Last night, we got the first glimpse of the new Wake County School Board in action, and the issue was big bonds for big school construction.
According to the N&O report, new board member Lori Millberg wanted to start with a $1 billion bond referendum, but the consensus from the rest of the board was that a smaller amount would be more palatable for voters. New board member Horace Tart called for public-private partnerships, saying “Public enterprise has the money. We need to tap into them.” This great idea was not palatable for the board. The final amount of the November 2006 bond referendum will be decided early next year. I can’t handle the suspense.
I am surprised that the Wake powers-that-be decided to show all of their cards, all $5 billion of them, right from the start. At least Charlotte-Mecklenburg officials pretended that all they were asking for was $427 million for school construction. CMS’s plan called for a mere $2 billion over ten years, but the only one pushing that point was, I am proud to say, the John Locke Foundation. Will voters in Wake feel like a vote for the first bond is really a vote for all $5 billion? Maybe. We’ll see in November.
Another possibility is that the ten year total was purposefully set high, only to be slashed later on in an attempt to appear fiscally responsible. I am not sure that voters will see $3.5 billion as much better than $5.5 billion.
Stay tuned…
