School leader explains need for $160 million bond

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County voters have the choice to pass a $160 million school bond this election season. The money would fund 14 projects across the county, including a new elementary school, renovations to existing schools and technology updates.

School leaders say enrollment numbers are at an all-time high with more than 3,500 students overcapacity.

“If I’m a parent, I would hope we would address that before it gets to be an even bigger problem,” New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Markley said.

Leaders expect this to become an even bigger issue with a projected 3,000 more students by 2020.

“It just means that we have classes and kids everywhere in the building,” Markley said.

Classes are held outside of the buildings, too. The district has 84 trailers serving as classrooms because of the overcrowding.

“There are issues with those that go with air quality and with safety,” Markley said.

Safety is paramount to the district, and leaders feel the bond addresses that.

“The new schools that we will rebuild, and some of the redesigns will allow us to restructure the front entrances so they are more secure,” Markley said.

If the bond passes, it will increase your property tax to pay it off plus interest over 20 years. For example, if you have a $200,000 home your tax bill will go up about $60 per year.

There’s also the question of just how much debt New Hanover County can handle. Currently, the county owes more than $403 million in principal on existing debt, plus another $115 million in interest. The county says it could legally issue debt worth nearly $2.4 billion, though internal policy limits bond spending to a fifth of the legal cap.

“Nobody wants to look at this and say, ‘I want a potential tax increase,’ but I think the long-term costs would be much, much greater than the short-term cost,” Markley said.

Markley says if the bond does not pass, it will force the school system to redistrict on almost an annual basis.