Months of “agonizing” over Phase III renovations came to an end Monday night as the Carroll County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the $26.7 million project.

Supervisors said they had many sleepless nights about the project, which will renovate Carroll County High School, Carroll County Intermediate School and close down Woodlawn School. In the end, strong assurances from county administration that the project could be done without a tax increase was enough to sway the board to move forward with the project, which will add a ninth grade wing to CCHS, make CCIS the county’s home for sixth to eighth graders, and shut down Woodlawn School.

“We’re very pleased that the board of supervisors voted for this project,” Carroll County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Smith said. “We are honored with their trust in the board and we think this is going to be a tremendous benefit to the Carroll County schools and to the students and the families they serve.”

Smith said the county and school board will be under tight deadlines as the application is due by the end of June. A deadline of Sept. 30 for USDA-Rural Development funding means all the contingencies and basic planning must be completed by that time as well, Smith said.

“The USDA and Build America Bonds program ends at the end of this year,” Smith said of the funding that would offer Carroll an interest rate as low as 2.68 percent on the project over 40 years, “so in that regard the bidding and the contracts have to be awarded prior to the end of this year, so it is a very tight deadline.”

Considering those deadlines, Smith estimated renovations to be complete between 18 to 24 months after the contract is awarded.

The board voted to move forward with the project after 18 citizens spoke during a public hearing, the vast majority of which urged the board to approve the project to provide a better future for the county’s children. Several citizens wanted adjustments made to Phase III, including a larger band room, a new auditorium, and better restroom facilities at Tommy Thompson Field.

Board of Supervisors’ Chairman Wes Hurst said while the decision was not an easy one, the board strives to make things better for Carroll’s citizens, especially its youth.

“We have to think of our future as we try to go forward. That being said, our hopes and goals are, too, if we worked on such a project such as this, not to increase our tax base. And while there is no perfect solution to any one certain problem, everything has pros and it has cons,” Hurst said. “And when you work on issues like this, not everybody is happy at one time on everything. The goal is if you can make the decision that will please the most people, and looking back on it 20 years from now we still can say, ‘Yeah, we made the right decision and it was the best we could do at the time.’”

In the past, Pipers Gap District Supervisor Dr. Tom Littrell said he didn’t necessarily think a building educated children. It was more important to have staff and teachers. That thought probably came from a background of having to go outside to use the restroom while he was in elementary school, and from having to walk to school.

“However, in today’s environment I think that is not the case, that you need to have buildings and equipment for our new society. Therefore I move to approve for the board of supervisors to allow and support the IDA and the Carroll County School Board to move forward with the Phase III renovations in the amount not to exceed $26.7 million contingent upon the use of USDA-RD funds and Build America Bonds,” Littrell said. “This motion also allows the Board of Supervisors’ Chair and Administrator to sign any and all necessary (documents) in such actions.”

Fancy Gap District Supervisor Manus McMillian seconded the motion.

“There is an old saying that it is a whole lot easier to spend someone else’s money, but when the day is done and the dust settles, our children will be the ones that paid for this project should it be passed,” McMillian said. “And should it not pass, our children will be the ones to suffer for the lack thereof.”

As chairman, Hurst said he normally would vote last on any issue. But since this was something the board probably hasn’t addressed in 50 years, and he felt strongly about doing the project without a tax increase, he wanted to start with the first vote to approve the project. Sulphur Springs District Supervisor David Hutchins thought it would be better to open the discussion prior to a vote, however.

“I don’t think anyone spent any more sleepless nights than probably the six of us agonizing over (this). I think there are two changes that have to happen. One of them is probably a new structure, and the other one (is) probably how we teach,” Hutchins said. “It’s kind of like my friend, Mr. (Gary) Larrowe said in a conversation one day with me. ‘If you buy a new computer and keep your old software, you are about the same as you were before you did it.’ I would certainly hope that we would look at some innovative ways to do some things.”

No new taxes has been a word Hutchins said he’s heard from the constituents of his district. Almost without exception, the majority of them have opposed Phase III renovations, he said.

