The Mobile County Board of School Commissioners has voted to issue a $100 million construction bond, but exactly how the money will be spent remains undecided.
According to Rena Philips, the director of communication for the Mobile County Public School System, officials are still discussing whether to direct the funds toward renovations at existing schools or toward building a new school altogether.
A West Mobile Overcrowding Problem
Superintendent Chresal Threadgill told Philips the bond may be used to build a school in West Mobile to ease overcrowding there, alongside renovation projects around the county. That tracks with a population shift toward West Mobile that board president William Foster said he has seen firsthand.
“Between the two high schools there are probably 45,000 kids,” Foster said, pointing to roughly 1,500 students at each of the two middle schools serving that part of the county. A new middle or high school, he suggested, could relieve the pressure.
Where the Needs Are
Still, Foster noted, schools across the county have improvement needs. He said the board has already completed at least $220 million in building, construction and renovation work during his tenure, “and still, there are needs.”
Philips called the bond a good investment, citing favorable interest rates, but cautioned that construction dollars do not stretch as far in the current economy. No timeline has been set for when the superintendent and board will settle on a slate of projects.