Wake County waits till 2018 for school bond vote

Wake County voters will wait until May 2018 to decide on the next school construction bond issue.

The county school board recently approved a request asking the county to fund a $1.98 billion, seven-year plan that would include 14 new schools, 11 major renovations and other projects. Wake’s Board of Commissioners responded Monday by passing an ordinance that would provide $397 million to fund the first two years of the building program without putting the borrowing on the ballot.

The plan is to hold the next school bond referendum in May 2018 to fund $986 million of the building program.

Commissioners called their decision “historic” because the new seven-year plan is supposed to provide predictability in how and when projects will be funded, and it will be updated annually. Historically, the school system has developed three- to four-year building programs crafted around a large school construction bond issue.

“For the first time, our parents, our principals, our students and our citizens can plan for their future needs rather than the previous model of waiting, waiting, waiting followed by a big bond once we’re in crisis,” said Sig Hutchinson, vice chairman of the Board of Commissioners.

Commissioners had briefly considered putting a school construction bond referendum on the November ballot. But they said their plan to use a mix of limited-obligation bonds – borrowing that doesn’t require voter approval – and general-obligation bonds issued through a bond referendum is the right strategy.

The county will issue limited-obligation bonds in amounts small enough not to require a property tax increase in the next two years. Commissioners are looking at a May 2018 bond referendum that could result in a 2.3-cent increase in the property tax rate.

May 2018 is the next date a referendum could be held after this November. A recently passed state law limits Wake to holding bond votes when all polling places are already scheduled to be open, which means during primaries and general elections in even-numbered years.

The last school bond referendum of $810 million was approved in 2013 before the state changed the rules.

“We know what projects are on the horizon for years three through seven and, provided that funding is available and people vote for the funding that is available, we know what projects are going to be on that list,” said commissioner John Burns.

Commissioners said the decision to wait until 2018 for a referendum was not motivated by a desire to keep it off this fall’s ballot, when voters will be asked to support raising the county sales tax by a half-cent. The higher sales tax rate would support a $2.3 billion plan to beef up bus service across the county and bring commuter trains by 2027.

Hutchinson said that waiting until 2018 for a bond proposal will give the school system time to finish the remaining projects from the current building program.

“It’s a question of planning,” Hutchinson said in an interview. “You can only build so much over a period of time.”

School board Chairman Tom Benton said he thinks there would be overlap at the polls for supporters of public education and transit. But he said it’s up to the commissioners to decide how and when to fund the building program.

“I’m going to trust that the people who’ve been working on transit have come up with the best plan to meet all of the goals of the county at this point,” Benton said in an interview.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Wake County waits till 2018 for school bond vote."