The voting has already begun on the $1.7 billion school bond referendum that Guilford County Schools’ officials and Guilford County commissioners would love to see pass.
In the time before the votes are all in and tallied – Tuesday, May 17, that is – the county commissioners are continuing to use school tours to call attention to construction and repair needs at some of the county’s most dilapidated schools.
School bond proponents point out that the average age of school buildings in the county is more than 50 years, and county commissioners are highlighting the needs of older schools that are supposed to be rebuilt or fully renovated if the county’s voters approve the giant bond referendum.
Chairman of the Guilford County Commissioners Skip Alston, and a few other Guilford County commissioners have been making the trips to different schools on Wednesday afternoons, and all the media outlets in the county have been invited to tag along.
This week, on Wednesday, May 4, at 3 p.m. the commissioners are touring Allen Middle School at 1108 Glendale Dr. in Greensboro.
Alston said at a Board of Commissioners meeting earlier this year that the schools actually need much more than the $1.7 billion. In fact, an excited Alston said that the schools need “ten times that much.”
Hopefully, that was hyperbole and county voters won’t see a $17 billion school bond referendum on the ballot next.
Wednesday afternoon, the commissioners will also meet with Allen Middle School Principal Dwayne Jordan to discuss the major renovation projects planned for his school.
Exactly 24 hours after that meeting, the commissioners will hold a special work session to hear from top school officials on the operating budget funding needs (and wants) of Guilford County Schools for the school system’s 2022-2023 fiscal budget.
