The Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a major reshuffling of school bond money at its Thursday, May 21 meeting – moving more than $41 million away from the planned Katherine G. Johnson K-8 School project and redirecting the money to elementary school projects at Shadybrook and Lindley.
The proposal comes as Guilford County Schools officials acknowledge a reality that’s becoming harder to ignore: enrollment trends have changed dramatically since county voters approved roughly $2 billion in school construction bonds over the last several years.
According to the agenda materials for the Thursday, May 21 Board of Commissioners meeting, Guilford County Schools administrators are recommending that $3 million originally allocated for the Katherine G. Johnson K-8 School be moved to the Shadybrook Elementary School project and that another $38.5 million from the Katherine G. Johnson project be shifted to Lindley Elementary School.
The Lindley Elementary project would also receive an additional $26.2 million in bond proceeds beyond the Katherine G. Johnson transfer – bringing the total increase for Lindley to nearly $64.75 million.
The agenda item states that “due to current and projected declining enrollment, the Katherine G. Johnson project has been paused.”
That’s a significant statement considering the scale of Guilford County’s school bond program and the years-long push by Guilford County Schools and county commissioners to convince voters that major new school construction was urgently needed.
The item appears on the regular Board of Commissioners agenda for Thursday, May 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro.
The Guilford County Board of Education approved the $3 million transfer to Shadybrook on April 14 and then approved the broader Lindley reallocation package on May 12.
The supporting documents attached to the commissioners’ agenda show that the district is trying to address rapidly escalating construction costs, while also adapting to changing student population patterns.
One attachment states that the Shadybrook transfer will allow the district “to finish the design development phase” for that school.
Another states that the Lindley Elementary project needs substantially more funding “to align with the received Guaranteed Maximum Price” – often referred to in construction as the GMP.
That GMP figure appears to have come in far above earlier estimates.
The county documents don’t indicate that the Lindley project itself is expanding dramatically. Instead, the documents strongly suggest that inflation and construction cost increases are the major drivers behind the need for additional money.
The school bond program itself has become one of the largest financial commitments in Guilford County history.
County voters approved school bond packages totaling about $2 billion through two referendums in recent years. Supporters argued that the county’s aging schools required massive upgrades and replacements and that delaying construction would only make projects more expensive later.
However, what often received less attention during those campaigns was the total long-term repayment cost.
When interest payments are included, Guilford County taxpayers are expected to repay well over $3 billion on those school bonds over time. Depending on future borrowing costs and interest rates, the final repayment amount could approach roughly $3.3 or 3.4 billion.
That number matters because many of the original bond projections were developed during a period when interest rates were far lower than they are today.
So, if future borrowing comes in at higher interest rates than initially projected, the total taxpayer cost could rise significantly above earlier estimates.
County commissioners have repeatedly stated that school construction remains one of the county’s top priorities, but the size of the debt has also become a growing issue in budget discussions. Even so, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip has stated several times in the past year that the county is looking at putting another giant school bond issue on an upcoming ballot for voters. Due to inflation and perhaps other issues, the school system isn’t going to get down all it hoped to – even with $2 billion – and, just like in 2008, when hundreds of millions in school bonds were approved, the school system never got around to all the planned projects that helped convince voters to pass the referendum. This time around it is even worse.
Also, as is currently happening, the school board deviates greatly from the picture painted when the bonds are being promoted to the school kid loving voters. To be fair, in the years from campaigning for bonds, and finally seeing the money, demographics do change and inflation can hit hard. One ominous thing is that recent inflation reports for the US shows inflation spiking and, also, many building supplies are costing more than expected due to the persistent high tariffs that no one could have foreseen in 2022 and 2024 when the two large school bonds were approved.
Guilford County already faces substantial long-term debt obligations tied not only to school construction but also to many other capital projects.
At the same time, the county is now dealing with enrollment questions that weren’t fully anticipated when many of the bond projects were first promoted.
The agenda item specifically references “current and projected declining enrollment.”
