Lakeland’s city board approved issuing up to $50 million in general obligation school bonds to build a new junior/senior high school, currently titled Lakeland Prep.
At the Dec. 11 meeting, four commissioners voted in favor of the bond issuance, and mayor Wyatt Bunker abstained.
Bunker said he also supports the project, but he asked the board to approve a referendum so citizens could vote on the high cost. His motion failed to get a second, so it failed.
Opponents have 20 days from the resolution’s publication date (Dec. 16) to force a referendum (a city-wide vote). The referendum would be a yes/no vote on bond issurance to fund the Lakeland Prep project.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
- Concerned Citizens of Lakeland: Ask to be added to this Facebook group to participate in discussions.
- Petition for a referendum: Contact community activist Stephanie Lefler of Lakeland via email at stephlefler@gmail.com to get details about the petition and where it can be signed. A referendum would only apply to the bond issuance for Lakeland Prep.
- Support Lakeland Schools: A short link to this Facebook page is bit.ly/SupportLSS.
- City agendas: Access agendas for meetings of Lakeland’s mayor and city board at tn-lakeland.civicplus.com/archive.asp (select “Board of Commissioners Agendas” to see a drop-down menu). Meetings are public, and citizens can address the board briefly at every business meeting.
This will require gathering a petition signed by at least 10 percent of the city’s registered voters, or about 840 people, according to Stephanie Lefler of Lakeland. She is one of the organizers seeking petition signatures. People who wish to sign can email her at stephlefler@gmail.com to get details on where they can sign.
As of Tuesday afternoon, she estimated that the petition has gathered 282 signatures since it began on Dec. 11.
She also said, “Getting the school built by fall 2017 will mean we pay $250,000 in seat fees to Arlington for the last year of our three-year opt-out clause.”
Kevin Floyd, school board chairman, said that cost is an estimate. “It’s a moving number, because it depends on the number of kids we pull out.”
For example, the board hasn’t decided yet if all grades will start in the first year of Lakeland Prep’s operations, Floyd said. One scenario would be to open Lakeland Prep with grades 6-9 and add a class each year.
This year, Lakeland’s school district paid about $266,000 to Arlington’s school district to educate Lakeland’s older students, he said.
The Lakeland School System has not yet given Arlington the required three years’ notice of removing Lakeland students from Arlington schools, and Floyd said he doesn’t expect to do so until the board has a firmer timeline for the Lakeland Prep project.
Currently, an optimistic timeline has the school opening in the fall of 2017, but that could shift to a more likely 2018 opening, depending on circumstances, Floyd said.
Funding options
Commissioner Randy Nicholson also said another Lakeland Prep funding option is a public-private partnership (a funding method that relies upon private investors instead of a bond issue). He said the school board chairman will continue investigating this as an alternative to a bond issue. In the meantime, he believes the city should proceed.
“I would love to spend many, many more months and years to make sure that we have looked at every possible avenue to make sure that we’ve done our due diligence,” Nicholson said. “But in doing that, is the uncertainty causing more harm? And in my opinion, I feel that the uncertainty is causing us more harm than proceeding and making some intelligent decision one way or another.”
Vice mayor Sherri Gallick also said the city and school leaders have done plenty of due diligence, and it is time to take action.
“With the interstate that will open 2017-2018, if the school opens in 2018, and the Lake District is open around 2018, this community will send out a message that we are open for business, and this will be the community to be in,” Gallick said.
Online forum
Before and after the Dec. 11 vote, online discussions have been brisk at the Facebook page for Concerned Citizens of Lakeland. Interested parties can go online and ask to be added to the group.
The online forum mentioned Arlington’s willingness to accept Lakeland’s older students for the next seven years as one frequently cited reason to wait on funding and building Lakeland Prep.
School board member Matt Wright commented online about Arlington’s smart move to accept out-of-district students and added, “Wish the schools had been built here so we didn’t have to worry with this, but previous administrations made it so hard on SCS (Shelby County Schools) to build the elementary school here they went to Arlington next time and built middle and high schools there. Arlington grew 300 percent because of it, while we made do.
