CHCCS assistant superintendent for support services Todd LoFrese talked about ideas to fill a funding gap for the new construction at Lincoln Center and Chapel Hill High School at the school board meeting last Thursday.

The board authorized a budget of almost $1.4 million for both projects at a previous meeting but have since exhausted the budget they had received from the county.

Since the board is waiting to see if Orange County voters will approve a record $120 million school bond in November, LoFrese said there aren’t many options.

“We have two options. One would be to stop the design work until the bond passes. The other would be to authorize additional funding to continue the work,” LoFrese said.

LoFrese said he would rather front the money with the district’s fund balance and get reimbursed once the bond is approved in November.

To continue the designs the board would have to allocate approximately $350,000 each month until November.

LoFrese said he spoke with the county manager and financial staff about the reimbursement idea and they agreed the plan could be feasible.

LoFrese said this plan would be similar to design work that was done for Northside Elementary School, although the reimbursement funds ended up not being needed due to timing of the approval for that bond.

“At that time, I think there was about an eight-or-nine-month window that we needed and both the board and the county adopted a reimbursement resolution that allowed us to get started on design work on Northside Elementary, and receive reimbursement from the county,” Lofrese said.

The major concern with this idea is the possibility of the bond not being approved, but the board did not seem concerned toward that issue at the meeting.

The board supported Lofrese’s idea to move forward with creating an official plan for this funding and bringing it to the next meeting for an official vote from the board.

The next meeting for the CHCCS Board will be held on Thursday, September 29.

Related Stories
‹
GOP Trump Challengers Won't Get Much Help from Their Party
Trump” Republicans are eager to see the president confront a credible primary adversary. But the party will likely erect structural barriers that make that kind of challenge exceedingly difficult. And for good reason: Every incumbent president for four-plus decades who has faced a serious primary opponent was weakened enough to ultimately lose reelection. Joe […]
North Carolina GOP Rep. Grange Enters 2020 Governor's Race
A North Carolina state legislator entered the 2020 Republican gubernatorial race Thursday, a decision that denies Lt. Gov. Dan Forest a cleared path to the GOP nomination after preparing for years for a bid. State Rep. Holly Grange of Wilmington announced her candidacy in a campaign video that highlighted her as one of the first female West […]
Moore, other House Republicans Unveil $1.9B Bond Proposal
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore says borrowing money to pay for public school construction is the way to go because it offers certainty to local governments about how much money they’ll have at their disposal for projects. Moore and other House Republicans unveiled on Thursday a $1.9 billion debt proposal, authorized only if voters would […]
Senate Republican Proposal on K-12 Construction Clears Panel
An idea pushed by North Carolina Senate Republicans to generate more public school construction money without additional borrowing has cleared a key committee. The Senate’s budget-writing panel voted Wednesday for a measure to expand a recently created fund that pays down state debt and helps agency and university construction projects. The legislation would direct a […]
House Speaker to Push for $1.9B Bond Question for 2020
The leader of the North Carolina House says he’ll urge colleagues next year to pass a $1.9 billion public education bond referendum that would go to voters in 2020. House Speaker Tim Moore announced Thursday he would also travel the state to back his debt proposal, of which about two-thirds would benefit K-12 public schools. […]
Affordable Housing Bond Could Lead to Updates in Public Housing
Chapel Hill voters passed a $10 million affordable housing bond during the midterm elections last week, which could lead to the construction of 400 homes and the preservation of 300 more. The bond passed by an overwhelming 72 percent majority, and after all the votes are certified it will be approved by the town council. […]
Orange County Voters Selecting New At-Large Commissioner
The end of an era is coming for the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Barry Jacobs is leaving the board after serving for two decades. After initially filing to run for another term, Jacobs withdrew that paperwork. On the same day, former Chapel Hill Town Councilmember Sally Greene filed to run for the seat. Greene […]
League of Women Voters Launches Election Information Website
The last day to vote early in midterm elections in Orange County is tomorrow with general election day being next Tuesday. Voters looking for non-partisan information about elections and their candidates for office can check out the League of Women Voters’ website vote411.org. Co-president of the League of Women Voters, Janet Hoy said the website […]
Orange County Commissioners Approve Funding for Five Affordable Housing Projects
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to split over $2.7 million between five local affordable housing projects. Portions of that sum are being granted to Habitat for Humanity, CASA, and EmPOWERment Inc. for the construction of low-income domiciles. Habitat for Humanity will receive over $915,000 to build 24 owner-occupied townhouses for […]
Funding Gap in CHCCS Board Plans for New Construction
CHCCS assistant superintendent for support services Todd LoFrese talked about ideas to fill a funding gap for the new construction at Lincoln Center and Chapel Hill High School at the school board meeting last Thursday. The board authorized a budget of almost $1.4 million for both projects at a previous meeting but have since exhausted […]
›