That’s important because one of the core arguments for large-scale new school construction has long been continued population growth and school crowding.
Like many school districts across the country, Guilford County Schools has experienced enrollment pressures following the COVID era, demographic changes – and increased competition from charter schools, private schools and homeschooling.
The decision to pause the Katherine G. Johnson K-8 School project appears to be one of the clearest signs yet that the district is reassessing some of its long-term assumptions.
The agenda materials don’t indicate that the Katherine G. Johnson project is permanently canceled. Instead, the language says it has been “paused.”
Still, transferring more than $41 million away from the project is obviously very significant.
The documents attached to the agenda also show how complicated the bond accounting has become. The proposal involves formal amendments to multiple project ordinances and adjustments to various bond-funded capital accounts.
Commissioners are being asked at the meeting to “authorize staff to take any and all necessary actions to amend project ordinances associated with the project readjustments.”
One attachment from Guilford County Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley formally requests the ordinance changes from the county commissioners.
The Lindley Elementary increase is especially eye-catching because of the sheer size of the adjustment. The project ordinance amendment would increase the Lindley project budget by $64,748,767.
Meanwhile, the Katherine G. Johnson project would decrease by $41,507,941.
The remaining $26.2 million for Lindley would come from broader bond proceeds that are tied to the overall $2 billion school construction program.
The issue arrives at an especially sensitive time politically because county officials are simultaneously wrestling with fiscal 2026-2027 budget pressures, school funding debates and broader concerns about taxes and debt.
Even supporters of the school bond program have acknowledged that construction inflation has dramatically altered cost projections since the referendums passed.
Meanwhile, critics have increasingly questioned whether all of the originally proposed projects are still justified given current enrollment trends.
Thursday’s vote will almost certainly pass without much difficulty because both the Board of Education and county staff are already backing the changes.
But the broader implications could continue well beyond a single agenda item.
The proposed reallocations show Guilford County Schools is entering a new phase of the bond program – one less focused on launching entirely new schools and more focused on finishing existing projects while adapting to financial and demographic realities that look very different from just a few years ago.
No surprises here. A very good article Scott. A continuation of the monkies running the zoo and the sh–hole Greensboro and Guilford County are becoming.
Can it be? Is it possible? Has The Omnipotent One and the Board of Commissars blinked? Are they fearing their power is being threatened? Are schools going to be forced to trim the fat from their budget? And what about Raul?
“The agenda item states that “due to current and projected declining enrollment, the Katherine G. Johnson project has been paused.””
“The agenda item specifically references “current and projected declining enrollment.””
“…paused”? “…projected declining enrollment.””?
But, but, but I thought we needed these schools for the anticipated thousands of people we are going to be seeing flood Skip”s fiefdom. Which is it?
They want to “borrow” $2 billion dollars and have to repay $3 billion. I’m no math wiz but that sounds like a 50% interest rate. Who are we dealing with, the Mafia?
December 16th 1773!
That isn’t how interest rate calculations work. The 50% you are mentioning isn’t the loan rate, it’s the ‘TIP’ Equivalent or The Lifetime Cost of Interest Relative to the Principal borrowed.
It is not much different than the mortgage you might have paid on your home. Typical mortgage today, you pay more in interest than you do for the original principal of the loan…for example if you borrow $400k at 6.5%, you will pay approximately $510k in total interest over the 30-year lifespan of the loan.
The GC School bond terms are more favorable than today’s mortgage rates and the payback term is somewhat shorter, so it isn’t as expensive in terms of Total cost of the loan as today’s mortgage rates are for the typical home buyer.
Hope that helps.
At the end of a home mortgage, the homeowner can sell the home, hopefully, for a profit including the interest paid. And the home mortgage is not a burden to property taxpayers. A mortgage is mostly a fixed percentage that lasts the lifetime of the loan and may be refinanced if rates decrease. Schools are a continuing cost to property taxpayers.
uneducated people ‘are a continuing cost to property taxpayers’ because ‘schijt rubs off’
Was just comparing the interest rate calculation, not the underlying assets.
