News

County warns of tax increase to cover school security

By Bill Moss, Published: March 21, 2018

Having committed to major investments in school safety, Henderson County commissioners are warning taxpayers that the security will come at a high cost.

“It’s going to be expensive but it’s going to be the No. 1 priority, safety in the schools,” Commissioner Charlie Messer said. “We can be the model for the state once we get this in place. We’re going to do what we have to do to make our schools safe and give the kids the best education they can get.”

Messer's comments came after Sheriff Charlie McDonald and School Board Chair Amy Lynn Holt outlined safety measures they have already put in place. Holt said she and School Board members were "blown away" by the quick and decisive action McDonald, County Manager Steve Wyatt, school administrators and the Board of Commissioners had taken in the take of the Parkland High School shooting that left 17 children and faculty members dead.

Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution seeking $2.1 million from the state to cover the cost of putting sheriff's deputies in all 23 public schools fulltime next school year.That would not cover social workers the School Board wants or one-time security upgrades like new doors and security cameras.

Currently, the state provides a total of $151,352 from the state for school security ast four high schools, or $37,838 per high school. Using that figure, the county would receive $681,084 to help staff security at each of the county schools, although that amount is well short of the $120,000 a year the sheriff has calculated as the true cost of one deputy. Providing a school social worker in every school, at a cost of $60,000 each, would cost $1.4 million, for a total of $2.1 million.

“We’re hopeful that we can get $2.1 million out of Raleigh but I’m a pessimist by heart,” Commissioner Bill Lapsley said. “The chances that we get all of this are slim and none, the chance of getting part of this, maybe.”

A big part of the cost is likely to fall on county taxpayers in any event.

“We’ve got $2.1 million here, we’ve got the additional cost of now 23 schools, that may be another $2 million and then we’ve got to deal with security,” Lapsley said. “The point I’d like to make and have the taxpayers put on their radar screen is that when we get in budget session we will probably know if something’s going to happen in Raleigh and this board is going to be put in a position of having to provide a tax rate for the school board.”

The total may approach $5 million “above what we have already been contributing. That is a huge number and it may be several cents on the tax rate,” Lapsley added. “We need to put on the radar screen that this may be coming.”

One cent on the tax rate raises about $1.2 million.

Commissioner Grady Hawkins pointed out that a sheriff’s deputy and social worker in every school will embed permanent costs in the county’s budget.

“These costs are recurring costs,” he said. “Along with a great spike in our debt service on almost $110 million of borrowing, we’re going to have a real tight budget session.”

Commissioners approved a current-year budget amendment of $187,200 to cover 6,240 hours of law officers' coverage in the schools.

Later, in an interview Wednesday afternoon, Wyatt downplayed the projection of a property tax increase.

“It comes down to this. It’s about priorities,” he said. “I’ve had the conversations with Bo (Caldwell) and Amy Holt about what the priorities are and there are different strategies that we can undertake but the priorities have to be real and if we budget based on priorities I believe we can get through this without a tax increase. But remember, if everything’s a priority then nothing’s a priority. If it comes down to replacing iPads or putting family social workers in the schools those are priority decisions that have to be made.”

He said it’s possible, too, that Congress and the state Legislature would allocate money to local school systems for security.

“Based on what Chuck McGrady has told us but also what Congressman Meadows has told us, they are going to make it a priority so there’s going to be more people pulling the wagon than just the county taxpayers,” he said.

Last week, during a news conference on school safety, McGrady thanked the sheriff and county officials with organizing a response quickly and pledged to work for funding to support security.

“He has been in contact with me and basically he’s made the statement — and we’re going to hold him to it — that when the Legislature addresses this issue, from the standpoint of funding he wants Henderson County to be at the front of the line," Wyatt said. "And to me he has said we need to know what we’re talking about financially."

Wyatt also ruled out funding of volunteers or schoolteachers for security responsibility.

“It’s the consensus of those including the superintendent, the sheriff, all those involved, that the quality and qualifications of the individuals that are being charged with the job of keeping our schools safe require a great deal of training, vetting and experience because these are the most responsible folks we can put out there," he said. "We are not talking about arming volunteers, or teachers or others."

McDonald agreed with Holt's suggestion that mental health workers in the school system would be more effective at attacking the root of the problem.

“Where teachers are asked to do the impossible we’re trying to do the almost impossible right now," he said. "We’re the mop and bucket. From the sheriff’s standpoint, we’re cleaning up the mess. If we don’t get that faucet shut off somehow, we’ve got problems that will continue to grow.”