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I-SS will finally have access to $1.13M in lottery funds from state
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Published: September 29, 2009
Iredell-Statesville Schools will finally receive lottery money withheld by the state.
According to Iredell County Finance Officer Susan Blumenstein, I-SS has access to $1.13 million and the Mooresville Graded School District is eligible to receive $292,168 in lottery funds.
These monies are a combination of funds withheld by the governor in the fourth quarter of 2007-08 and the second quarter 2008-09.
I-SS officials plan to request a portion of that money to cover past expenses.
According to Executive Director of Facilities and Planning Kenny Miller, I-SS will use the money to replenish its fund balance. Money from the district's reserves was used to pay for design plans for Union Grove and Cool Spring renovation projects and for upfitting the two International Baccalaureate Candidate Schools.
The IB renovations, which cost $345,00, were paid for out of the capital fund because the lottery money wasn't available. The design fees totalled more than $600,000, but I-SS plans to use $500,000 in lottery money for the design fees, while the remaining $100,000 was reimbursed via another source.
The $4.7 million purchase of the Thomasville Plant was possible this summer through funds from the Public School Capital and some existing lottery money, said Miller. The Thomasville Plant site is 205,000 square feet on 37 acres. It will be the future home of the Career Technical Center, which will house the Auto Tech program and more.
A portion of the lottery money requested will also go back into the capital fund, which pays for work such as roofing, painting and paving.
With the state cutting the budget in several areas, the system didn't have enough money for all of its projects.
"We're trying to get money back to do some projects," Miller said. "We had to put off some projects because we didn't have the money."
The state took a portion of the beer and wine tax receipts, which resulted in the school system getting $232,000 less from this revenue source than anticipated. The beer and wine tax money typically goes into the capital fund.
With an overall smaller capital fund, I-SS had to dip into the fund balance to pay for some projects. Miller said they will leave some lottery money in place so those funds can later pay for the Career Technical Center and future capital projects.
"We're ecstatic we've got that money (lottery money) to fall back on," he said.
Zero Percent Bonds
The state has made $4.9 million in zero percent bonds available to the county. If the bonds sell there is a possibility that money can be used to help pay for the $5.5 million Union Grove renovations.
The Career Technical Center will be done in phases as money is available to the district. The first phase will be to move the Auto Tech program from Statesville High School into the Thomasville Plant and phase two will be expansion and additional courses.
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