But it is interesting to think about to be honest. The school is a community asset but certainly the idea of resale value if different but not non-existent. Many older schools have been sold and turned into other use buildings.
Blah, blah, blah.
You borrow (aka confiscate) $2 billion dollars and have to pay back $3 billion. That’s a 50% return on your money as the lender. Sounds more like a ‘loan’ from the Mafia.
But I don’t have multiple degrees in multiple areas of knowledge. I was just a dumb grunt.
Finance is not everyone’s cup of tea. No big deal.
Just for future reference, interest rates and returns on investment are computed on an annualized basis….so the return on the loan is its annualized rate of return….or its annualized interest rate. That way you can compare across investments without having to adjust for duration of the investment for each comparative transaction.
So no, it is not a 50% return. It is whatever the annualized interest rate of that issuance of the loan is….plus the tax exemption given these are municipal bonds.
Hope that helps.
that’s ‘blah’ cubed – i study math. u r three dimensional until flattened by MV, then, just blah blah
Mafia? Nah. It’s how the local Capos function.
————-
Declining enrollment… ever increasing demands for more funding.
————-
As more and more parents eschew the open sewers of government schools, with their indifference, incompetence, violence, and sexual predation, so the incessant demands of the “educators” become increasingly strident and shrill.
If there ever was a government monopoly that needed abolishing, “Public” Schools are the perfect example.
Vouchers are the answer, allowing parents and students the freedom to choose whichever school they want, public or private. The teachers, education bureaucrats and their labour unions know full well this will lead to wholesale abandonment of government education, and a collapse of their coercive monopoly. Good.
And that’s why they’re terrified of school choice/vouchers.
We must do better for our children.
It’s NOT that govt schools need money for this and that; they need to teach our children how to think, not what to think. NO politics.
Cross spending on capital projects is an indicator of lax financial controls. Fraud and mismanagement follow. Would like to see the covenants on the bond issuance. If expenses are being paid with bond funds then there is serious malfeasance.Would also like to know what percentage of student ‘growth’ is due to illegals. Greensboro deserves better.
I agree. This would be no different from someone paying their credit card bill with money borrowed from a credit card.
That is certainly how our federal government does it.
Austin I’m betting that the professor voted for the school bond. Wanna make a small wager
———–
But Rebel, to settle the wager we’d have to expect the Professor to tell the truth… although I think you’re probably right. His wife works in the government schools bureaucracy.
My mistake Austin, I forgot about the truth part guess I’ll just go have a cold one. Cheers
—————-
Cheers Reb !
Guilford County, thanks to Democrat Commissioners and Democrat School Board members, is in a real danger zone for debt placed on the backs of Guilford County citizens. Property taxes have exploded thanks to the county budget moving from about $630 million when Democrats took over control in 2020 to about $1.1 billion proposed for the coming year.
Guilford County School enrollment continues to plummet due to parents pulling their children out of failing schools that see grade proficiency levels in the 3-8 grade levels in the 29-32% range for reading and math. Would you put your child in a school system like this?
There is a real chance with heavy debt loads that interest rates will remain high. This could trigger many folks who bought at high housing prices to be upside down on their mortgages resulting in a massive crises as occurred in 2008 triggering a recession. Per Wallet Hub, Greensboro is the third worst city of the largest 100 U.S. cities for citizens late on credit card debt. This county’s citizens is not in good financial shape as can be seen from low median household income, a growing homeless population, and the highest number of foster children of the 100 NC counties.
The financial hole is being dug deeper and placed on a citizenry that is struggling. Downtown small businesses shutting down is the canary in the coal mine. Pottersville comes to mind with county “leadership” eager to load up on more debt. One thing about Democrats, they like bigger government come hell or high water.
shifty shifting shifters frat man ! i sell financial hole shovels & post hole diggers
If the foo s^&$s, wear it.
As per usual it is never enough for the school board. If they received $2 trillion they would fuss and say it wasn’t all they wanted but they will have to settle for it.