The City of Lakeland’s application for a $60 million Community Facilities Loan has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The funding will pay for construction of a high school wing on the existing Lakeland Middle Preparatory School campus.
The funds will also be used to refinance the existing 2015 Capital Outlay Note used to construct LMPS.
The funds have been transferred to the Tennessee office of the USDA, which clears Lakeland School System (LSS) to begin the process of designing the school and related athletic facilities.
The City of Lakeland will be securing interim financing from a local/regional bank for the construction of the new high school. The Community Facilities Loan will be used once construction is completed and will be based upon a 40-year term at either the current interest rate of 3.5% or the lower rate if applicable at closing.
The project will expand the footprint of the existing Lakeland Middle Preparatory School to serve students in grades 5-12 rather than building a separate new school.
“Our school board and community members have been pushing to provide a full K-12 education to our residents since the inception of our school system. We are very excited to begin the process of making that dream a reality,” said LSS school board chair Kevin Floyd.
LSS superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell said, “We are grateful for the historic and current support of our Board of Commissioners in moving this project forward. We look forward to designing and creating a facility that will make our community proud while providing new academic and extracurricular opportunities for our students.”
Lakeland Vice-Mayor Josh Roman said, “Securing Lakeland Preparatory High School is vital to capitalizing on our esteemed position as an educational leader in Shelby County. I want to sincerely thank those supporters that remained determined for seven years to make it happen. I also want to thank the school board and BOC for helping Lakeland move forward without a tax increase.”
Lakeland Mayor Mike Cunningham said, “I am honored to be a part of this historic occasion. To lead this collaborative effort with other city officials to find and promote the USDA funding mechanism for our Lakeland School System expansion is truly a win-win for everyone in Lakeland.”
The timeline on the USDA application projects that the high school wing would begin serving students in August of 2022.