“If you look at the median income of Carroll County at thirty-some thousand dollars, 50 percent are above, 50 percent are below. Fifty percent speaking today I would generally categorize as well above that median income,” Hutchins said. “The 50 percent that is below are those that are not here and that is our goal, our job to support them also. And when you weigh all sides of that, Mr. Chairman, you have to think about what’s good for the future. The thing I believe makes it palatable is the fact that we are saving several million dollars in interest. I believe our finance department has worked this in a manner that will not adversely affect our tax revenue. I think it’s important that the citizens understand that by paying off some debt if this is passed, it would then reduce our payment structure and it would not appreciably increase any debt service for the school system.”

With that said, the tough part of the decision is to do what’s right for the county’s kids in the future, Hutchins said. With a background in construction, Hutchins said he knows if you buy a 100-year-old house and put $500,000 in it, you still have a 100-year-old house.

“I’m told that the structures are sound, and so with that, that is part of how I would make my decision,” Hutchins said.

Supervisor Sam Dickson said when he woke up Monday morning, he wasn’t sure how he’d vote. Being able to approve the project without a tax increase swayed his opinion, however.

“The main thing is we can do this without a tax increase. I definitely would not vote for a tax increase unless it was the sky falling in on us. And I would not vote where we had to take any monies away from the school operational fund,” Dickson said. “We are not going to build this and then fire teachers to help pay this off. If we couldn’t pay for it, I wouldn’t vote for it.”

Carroll is set as a progressive county, Dickson said, and he was not elected to say no to schools and things that make Carroll a better county.

“The easiest thing I could have done this morning is stay in bed and act like I was sick. That wasn’t what you voted me in for. Some of you are going to like it. The majority of the people here may like the way I vote,” Dickson said. “When I go home, my phone will start ringing probably tomorrow and there will be some that probably don’t like it. But whether I vote yes or no, when I go home I want to say to myself I pulled the trigger to the best of my knowledge, and I can sleep tonight because I did what I thought was best.”

Laurel Fork Supervisor Andy Jackson said he started to call in sick Monday as well. Phase III has been the hardest decision he’s had to deal with over the past 2.5 years, he said. Before voting, he asked County Administrator Gary Larrowe if his staff could basically guarantee there would be no tax increase generated by going forward with Phase III.

“Mr. Jackson, there is no way you can guarantee anything,” Larrowe said. “However, our planning has been that there would be no increase that would be necessary to fund this project.”

Jackson said he realized nothing is guaranteed, but he wanted assurances no tax increase would be associated with Phase III unless “it would have to be something to fall out of the sky to cause it.”

“We worked very diligently to structure the finances so that would happen,” Larrowe said.

Jackson said 90 percent of the calls he’s received on the subject have been from people telling him to vote no “because they are convinced it will be with a tax increase.” That’s been Jackson’s biggest problem with the issue, he said. Carroll’s youth is its greatest resource, Jackson added, saying the county has to give them the best opportunities.

“However, I still believe a building doesn’t educate a kid, a teacher does. So we don’t need to take the kids back to my day when we had a pot-belly stove, a cloakroom, no cafeteria, no restrooms because I think the world has passed that and we need to get it close to the rest of the world as we possibly can,” Jackson said. “So I will probably go ahead and support this with the assurance of the sky not falling, and God forbid if we have to have a tax increase. But if we can do that, I think this is what we should do.”

At that time, Hurst began the vote by voting yes to move forward with Phase III. The vote to approve was unanimous, which drew a big round of applause from the overflow crowd in attendance. The board then followed with another unanimous vote to approve a resolution that the motion to move forward with Phase III would not be applicable if the board couldn’t secure the financing from USDA-Rural Development.

After the vote, Hurst said Monday starts another milestone for Carroll County, and more importantly for the county’s youth. He said the board has worked very hard on many complex and time-consuming issues over the past 2.5 years, including allowing the PSA to move forward with investments in infrastructure, settling a dispute with the Town of Hillsville that dates prior to his birth, and supporting entrepreneurial growth, which has created more than 600 new jobs in the region. With regional support with Galax and Grayson County, the county has seen upgrades to the Farmers’ Market, the relocation of the Fries Fire Department, and the project to bring Higher Education to the region with the Crossroads Institute. In addition, Carroll has brought fiber to the region and signed an option on 164 acres of the Wildwood Commerce Park that he said would reap great dividends for the community in years to come, and bring more jobs.

