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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_1545 (2)Dr. Holliday said sites were being reviewed. He suggested a partnership with Mooresville Graded and then a regional high school around 2011. Holliday said Phase III would explore the needs. Robertson asked if Mooresville had been approached about the high school concept. Holliday said not really, and he felt the commissioners should make the move. He said Mooresville had a new superintendent, plus he didn't know how the maneuver might be viewed due to the merger discussions occurring in the General Assembly. Dr. Holliday said growth was occurring in many parts of the county and population estimates were continually watched. He said the system was estimating 1,000 new students a year. Commissioner Williams asked Blumenstein about revenues. Blumenstein said revenues were always conservatively estimated. She said this year there had been about a 14% increase for the V20 sales tax. Commissioner Tice asked about the Presbyterian Road elementary school timetable. Holliday said it depended on Mooresville due to the pump station. He said it was possible the school might open in January 2009, but it would probably be opened in the fall. Dr. Holliday said construction costs for new schools had now increased from 9 to 12% increase. He said inflation was built into the projects, but nothing as high as 12%. Holliday said the Phase II projects had been identified; however, the public needed to know a school might need to be cut to meet the budget. He said the Phase I projects had came in under budget. Commissioner Williams asked if current projects were on schedule. Holliday said yes, and this included Statesville High. He said the high school continued to need the most scrutiny due to its location. Cash said any new high schools needed innovative curriculums to curb the drop-out rate. He said the funding formula had worked well, but adjustments were probably needed. Robertson asked about current expense funding, and how the system evaluated teacher performance. Holliday said a large portion of current expense was used for utilities. He said supplements had improved to the point that I -S was now in the top ten systems in the state. Dr. Holliday said student achievement and test scores were one way to measure performance. He said (1) in the past three years the teacher application pool had improved (2) there was less teacher turnover and (3) many teachers were now attracted to I -S due to the newer or improved facilities. Holliday said the system, unfortunately, had lost 6.5 teachers due to low lottery revenues. Chairman Norman asked if the system would save money if a merger with Mooresville occurred. Holliday said the state would save money, but there would be no savings for the county. MOORESVILLE GRADED SCHOOL DISTRICT Attending the meeting on behalf of the Mooresville Schools were Superintendent Mark Edwards and Finance Officer David Dutton. Blumenstein said Mooresville was recommended to receive 1,360 per pupil for its 5,638 students (26 are charter students). She said the current expense amount of $7,667,680 was a 20.31% increase over FY 06-07. Blumenstein said $704,928 was recommended for capital outlay, and this was a 5.00% increase over FY 06-07. She said project reserve was recommended at $316,075 and this was a 231 % increase.