Macon County Commission Members:
I have written and am now reading this letter to provide, and possibly get, some clarification on a couple of things. Each of you will be provided a copy of it for your records. Please bear with me as it has quite a bit of information. I just want to be sure that I am clear and that the public is also clear as to the status of funding to the Macon County School System. This letter is not meant to be confrontational or to insinuate anything. I just want to make sure that everyone has the same information going forward. Part of the information was gathered from communications with Mayor Jones, copies of past commission meetings that were requested from the County Clerk’s Office, and from our financial books here at the board, and from documents from local government.
First, I want to make sure I have the wheel tax implementation timeline and details correct. From what I gathered from what I was given, the following is true.
In 1988, a proclamation was passed in consecutive months approving a wheel tax. Although I could not find it in the proclamation, which outlined the specific place the money generated would go, it was widely known that it was for the construction of a new Macon County High School. Following its passing here, it also passed a vote by the citizens of the county. It called for a $20 wheel tax on motorcycles and a $30 wheel tax on all other motor vehicles. From what I read in the resolution, there was no “sunset” clause.
Then, in 2001, this body voted to increase motorcycles to $25 and all others to $40. This money was used to pay for an addition to the school that was just built, which is now operating as Macon Co. Jr. High School, and for an addition at RBS School. A “sunset” clause was included in this one, which indicated that it would cease after the debt was paid in 2011. However, I was unable to determine if the “sunset” part was for the entire wheel tax or just for the increased parts of the wheel tax. This also went to a referendum, but the ballot did not include the “sunset” clause like the resolution that was passed by this body.
Then, in 2009, this body again voted to increase the amounts to $30 for motorcycles and $50 for all others. It also said that of the $50, 40%, or $20, would be used for county debt service, and the remining 60%, $30, would be used to pay for a combined 4 million dollar note that included needed paving and school upgrades, which included the RBS roof. From my research into the notes, the school’s part of the 4 million was approximately 2.4 million, which, if my math and understanding are correct, meant the 1.6 million went for paving. Also, the body voted to take out the sunset clause at this time. The school note was paid off in 2012, and that is when the school system stopped receiving any wheel tax revenue.
I do not know where those funds ended up, and I do not want to speculate on that. Also, I just want to mention that I have been unofficially told that property taxes brought in an excess of $1,000,000 last year. Is that true? I don’t want to speculate on how that money is being used either.
I do know that the county does pay what is known as maintenance of effort into the school budget each year. This year, it is $5,958,317, which is roughly 14% of our budget of $41,855,333. This does not include any of the multiple grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that our system has applied for and received. If we included that, the percentage from this body would be much lower.
I looked at the last 15 or so years since we quit receiving any wheel tax funds, and here is the breakdown from our and the local government’s records.
County Debt Service has paid $2,573,110
RBS/Central Project $661,351
Energy Loan $138,649
RBS Roof $576,980
School Locks $66,593
LES Roof $587,993
Westside Roof $541,544
School Budget has paid $9,987,894 out of projects totaling $18,121,816. The remainder is also our responsibility in the upcoming years.
MCHS Building $4,766,431 (the rest of the cost was paid prior)
Energy Loan $2,223,244
Energy Loan #2 $737,410
MCJHS/RBS Additions $2,260,809 out of $8,220,000
Energy Loan #3 $0 out of 2,174,731
This doesn’t even count the money spent on new roofs at MCHS and MCJHS, nor the addition of MCJHS in the latest energy loan. These are going to be paid in full at their completion. The total for these projects comes to $1,341,064, and the specific amounts for them are:
MCHS Roof $441,774
MCJHS Roof $458,860
MCJHS Energy Project $440,430
Nor does it include capital projects that were funded through our county allotment of ESSER funds. These included an addition to Macon County High School, the new gymnasium at Red Boiling Springs Elementary School, a roof for the gym at Macon County High School, and several HVAC units. Those projects totaled $8,001,864.
So, if we are looking at capital projects and improvements, county debt service has paid $2,573,110 and the school budget has paid $19,330,822. All of this is over a period of 15 years, making the county portion roughly $171,540/year and the system’s portion $1,288,721/year.
Now, I do understand that through maintenance of effort, which is a small part of our overall budget, one could say that this body has put money into this amount. But, I have asked and been told both by people in this room and by people much higher than me in the Tennessee Department of Education that the county body is responsible for the majority of plants and facilities in a county school system. If my figures are anywhere close to being correct, the percentage is 12%, which is not equal to the 14% that maintenance of effort makes up of our budget.
We currently have a healthy fund balance. ESSER and TISA’s first year was responsible for the majority of the increase. Those are over now. Around $140,000 was “rolled into” unrestricted fund balance last year. Currently, we have a total of $15,822,203.76 in the account. Of that amount, $11,339,194.78 is listed as being unrestricted, meaning the remainder is already obligated for certain purposes in the future. When you look at the minimum amount we have to have in unrestricted, $1,302,210.69, that leaves a little over $10,000,000 available. I am not comfortable with only having the minimum in the account.
Here is why:
The percentage of property tax going to schools last few years has been/is
21-22 35.8% of property tax to schools
22-23 30.03% amt lost was $549,757
23-24 24.45% amt lost was $1,065,105
24-25 20.46% amt lost was $1,594,283
25-26 18.45% amt lost was $2,043,981
Also, when I came to you in 2022 with the elementary school proposal, in my PowerPoint I had my revenue sources. The majority of that was made up of the sales tax money garnered through the referendum. There was also $250,000 of property tax that we were getting for the project and $240,000 from impact fees that were also included. Those numbers were historical averages and not based on either the highest or the lowest amounts. I made the promise to you that I would not ask for any additional money for the elementary school, which I have not. I made that based on the amounts that were coming in at that time. Since then, we no longer get the property tax revenue, and this body talked about, but didn’t pass, a moratorium on future building, which would have greatly influenced this number.
I am uncomfortable with only having the minimum amount in the line because I do not feel as if I can come to this body and receive any funds, period. Over the past few years, the school system has used our money wisely to pay for things instead of coming to this body. Maybe that was a mistake, and we should have been coming up here for every plant repair and upgrade that we needed. I am just of the opinion that we all need to work together, and if the system had the money, there would be no need to put an additional burden on the county. Well, now the school system does not have the money to pay for both of these needed and long-overdue projects. The system has enough for one, and for a portion of the other, but not both.
It is my understanding that the school system is the only entity where any increase in funding is pushed to a referendum and has the public vote on it. I’m just curious as to why this is so.
I would also like to again publicly mention that the school system receives zero dollars directly from the wheel tax, and has not for many years. I would like that to be mentioned in the newspaper and in any online posts that are made. Much of the community still believes that the system is continuing to receive additional funds through the wheel tax, and we are not. All of this has taken place with a massive increase in enrollment. In October 2010, we had approximately 3683 students in our system. As of today, we have 4157. This is an increase of 474 kids in 15 years. That means extra teachers, extra furniture, extra staff, extra everything.
We started a slogan at the board when I took over. It's ALL about ALL of the children ALL of the time. I think that it is only right, not to mention smart, to be investing in the future of the county. The children are the future of this county. I may not be here and you may not be here, but hopefully my kids, maybe grandkids, nieces and nephews, and their kids will be. So will yours.
I again am respectfully asking you to help us fund either of the projects. I do not care which one. While we are not at the point to bid out the projects for an exact figure, the cost of the vocational wing will be approximately $6,6000,000, and the approximate cost for the multi-sport facility will be between $7,500,000 and $8,000,000.
Thank you for your time.
Shawn Carter, Director of Macon County Schools