“And now...it is time to invest in our human capital. And doing this this way starts a series of investments with Phase III for remodeling CCHS and CCIS,” Hurst said. “We will never see an opportunity like this again, to take advantage of rates at 2.68 percent for a 40-year term. With that being said, one other reality is that we are in the best bidding environment, not with just getting the rates, but with what’s going on in the environment. So I believe that will help us also.”

Hurst said the county’s financial planning has set the stage for changing the course for the community. Carroll has paid debt down, built reserves, and done so with a stabilized tax rate. Carroll continues to plan a stabilized tax rate, Hurst said, and is making prudent strives to fund Phase III.

“I know that we cannot encumber future boards with decisions, however it is our educated desire to create an environment where future boards do not have to search for the dollars for the debt service for this project,” Hurst said. “With that being said, I would entertain a motion for someone to move to dedicate $1.5 million of the current fund balance to debt payments for the five bridge years where additional funds will be necessary. This will leave approximately $800,000 to be planned for over the next five years for the total debt to start to decline significantly in the county.”

After the motion passed unanimously, Dickson encouraged the school board to look into the possibility of adding a new band room in the renovations. Several citizens stressed the need for a larger and improved band room during the public hearing.

He also encouraged the school board to hire and buy locally as much as possible during Phase III renovations.

“Stay within the legal limits, but try to encourage as much of the building process, the material that can be bought locally, people that can be hired locally. Let’s not use this as something where the county is just spending money, where actually we can gain some of it,” Dickson said. “And I think it is only a fair request for some of the companies that are going to bid. I know they’ve got to have some key people, but the extra people and things that they can do locally, encourage them, if not enforce them, to do that. That would be my desire.”

During Supervisors’ Time, Hutchins said he thought the board made the right decision for the right reasons to move forward with Phase III. The condition of Woodlawn School is probably what tipped his vote to approve, Hutchins said. While parts of the building need to be torn down, parts can be used as a recreation department extension or office.

“It would be really nice while we are doing this if we could get some type of agreement where we could share our ball fields and those things. I think it would be good for the community. We get anger comments about not having the facilities and I think that would be great if we could work something, particularly lighted fields,” Hutchins said. “I think I speak for the six of us, and staff and the school officials, that we are leaving making the right decision for the future of our kids. It’s just sad that the major thing that we export is our children. We are an export agency for our children because we don’t have the right industry or the right jobs to keep them here and that is sad, but we are working on it.”

Dickson said the county has been assured that Woodlawn School will come back to the county after Phase III renovations are complete. He said the board has another goal of a recreation department.

“We are hoping with some careful study and planning that Woodlawn School can be an integral part. The gym is in good shape, that side of the school. And probably the other part needs to be torn down. I don’t know if we can rearrange fields and have more than one field there,” Dickson said. “But there needs to be some study done to it and I think it would be an excellent starting point. The rec department doesn’t have a gym of their own and that would be a good addition. We don’t have a water park. It might be that would be a place for a water park.”

That would mean spending more money, Dickson said, but he felt like Randolph Park in Pulaski County probably makes money off its pool.

“If they don’t, they make a lot of goodwill because a lot of our Carroll County people thank them a whole lot for that pool to swim in. They even have a frisbee golf course anybody can play. It is a matter of progress,” Dickson said. “I will feel bad for the ones that will lose it, but the school can become a community park. A lot of the organizations over there use the cafeteria. I think we can still leave that and make that available to them, a meeting place, and just let it be a real part of the community. It is still an educational part, you never get to old to work with people and share fellowship and communion and just be around people, in even a recreation or a pleasant atmosphere. That is my desire and we’ve still got a year-and-a-half yet, so hopefully something like that will happen.”