new elementary and high school near the Leland area.
The proposal had faced some opposition online, with a petition against continued development in the county created by resident Joshua Kirby getting more than 1,000 signatures in recent months.
Kirby said the bond will hit resident’s wallets.
“Problem is that the overcrowding in the schools is caused them to be seeking, you know, to build more schools with a bond,” Kirby said. “And obviously that falls back on the taxpayer and I just don’t think that is right.”
Other concerns from residents revolved around overdevelopment of the county, something Cole said was taken into consideration when the cost was determined.
“This bond referendum, the needs and the numbers that are reflected in it are based on the number of houses and developments that have already been approved by the planning committee, by the Brunswick County Planning Committee. So if development stopped in Brunswick County tomorrow, it would change the needs that we have.”
The remaining cost of the bond would be used to upgrade indoor bleachers at several middle and high schools in the county, along with constructing new sports facilities and fields at some schools.
