Local and state-level attempts to raise funding for a Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Mississippi State University partnership school are expected to begin in earnest soon.
A delegation of Starkville and Oktibbeha’s state representatives and senators met with school officials and stakeholders Friday to map out the steps needed to secure one-time construction needs and move forward with building a facility that will serve all countywide sixth and seventh graders, solve local overcrowding issues and serve as a rural education training ground for emerging educators.
Whether state lawmakers will drop a SOCSD-specific funding bill next month or wait and tie in the monies along with MSU project expenses expected in March has not yet been decided.
Officials previously estimated the proposed 126,000-square-foot facility’s cost at $30 million, but contributions from MSU and the Legislature could cut the local price tag down to roughly $10 million.
MSU has pledged $10 million toward the project, including $5 million worth of campus real estate. Another $10 million allocation — the expected Oktibbeha County request — by lawmakers in Jackson would leave the remaining third to be covered by a reverse referendum authorized by legislators in previous consolidation bills.
Lawmakers could find resistance to a standalone bill early in the legislative term after Republican Gov. Phil Bryant ordered numerous state agencies cut their fiscal year budgets by 1.5 percent and raided $35 million from the state’s rainy day fund to cover revenue shortfalls.
With additional school consolidations expected in the future, area lawmakers on background said authorizing specific allocations leaves the door open for additional requests by districts in upcoming mergers.
Traction for the allocation, however, could surface if the expected $10 million request is counted as part of MSU’s yearly projects list.
Once state funding is secure, a SOCSD is expected to utilize a reverse referendum to deliver the remaining funds. The Legislature previously authorized the consolidated school district to use the mechanism for bonding purposes as a way to fund school improvements.
Previously forecast for early 2016, SOCSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway said the referendum, which only becomes a ballot initiative if opposed by 20 percent of qualified county voters, could come in March or April.
The school district is aiming to keep the issuance as tax neutral as possible by utilizing 3 mills rolling off the books later this year, Holloway said.
“The sooner we hear something (about state funding), the better. We’d like to have the legislative funding secured prior to the reverse referendum,” he said. “July 2018 is the targeted opening date for the new school, and it’s really a tight schedule. The sooner we know, the better.”
SOCSD could also tend to a number of needs with its athletic facilities through bond proceeds, Holloway said. Potential projects include improvements to baseball and softball facilities and the addition of new tennis courts.
Strategic planning sessions are expected in the coming months so administrators and the community can prioritize school district needs and incorporate public input moving forward.
The district’s current bonding capacity is about $16 million, but “that doesn’t mean we’re going to ask for it all,” Holloway said.
Residents of the former Oktibbeha County School District shot down the last attempt to fund the partnership school and renovate existing county facilities.
Former Conservator Margie Pulley rescinded a $13.2 million bond intent notice after petitioners crossed the threshold needed to force the issue to a vote.
Historically, OCSD’s voter base has not supported school improvement bonds. For the bonds to pass, 60 percent of those voters would have had to support the issuance.
The financing package would have helped construct the school and given OCSD enough funding to purchase laptops for teachers and SMARTboards for students.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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