Cabarrus County surprlus may fund $1.5M in school projects

Nov 09, 2012 (Independent Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CONCORD, N.C. -- About $1.5 million worth of Cabarrus County Schools' projects may be funded this year using surplus money from Cabarrus County's last fiscal year.

Deputy County Manager and Finance Director Pam Dubois said Cabarrus County has about $16 million in unassigned fund balance. She said it's an accumulation of unassigned funding from the last three or four years.

County officials recommended that the Cabarrus County commissioners spend about $4 million to $5 million of the unassigned fund balance on one-time projects and expenses.

Commissioners asked Cabarrus County Schools, Kannapolis City Schools and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to submit priorities for the funding.

Commissioners will vote at their meeting on Nov. 19 on the proposed Cabarrus County Schools' projects. RCCC and Kannapolis City Schools submitted their lists earlier this year. Cabarrus County Schools' list was submitted this month.

Commissioners said they supported about $1.5 million in funding for 10 projects that the school officials submitted. The projects are: $897,000 for camera system upgrades at the Glenn Center, Concord High School, Central Cabarrus High School, Mount Pleasant High School, and Jay M. Robinson High School; $137,500 to reconstruct the tennis court at Concord High School; $125,000 to reconstruct the tennis court at Mount Pleasant High School; $150,000 to construct a field house at Jay M. Robinson High School; $100,000 for planetarium renovations at Central Cabarrus High School; and $101,200 for an emergency generator at the Cabarrus County Schools Education Center.

During a recent work session, Commissioner Vice Chairman Larry Burrage asked why a field house was not included when Jay M. Robinson High School was built.

"Lack of funding," said Commissioner Chairman Liz Poole.

"It would have been cheaper to build it then than it is to build it now," he said.

Burrage also questioned spending $262,500 to reconstruct tennis courts at Concord and Mount Pleasant high schools.

"It looks to me like the problem with them is a lack of maintenance," he said.

Commissioner Bob Carruth said the tennis courts at Concord High are about 50 years old and are exposed to the elements 100 percent of the time.

Commissioners also plan to consider adding a $375,000 item to the list of projects. The proposed project would involve building a new Concord Mills area fire station.

Commissioners already improved projects for RCCC and Kannapolis City Schools based on their lists.

For Kannapolis City Schools, the county will purchase: 50 iPads for $27,500 for use by A.L Brown High School staff members; another 24 iPads for $13,200 for use by students at Forest Park Elementary School; 13 iPads for $7,150 for use by pre-kindergarten students at The McKnight Center; $400,000 on Kannapolis' desktop virtualization project; $207,500 on heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls at Fred L. Wilson Elementary; $180,000 in HVAC controls at Forest Park Elementary; $80,000 on core switch upgrades for the system; $4,600 on four smart boards for new classrooms at Kannapolis Intermediate School; and $10,000 for five network printers at A.L. Brown High School.

___ (c)2012 the Independent Tribune (Kannapolis, N.C.) Visit the Independent Tribune (Kannapolis, N.C.) at www.independenttribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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