The DeKalb County school system went on spring break starting April 2 with some unfinished business: how to avoid a $36.5 million shortfall in its school construction fund.
The last time the board dealt with the issue was March 12, when board members asked their attorney if they could move money from one sales tax fund to another to make up the shortfall. School spokesman Walter Woods says those talks are still ongoing.
“We’re still meeting with lawyers and contractors trying to come up with the best solution to prevent the expected shortfall in SPLOST III. We hope to have something to present to the board shortly after spring break,” he said.
Caren Morrison, co-chair of the Dunwoody High School Council, said shortly before spring break began that she doesn’t think the board should be in any rush.
“At this point I’d rather them think it through rather than make a hasty decision,” she said.
So how did this happen?
DeKalb Schools’ $36.5 million shortfall is in its Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax fund. The back story is convoluted and technical. To make it easier to understand, Reporter Newspapers compiled the following guide based on all the available information.
What you need to know about the DeKalb County Schools shortfall
• On Feb. 29, Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson told board of education members there will be a $41 million shortfall in sales tax money, a figure revised on March 8 to $36.5 million
• The current projected shortfall is from the third SPLOST, or SPLOST III, which voters approved in 2007 to pay for $466 million in projects, a number later raised to $513 million. The school board revised its projections because the tax was generating more revenue than expected. To date, it has generated $490 million and school officials anticipate another $23 million in state funding.
• In May 2009, the board added $47 million worth of projects to SPLOST III because of higher-than-expected sales tax revenues.
• Voters approved SPLOST IV in November. It is expected to generate another $475 million in sales taxes, starting this year.
Q. So how did the shortfall happen?
A. School officials first discovered rebuilding Chamblee Charter High School will cost $10 million more than anticipated. The rebuild, which hasn’t started, will now cost $78 million. Further investigation revealed a bigger problem. It is still not clear what exactly caused all the cost overruns at Chamblee, but a big part of it was that the natatorium wasn’t factored in to the cost, requiring an additional expense of $3.5 million.
• The school system borrowed $300 million in anticipation of the SPLOST III sales tax money. When the school system borrowed the money, it did not account for the interest payments, leaving it short $21 million in borrowing costs.
Q. What’s going to happen?
A. School officials are meeting with lawyers and contractors to find a way to avoid cutting $31 million in projects to make up the shortfall. It may be possible to take some of the money from SPLOST IV and use it to finish SPLOST III, but that is still being determined.
• If the school system cannot move the money, it will finish Chamblee Charter High but may have to cut other projects. Current proposed cuts include $1.13 million from Dunwoody High projects and $250,000 to build a track at Peachtree Charter Middle School.