“Also, if we decided we wanted to continue floundering and hoped and prayed others provided for our wellbeing down the road, that statement would still be 100 percent correct. We opened our schools with the tax revenue we have, under budget, on time, and delivered things Shelby County Schools could no longer offer. In fact, we only used $0.15 of the $0.25 alloted to us. We saved the rest ($1.5 million).”
Citizens weigh in
Before the board’s vote, they heard from 13 citizens in person and another three who sent notes.
Jay Dorning of Lake Bridge Drive said he has no children in the school system and he knows $50 million is a daunting amount, but he still supports building Lakeland Prep. Most of his wealth is tied up in his home, and he wants his property to keep its value.
“If the kid next door to me doesn’t succeed, my city doesn’t succeed, and I don’t succeed,” Dorning said.
Lauren Lemmons said she and her husband are moving to Lakeland despite commutes of 30-40 minutes to work because they value education for their children.
Tracy Jones of Mt. Gillespie Drive said she wants the city to move forward quickly, so she is not in favor of the expense or the delay of a referendum.
James Lawrence of Cedar Point Road said he wants a referendum because extra taxation would burden him and other older citizens. He believes building Lakeland Prep now is too soon and too expensive after the turmoil of merging Memphis and Shelby County Schools and starting the new Lakeland School System.
Lawrence also said he wants the school district to have some history before taking on a costly project.
He cited other uncertainties like the effect the new Canada Road/I-40 Interchange will have on the city as another reason to wait.
Al Dean of Wren Hill Drive is more strongly opposed. He stated:
“I find it unconscionable that we’re here tonight to vote on a bond.”
He is concerned about a projected $1.3 million shortfall on the bond repayment each year and thinks not enough budgetary planning has gone into the operational costs for Lakeland Prep.
Keith Acton Sr. of Oakseed Lane said people who want a referendum still have the right to petition for a referendum if they can get enough signatures, but the city should not delay in the meantime.
“This is a very good thing,” Acton said. “We need to be moving forward with this bond.”
Michelle Childs of Pine Hill Cove South has two elementary-age children and worries that her property value will deteriorate if parents can’t count on educating their children K-12 in the Lakeland school district.
Manuel Naveiras of William Little Drive said 80 percent of Lakeland residents approved forming their own school district when they were assured of no new construction immediately and new taxes aside from the sales tax increase.
“Many residents, including myself, fear that the city is moving too quickly and not exercising due diligence in research over the fiscal impact of taking on such a great amount of debt for such a small town, in addition to the over $9 million debt the city already has, resulting from the water treatment plant and the I-40 Interchange project.”
He said when the Shelby County fire fee is added to the city’s $1.40 property tax per $100 of assessed value, Lakeland will have the highest tax rate in Shelby County for a city with no police, fire or library services.
He believes the prospective residents attracted to Lakeland’s schools will be repelled by its high taxes.
“This matter has divided Lakeland as a city and has seriously strained relationship between our city and the city of Arlington,” Naveiras said.
Stephanie Lefler of Oak Point Cove believes residents are for schools but opposed to rushing into a debt that will last for the next 30 years.
She read letters from three residents asking for a referendum, including one from Lakeland resident Bill Edwards, who stated:
“We need to vote on the bond. It is our elected officials’ job to understand the will of the people. The vote for schools two years ago did not articulate the expense, the tax or the debt, so claiming the vote has already happened is not true.”
Gary Cansler of Hadley Drive said he spoke for an older generation opposing the raising of Lakeland’s taxes.
Cary Cheston of Woodbrook Circle also asked for a referendum. “Not because we don’t want a school but maybe because we’re not in a position right now to do it.”
Walter Starnes of Herons Landing Lane said he supports moving forward, and opponents can bring this to a referendum if they gather enough petition signatures.
Adam Baldridge of Saffron Spring Drive believes investing in the school system will boost property values. Parents will choose a certain school system over one with an uncertain future, and people are making decisions now on where to live, he said.
He also cited record low interest rates that make this an ideal time to build. “We’ll never see these interest rates again in my lifetime.”
Editor’s note: This version of the story includes an updated logo for Lakeland Prep as well as a corrected title for school board member Matt Wright.
Written by Carolyn Bahm, Express editor. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to bartlett.editor@journlinc.com.
