HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — The Hamilton County Commission recently passed a resolution authorizing millions of dollars in bonds for school facilities.

But school board members say that even with that money, they will face higher costs as they continue to implement their plans.

Marco Perez, District 2 board member, says…

“It was a very painful process last year.”

Perez says he knows this project will ultimately cost more than the bonds received.

“Did we get everything we wanted? Probably not. Will it cost more? Yes. Just like health care, everything will cost more in a year than it does today,” Perez said.

The county commission wants the money to be used for the following purposes:

Compared to what the bond offers:

In addition, there is an additional $85 million for other tasks that the district says the schools must fulfill:

• $60 million for deferred maintenance
• $10 million for general government projects
• $5 million for investment in recreation
• $10 million for wastewater investments

Jill Black, District 11 board member, says…

“I was frustrated, to say the least, to see other county government projects attached to a bond that was actually intended for schools.”

Black says Clifton Hills Elementary School was promised more than it can deliver given the commission’s bond vote.

“When we vote on something, we say this community is getting a new school, and then it’s taken away from them … That violates the trust in us, and we were not the ones who made that decision. That’s upsetting,” Black says.

According to the ministry, the money will be used for projects in Soddy-Daisy.

Some commissioners say this is merely a Band-Aid for the county’s wastewater projects.

Commissioner Warren Mackey says the county needs to use taxpayer money more efficiently.

Board member Ben Connor says the bond issue has created a discrepancy and they now need to come together to find a solution.

“We have to figure out how to do that. Obviously, some of these projects can’t be funded because, simply put, there’s a dollar amount attached to them and the bond issue isn’t enough. So there’s going to be issues that this school board is going to have to vote on, change and deal with the funds that were allocated to us by the Hamilton County Commission.”

Connor says they are still in the process of putting together a financing model for the bond.