The road to this point has been bumpy, and the final discussions weren't smooth, although the board voted unanimously in favor of the agreement. The disagreement Monday was voiced principally by board member Ken Hoover, although board member Mark Dely said the deal essentially allows Supt.
Jason Manuel to proceed with the project without reporting back to the board on the final project plan and costs. The board will receive a construction cost estimate in December, but because the city of Germantown intends to sell the bonds in February, Manuel said the agreement to share costs with the city had to be approved Monday. The city's financial advisory commission is scheduled to take up the issue Tuesday as part of its process of amending the city's budget.
Of the three Shelby County municipalities building new schools, Germantown is the only one that is not asking citizens to pay higher property taxes. Instead, city officials asked the district to share the load over the year life of the bonds. Part of the rancor for Dely and Hoover is that the board specifically asked Manuel to return with final costs before the board gave the expansion final approval.
Manuel has repeatedly said that he will report back as often as the board wishes, but he wonders how many times the board needs to approve the same project.
The issue, for Dely and Hoover, is tied up in the "Germantown brand" they want to establish for new construction in the district. The board envisions plenty of glass and steel beams, and prefers masonry over cinder-block walls. All those details are in the architect's schematic of the Riverdale expansion the board saw in October, but the costs then were still based on square-footage estimates, not the finer detail the design drawings will show.
