Senator David Hoyle of Gaston County filed Senate Bill 1144, Public School Building Bond Act of 2007, this week. The bill would put a $2 billion statewide school facilities bond before voters.
The Education: Everybody?s Business Coalition, which is composed of the NCASA, NCSBA, NC Chamber, NC Council of Local Chambers, and the Public School Forum, designed and lobbied for the distribution formula that determines the amount of money each county would receive if voters approve the bond. The formula distributes money based upon three components 1) student enrollment, 2) enrollment growth, and 3) county wealth. High growth counties and low wealth counties get extra cash.
Under the plan, no county would receive less than $1 million. Wake and Charlotte-Mecklenburg would receive $143 million each, Forsyth would receive $56 million, Guilford would get $78 million, New Hanover wins $26 million, and Cumberland County hits the jackpot with $96 million.
There are some wacky parts to the distribution formula.
Here are some examples:
? In the 2005-06 Public Schools Facility Needs Assessment, Wilkes County reported facilities needs totaling $3.7 million but would receive over $18 million in the plan.
? Buncombe and Asheville report needs totaling $10.5 million combined, but would receive $33 million.
? Alleghany County receives money for ?high growth? even though their enrollment (ADM) only grew by 3 percent between 1997 and 2005. They added 38 students over the last seven years and are projected to add 13 more students to their graduating class by 2015.
? Ashe County gets $1.3 million in high growth money, even though the system lost 3 percent of their students between 1997 and 2005 and is projected to add 18 students to their graduating class by 2015.
? Craven County lost 278 students between 1997 and 2005 but would receive nearly $6 million in high growth funds. Craven County will have 15 fewer students in their graduating class by 2015.
