LAMAR COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) – After not getting enough votes in May to pass during a special election, the Lamar County School District is giving its $117 million bond another shot during the Nov. 5 general election.
Nothing has changed on the checklist the district expects the bond issue to cover, financially
“We’re still looking to build a new Sumrall High School, new Oak Grove Middle School, new Purvis High School, new office building at Oak Grove Elementary and a new, multi-purpose building for Lumberton Elementary,” said LCSD Superintendent Dr. Steven Hampton
Hampton said since the first referendum, some people in the community have shown support for the bond issue, but there are others that do not want to see the bond get passed.
Some folks have voiced many of their concerns on a Facebook page called “Lower Taxes in Lamar County.”
Another question that’s popped up: Part of Pearl River County overlaps Lamar County School District territory, and those Pearl River County residents want to know if they’re able to vote for the bond.
“The people who are in Pearl River County, but are in our school district, will vote for this bond referendum,” said Hampton. “They will have it on their ballots come Nov. 5.
To simply put it, everyone in the confines of our school district lines will get to vote and will end up paying the bond.”
Hampton says there are concerns about where the new schools are being built. Some residents don’t care for some of the chosen sites, specifically Oak Grove Middle School and Sumrall High School.
Hampton said the sites were chosen to help curtail costs.
“These locations are also on 16th Section land that we have, that the school district already owns the lands,” said Hampton. “We’re not going to have to spend a dollar to purchase land.
“All the money from the proceeds of this bond will go directly into the buildings and it will be a cost-saving measure for the taxpayers of Lamar County.”
On the opposing Facebook page, concerns have been money is being asked for expansion projects for a constricting district in terms of enrollment numbers.
But Hampton said that not only was not what the district expects, LCSD already is facing issues of overcrowding.
“We have 49,506-square-feet of portable classrooms in our school district right now,” said Hampton. “And so, this bond issue will allow us to eliminate all those portable classrooms.
“This is to help with the student enrollment we have right now, but it also helps us to prepare for the future because we want to make sure that we’re looking at our trends. When we work with a demographer, we are going to see a growth in our enrollment plus just the growth in our county. The passing of this bond would not only be a huge benefit to our school district, but it would be a huge benefit for the economic growth of Lamar County.”
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