DALTON, Ga. — The Dalton Board of Education voted 3-2 Monday night to explore financing options for a new sixth- and seventh-grade school — including $12.5 million for property acquisition and $36 million for construction — and also voted to hold a meeting with an executive session on personnel on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Chairman Rick Fromm and board members Tulley Johnson and Sherwood Jones voted in favor of the spending plan. Board members Steve Laird, who objected that the public had not been made aware of the plan beforehand, and Pablo Perez voted against the proposal.

Under the plan that has two parts, the school system will seek to borrow against projected ESPLOST V (Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) revenues and use $12.5 million for property acquisition for the new school. ESPLOST V was approved by voters in Whitfield County in March with funding dedicated to capital projects for both the city and county school systems.

By the same 3-2 vote, the board members approved seeking $50 million in borrowed funds, with $36 million dedicated to the construction of the new 6/7 school. A summary of the plan presented by school system officials says new bond debt could be included in a future ESPLOST VI. Payments on the debt would stretch at least until 2038 under a 20-year financing plan at 2.74 percent interest with total interest payments of more than $18 million. Projections were also included for 25 and 30 years.

Laird pressed the board for an executive session closed to media and the public to discuss “personnel” issues, and Jones and Perez joined him in voting to hold the meeting Wednesday. Fromm and Johnson said they likely would not attend because of scheduling conflicts, but any vote by a quorum of three members of the board is binding.

The vote on the 6/7 school did not authorize any spending at this point, merely the approval of approaching the Dalton Building Authority to finance the project with revenue bonds. The City Council would have to approve any finalized plans. 

“We don’t have the money,” said Chief Financial Officer Theresa Perry. “We can’t spend anything yet. We have to move through the steps of getting that money.”

Perry said the earliest money would be available to purchase the land for the project would be December. Superintendent Jim Hawkins and other members of the board have been in negotiations for at least two tracts of land where the new school is contemplated.

Hawkins said the plan includes the completion of all of the SPLOST projects originally published by the board.

Roofing projects at Brookwood and City Park elementary schools were the top priorities in the ESPLOST and are included along with the land acquisition in the initial $25 million that officials propose borrowing against the ESPLOST V funds. Included in that total is nearly $1.7 million in issuance costs and interest on the debt. ESPLOST V is projected to generate $29.7 million for Dalton Public Schools.

Other projects approved by voters included $6 million for student technology, $3.5 million in technology infrastructure upgrades and $2.4 million in projects at Roan Street Elementary.

The 6/7 school has been part of a plan that has been pushed as an answer to help alleviate overcrowding at Dalton High School and address travel concerns for athletic teams given Dalton’s classification level in the Georgia High School Association. 

Laird said he is not opposed to the 6/7 school but thought there had been little time to invite public comment before approving the spending plan. 

“I just want to make sure the people of Dalton are being communicated with,” Laird said. “There is a large number of people who don’t know, and I feel we should reach out further and let people have a chance to see the plan.”

Laird would not comment on exactly what he wanted to speak about in executive session on Wednesday. 

“We are just going to have an executive session,” Laird said. “If Rick can’t be there, then Sherwood is the vice chairman and will run it. We would have a vote in public if there was anything to vote on, and it would be legal.”

Also at Monday’s meeting, the board members approved a 2018 fiscal year budget with $74.5 million in spending and $73.3 in revenues. The system had spending of $71.6 million in the 2017 budget, and Perry said the bump in spending is from salary increases and teacher retirement fund payments. The fiscal year begins July 1.

Board members also approved a drug testing policy for all Dalton High School students who participate in extracurricular activities or request a parking permit.