Murphy – County leaders battered in social media over recent decisions affecting Cherokee County Schools are defending their decisions as both necessary and unsurprising.
The board of commissioners is evicting Cherokee County Schools’ Central Office from 911 Andrews Road effective Aug. 2 and redirecting future Article 46 quarter-cent sales tax proceeds from education to the county’s general fund.
The one-two punch triggered a wave of social media comments defending Cherokee County Schools – quite a turnaround following heat the school board took in social media earlier this year, when it voted to reorganize schools in Hiwassee Dam, Martins Creek, Murphy and Ranger in time for the coming school year.
Randy Phillips, chair of the board of commissioners, said the decision to take over the building at 911 Andrews Road should not have been a surprise to school district leaders because both systems have been discussing the possibility all year.
Phillips said the county suggested trading its building at 911 Andrews Road for the school district-owned former Marble Elementary School campus. Phillips said the county threw in the maintenance facility at Mountain Folk Center in Ranger that the school district used to sweeten the deal.
However, there was no mention publicly about such a deal being offered. At least one school board member, Arnold Mathews, said he doesn’t remember it coming up at a meeting.
Meanwhile, because the real estate swap seemed to be going nowhere, the county was trying to find a building to house county emergency services. They were looking at the former National Guard Armory east of Murphy, but lacked the renovation funding.
Instead, they turned their attention to 911 Andrews Road, a building the county already owns and which needs minimal upgrades.
The county will be moving into 911 Andrews Road after Aug. 2. It has offered the schools use of the Armory and, with $5 million in sales tax proceeds at its disposal, the school district can well afford any necessary renovations.
Mathews and fellow school board member Jeff Tatham believe Central Office may move to Marble but were uncertain.
“I believe the plan is Marble, at least for now,” Tatham said.
Mathews said the school district may be looking at other properties downtown for a future Central Office.
The rub
At the same time the county was expressing interest in trading for the Marble campus, the school board instead decided to put the Marble campus for sale on the open market.
That – plus the school system’s reorganization of four schools without public input, a video posted by school board member Steve Coleman urging commissioners to stay out of education and news that the school district was paying Superintendent Keevin Woody a supplement using county funds without permission – left the commissioners with ugly feelings.
Still, Phillips said the two decisions were made out of necessity, not vindictiveness. He denies accusations that the board of commissioners is against children and schools.
Phillips is a retired school resources officer who spent 25 years working with children.
“Kids are the No. 1 thing,” he said, describing accusations that he and the board don’t value them as “bullcrap.”
Phillips, who leaves office in December, is hoping for cooperation between the two boards so if or when the county applies for state grants for new school construction, the applications follow unanimous votes by both boards to proceed.
He doesn’t see that level of cooperation at present. The commissioners have been trying to hold a meeting with the school board to work out their differences, but have been unable to schedule a date.
Phillips said he thinks the school board is stalling because commissioners want to hear public comments during the joint meeting, while school board leaders don’t.
“We’ve done everything we can with them (the school board),” Phillips said. “They don’t want to face the public. That’s not the way it works in politics.”
The Board of Education’s next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, June 27, leaving just five weeks between that meeting and eviction day.
Article 46 funds
While county officials said the school district should not have been surprised by the 911 Andrews Road eviction, the uncoupling of Article 46 quarter-cent sales tax proceeds from education may have caught the school district off guard but is not crippling.
“Based on Cherokee County Schools’ budgeted use of Article 46 sales tax for its fiscal year 2024-25 operating budget in the amount of $730,573, the current balance of Article 46 sales tax could cover this amount for two to three more years,” Cherokee County Manager Randy Wiggins wrote. “However, based on their actual operating use of Article 46 proceeds for FY23 and FY24, this amount could support a much longer period of time.”
“Several board members have posed some questions and have mentioned that there has been a lot of information being shared across social media concerning school funding and the board’s recent actions in developing the FY25 budget. It appears some of the information being shared is not wholly accurate. To that end we want to share the following with you so that all board members have the same accurate information:
“The FY25 budget for Cherokee County Schools is NOT a decrease. It is in fact an increase of $348,913 over the FY24 originally approved budget and an increase of $185,909 over their FY24 revised budget.
“While the board undesignated the Article 46 sales tax, it is still available as a revenue source that supports the overall county budget that includes appropriations for Cherokee County Schools (and Tri-County Community College).
“Cherokee County Schools (and Tri-County Community College) still have access to the revenues generated by the Article 46 sales tax through June 30, 2024. In addition, they also have access to the existing balance of Article 46 sales tax proceeds of approximately $2 million,” Wiggins wrote.
The Article 40 and 42 sales tax revenues are restricted to school capital needs. The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners also provides a 10 percent designation to Cherokee County Schools from the county’s portion of the Article 40 sales tax proceeds, which equates to about $256,000 per year.
The estimated proceeds from Article 40 and 42 sales tax restricted and designated for Cherokee County Schools for fiscal year 2024-25 is $2.2 million. The current balance of available Article 40 and 42 sales tax for use by Cherokee County Schools for capital needs is about $5.4 million.